A 9-year-old alleged rapist

How do you decide to run a story about a suspect in a rape if he is so young you can't, ethically, run his name. I'm sure it's not easy.

Azcentral.com ran this story about one of the suspected rapists in the case of an 8-year-old Liberian girl in an apartment complex in north Phoenix. The trials have been ongoing for all of the boys involved in the incident, but this particular story was about the youngest boy's ability to stand trial.

Technically, the story is easy to read and you don't really notice that his name is never mentioned. Similar stories, like that of the St. John's boy who killed his father, make it more
easy for the suspects to be labeled (Balloon boy).

As news develops, it seems like it continually gets harder to withhold pertinent information
from readers in the interest of minimizing harm, even to a rapist. I think my only query is if the story is even newsworthy at this point and if the story should even focus on a child or any person that would be unethical to name. The story could have been written about the 15-year-old who could be named in connection with this story, and a graf could have been dedicated to the 9-year-old who can't, but then the lead would not have been so compelling. I am torn about the story and its relevancy.

Miss Black Arizona

20 to vie for Arizona's Miss Black and Miss Black Teen honors (Jahna Berry/azcentral.com)

I think this story from azcentral.com about the Miss Black Arizona and the Miss Black Teen Arizona neglects a graf that points to exactly who is eligible to participate in the pageant. It may seem like a "duh," but I think it is important to say the Miss Black Arizona is a scholarship pageant for young Black women with high aspirations and goals, etc. It is important to mention a background about how the pageant came about and how it is similar and different to pageants that emphasize one race.

I understand the reason azcentral.com may have ignored these facts in there story is because they seem obvious or the reporter may have thought such words would come off as either racist or proud. However, I think there are still many people who might question the story without the portraying the pageant's participants clearly aside from just stating the name of the pageant itself.

Reports about Crime Sweeps

In response to this report about Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 13th immigration and crime sweep, I am wondering what this type of report does to the credibility of azcentral.com.

The story divulges details from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office about the two-day crime suppression sweep that began at 5 p.m. on Monday.

If we post a story like this, does it look like we are eating out of the Sheriff's palm for story leads, or does it seem like we are warning employers and illegal immigrants to stay home during the operation?

Both views seem rather controversial and I wonder what this type of story looks like to readers who don't have an inside knowledge of the newsroom, or those who have never seen a press release.

I understand that the Republic and azcentral.com normally post this information for public viewing because it is newsworthy, and I probably would have written the story the same way the Associated Press reporter did if it had been assigned to me.

Does it seem less biased if it was a report from the Associated Press or the wires, instead of assigning it to our own reporter? Regardless, does it make the whole outlet seem like an advocate for illegal immigration?

I think it is important to seek a balance between running stories like this that risk having controversial consequences and ones that really inform the public and/or serve the greater good.

Arizona bloggers are critics and comedians.

The comments left on this story written yesterday evening for azcentral.com should generate some chuckles. 

A woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for rolling her car window up on a police officer's arm and dragging him for approximately half-mile. 

Being that the officer is OK and recovered from his injuries, the comments like "almost an 'armed' robbery" and "what a drag" are all in good fun. 

That's not to say that the Republic and azcentral.com do not allow postings on stories that should not be allowed to be commented on. The Web site has a notorious tendency to allow postings on stories about the mentally retarded, missing people, and mentally retarded missing people. Here is an example.

It is one of the goals of the Gannett policy that guides the Republic and azcentral.com that says we should minimize harm to victims or subjects of their reports. I do not think it is in the best interest of minimizing harm to allow postings on stories like this and others that involve vulnerable victims or unconfirmed suspects. 

Weekend Update: Balloon from Colo.

 

Rose and Allyn PR

Our in-class discussion with Stacy Pearson of Rose and Allyn Public Relations lead to some interesting stories. Not the least of which was her tale about the stunt her firm pulled to reign in publicity for the opening of Tempe Marketplace last year. 

I realized during that account of Pearson's story and other that her firm has been part to in the past, that the rules and the sense of ethics are obviously different between journalists and public relations partners and their cohorts. 

With this particular incident, the consequences of the event were minor. In fact, the stunt most likely played to firm's strengths and to the benefit of their client. I think it was interesting that Pearson would be so direct in saying that job is basically to come up with creative ways to make news happen, and make it favorable for her clients. I did not agree with the way this incident was crafted, but only because it suggests a fundamental ethical issue with the way PR places run their businesses. 

I believe I will have a personal problem trusting PR people for the reasons that Pearson talked about in our class. They are "nice" to journalists to get them to believe them, and journalists are often burned by the less-ethical members of public relations advocates.