Otterblog

We’ve had some strong comments on the previous post about how much description to use in describing a suspect. There’s a parallel discussion going on about our story today on the couple found dead in their home in northern Davidson County.

The sheriff hadn’t released the IDs of the couple because he said not all the next-of-kin had been notified. But we published the names. As one emailer wrote (and I’m not cleaning up the typos ...)

In todays paper the part about couple found dead at davidson home, you say you are not giving out the names till the next of kin are notified and the you give out the address and then neighbors names, dont you think thats wrong, any body that hasnt been notified would read it in the paper first, same as when a car wreck and u dont give out names but tell the year, make color of the car, every parent or friend readig that and knowing some one with that kind of car would be beside them selfs till they found out it was not their son, daughter or other kin,,,,, I just think it all should be left out of the article untill the police have been able to reach every body and then you could print all the details

We talked about this a great deal last night. And we decided to publish the names when we were certain they were correct. First, the names had been broadcast on local TV. This is not a capitulation to the “everybody is doing it” crowd, but rather a recognition that any embargo was already breached. Second, from a reporting standpoint, it seemed pretty clear that this was as much a story about a neighborhood as it was about violence in the home. The Gallimore’s neighbors knew who they were. To treat them as an abstract “they” seemed wrong.

Now, to get to the point that all of you are waiting for ... Isn’t this hypocritical? The newspaper won’t publish all the information law-enforcement gives it in some cases (suspect descriptions), but publishes more information than given in other circumstances? I think the common thread in both instances is what I would call precision. A name is precise. It narrows it down to one couple. Saying a suspect was a middle-aged white male could be a lot of folks. Looking out my office window I see five people in my narrow range of vision who fit that category. Looking in the mirror, I see a sixth ...

Interesting story in the NY Times today. Toll Brothers CEO blaming the news media for the real-estate mess.

Finally, a little bragging on some of our staff. Our college basketball preview today is incredible, the work of an incredibly dedicated team of reporters, editors, artists and designers. Check it out.