HOT PURSUIT

It’s not only journalists like me who have inquiring minds and want to dig up information, but readers also are curious about things. Over the past week, a couple readers wanted the skinny on a few issues important to them.

The first involves a woman who felt reporter Kay Fate went a little too far in describing what happened during a sexual assault. First, we are often disgusted and share in the distaste of what offenders do to their victims.

There is really no way to sugarcoat things when it comes to sexual abuse. Sex assaults are ugly, at best. In egregious cases like the ones we reported on last week, Fate used far fewer disturbing details than the contents of the actual criminal complaints. The details shared in the stories were literally the only way to say the man’s behavior rose to a criminal level.

We also go above and beyond to protect the identity of victims. I am extra sensitive to this after being a police officer for nearly 20 years and dealing with countless victims. In last week’s stories, there is no way to identify any of the alleged victims unless you happen to know the families personally. 

Fate has covered crime stories for almost 35 years. During that time, she has never had a complaint from a victim. On numerous occasions she has had victims thank her for getting the word out about their abusers and giving credibility to people who come forward. Many of the victims have gone on to speak publicly about their abuse by allowing us to use their names and sometimes photos because they have nothing to be ashamed of. That includes children, who, with their parents, are willing to share their story to protect others through possible warning signs that may have been ignored.

Reporting on sex abuse and other crimes is an important part of what we do. Our intent is to inform and educate, not to sensationalize any bad behavior. We never write stories for shock value; however, the sanitized version we publish is often shocking enough.

Another reader questioned the content of certain stories, especially opinion pieces, in which things seem slanted to one side. In regard to news stories, we make diligent efforts to present both sides, though sometimes the “other side” chooses not to comment or is not available. With opinion pieces in the form of letters to the editor or guest columns, they are the opinions of the writer, not us. Just because someone’s opinion may be in the minority, that doesn’t allow us to not print it.

I’m often asked if I agree with all the stories and opinion pieces published in the newspaper. Absolutely not. Without signaling out a specific example, I will just say I have my own thoughts and views about different issues and topics, but I don’t share my opinions unless they’re in this column.

What I will encourage readers to do is if you don’t agree with something, reach out through a letter or guest column to present the other side. It’s better than engaging in nastiness over social media. In my time with this newspaper, I will say we have published 99% of what has been sent to us.

Now more than ever before, I think it’s important for everyone to go in hot pursuit of engaging in healthy conversation and dialogue. We may not agree with somebody else, but you might, that’s fine.