Archives for October 2008

From the Post Register

The Uneasy Chair – Editing the Post Register
By Dean Miller

A dead body lay on the steps of the church adjacent to Temple View Elementary School in Idaho Falls Friday morning. It was in plain view of kids who were walking to school and being dropped off behind the church. Principal Natalie Peters saw fit to send out a letter to parents alerting them to what their kids might have seen. It’s hard to imagine a more public spot, but the Idaho Falls Police Department decided this was nobody’s business and released no report. As I write this, all we’ve been told is that it was a male. So, if you live near Temple View, should you worry about the neighborhood your kid walks through? Do police know for sure if it’s a suicide or a murder? Are they the least bit interested in what the public may have observed in the area leading up to the death? Nothing to see, here. Move along, folks. None of your business.

Saturday night, Rexburg police suppressed information about a pedestrian killed by a car. Witnesses and neighbors confirmed somone had been killed, but the police dummied up, refusing to provide even the basics. It turns out two women were hit: one killed, one badly injured. If your son walks that street to get to classes at BYUI, wouldn’t you want to know what happened? If you drive that street, would you want to know how to avoid a similar tragedy? Tough. Rexburg’s police department has decided none of it is any of your business.

A car badly injured a Rexburg pedestrian in June. And a year ago, a driver killed a pedestrian in Rexburg. So, one would have to be monumentally indifferent not to wonder if there’s a public safety problem with Rexburg’s street design. As of this morning, the Rexburg Police Department would only say “It’s common knowledge” someone died. Which is sort of like saying, “Believe what you want. This is none of your business.”

In neither case, did we insist on knowing or printing the names of the deceased. We understand that notification of next of kin is the first priority. We simply sought verification or clarification of what callers were telling us. But the area’s police have a retentive turn of mind when it comes to involving the public in the public safety work that is carried out at public expense and under the laws and constitution of the land, which give the American public the responsibility to oversee public servants.

Stay tuned. We’ll continue searching for alternate sources of credible information and report appropriate details to the public.

While it’s true that some readers have a prurient interest in public deaths, the vast majority simply want to be accurately informed about fatalities in their neighborhood.

Our ethics code places the privacy of a suicide victim’s family ahead of the public’s right to know, except when the suicide somehow endangers the public or occurs in a public place. The applicable section reads:

• Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
• Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
• Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
• Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity. We don’t print the names of people who commit suicide, unless they commit suicide in a public place, are involved in a murder/suicide, or are public officials or public figures.

What’s notable is that Idaho’s pros, the Idaho State Police, take a vastly different approach. When they investigate a death, they promptly release appropriate information, which is a service to the public and also encourages the public to call in with useful information. Police departments would do well to emulate their example.

Dean Miller is the editor of the Post Register in Idaho Falls. This article first appeared on his blog, “The Uneasy Chair – Editing the Post Register.”

From the Post Register

At the recent 2008 Idaho Judicial Conference, more than 100 Idaho judges from around the state participated in a session on media/court issues, ranging from cameras in the courtroom to access to court records to handling high-visibility cases.

As part of the program, Betsy Russell, president of IDOG and president of the Idaho Press Club, and Marc Johnson, former reporter, former chief of staff for Gov. Cecil Andrus and now with Gallatin Public Affairs, presented a list of “Top 10 Tips” for judges to keep in mind when dealing with reporters. Here they are:

10) Always, always return a call from a reporter

9) Understand deadlines

8) Give cameras in the courtroom a try – in Idaho it’s been a great success and leads to greater public understanding

7) Be willing to explain, educate and inform – some reporters need it and you can offer it

6) If you can’t comment, direct the reporter to someone who might comment

5) Point reporters to the Media Guide and use it yourself

4) Courts and court records need to be open – exceptions should be rare and subject to established procedures

3) Know the rules – when talking to a reporter you are always on the record unless you both agree otherwise in advance

2) Campaigns are news – even for judges. Expect and answer questions.

And the No. 1 tip for judges to keep in mind when dealing with reporters:

1. It’s not an accident that it is the “First” Amendment – think “first” before sealing a document or closing a proceeding.

The presentation was well-received, and the judges were thoughtful, engaged and constructive in their comments and questions. In addition to the “Top 10 Tips,” the panel included a discussion of the Idaho State Judiciary Media Guide, an online guide that includes extensive information for reporters about how Idaho’s court system works, how to submit a Cameras in the Courtroom request, which records are open and how to get them, etc.

The media guide, as Judge Ralph Savage told the assembled members of the judiciary, also can be highly useful for judges, with such features as tips from other states on how to handle high-visibility cases and successfully coordinate plans to meet the needs of the media. The presentation also included the airing and discussion of taped “interviews” Johnson conducted with three Idaho judges, playing the role of an aggressive reporter as each was put on the spot to respond to a fictitious, but likely, scenario.

Other members of the panel included Trial Court Administrator Burt Butler, who discussed cameras in the courtroom and other media issues, and Judge Jeff Brudie, who discussed recent changes to Rule 32, the rule that governs when court records can be sealed. The rule strictly limits the circumstances under which records can be sealed, but the change allows a temporary sealing to preserve the right to a fair trial, such as when a confession is sealed prior to jury selection. Those documents then would be unsealed when that’s no longer an issue, such as once jury selection is completed.

Check out the Idaho State Judiciary Media Guide online at https://www.isc.idaho.gov/mguide/.