Our reporters and photographers have covered probably 100 local stories in the last two weeks. I even wrote one myself when we ran short of people one afternoon.
But two stories have been weighing on my mind. One we covered and the other we didn’t.
Let’s start with the story we didn’t cover: the sad, continuing tale of the Hart family, whose SUV was found smashed in the sea along the rugged California coast. Clearly, this was a big story: Both spouses and three of the kids’ bodies were found in the wreckage and the other three children were missing and presumed dead.
The first Associated Press story I saw said the family was from West Linn, Ore., but was quickly updated to say the Harts lived in rural Clark County. We cover Clark County. Should we emulate our media brethren and swarm this story?
Generally I would say “Heck, yes!” and clear the newsroom. But in this case I thought, “Wait a minute,” and then, “No.”
Part of the problem for us, if we had covered it, was that the Harts were relative newcomers. They hadn’t put down many roots. The kids weren’t enrolled in school. They weren’t friendly with the neighbors. Not many of our readers knew them. Would we have been able to leverage our advantage as “the local paper” to get a different angle on the story?
In a word, no.
This was, and still is, a story that is getting a lot of exposure. The Associated Press, The Oregonian and The Seattle Times are spending a lot of resources on the Harts, to the point of what I think is minutiae. On Thursday, the big news was that the biological aunt of one of the kids thinks he shouldn’t have been adopted by the Harts. On Wednesday, there was a revelation that one of the moms texted a friend, saying she didn’t feel well.
By relying on the wire, I don’t think there is any significant development about the Harts we haven’t presented to our readers. Though I have to admit I am sick of it. My least favorite story is when bad things happen to children.
The ‘good kid’ story
Though some cynics don’t believe it, we try very hard to write positive stories about children and young adults. These “good kids” stories are a staple of our Sports and Neighbors sections, and we are pleased to tell them. But reporter Scott Hewitt’s April 8 Life story about Keegan Dittmer made me nervous.
Keegan, 17, is a great kid, enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program at Columbia River High School. In his spare time, he likes to dance and perform as Wanda Faame, a sexy, sophisticated adult woman. Portraying Keegan/Wanda sensitively and well was my concern, along with not needlessly offending readers.
We chose the photos for print carefully, and I made sure the package took up the same amount of space on the cover as any other week. I didn’t want to downplay this good story, but I also didn’t want to overemphasize it. This is one great kid. There are thousands more.
How would readers react?
Very positively, it turned out. I received a “Can’t you find anything else to write about?” type of comment. But we received many more comments along the lines of “What a great article,” “What an amazing kid and family,” and “Good for Scott and The Columbian to take this on … kudos for journalistic bravery.”
Whew! On to next week.
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