In the late ’80s, Don Henley penned a hit about the insatiable public’s steady diet of evening news. “Dirty Laundry” is a catchy little tune with opening lines that reference how much people love to hear about others losing.
Henley could have hardly predicted how salacious people would evolve to become with the advent of the 24-hour cable news channel. And of course, when things really reached orbit with the advent of the Internet.
My friend, colleague, mentor, and Editor in Chief of St. George News, Joyce Kuzmanic, made local headlines over the weekend when she was arrested for driving while under the influence.
No doubt the editors over at The Spectrum felt that the usual arrest page publishing was not quite enough for the editor of one of their competitors; they felt it worthy to run it as a feature news story.
Fact is, I don’t blame them, and neither would Joyce, I’d wager. She’s a public figure, and the rag she oversees gleefully runs the same content regularly.
We’ve taken our lumps here at The Indy for sure, and we are bound to take a few more, but for the record, we don’t run arrest reports or the arrest page because, collectively, the editorial staff as well as the publisher see it as a blithe disregard of our judicial system to irresponsibly subject someone who is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty to the court of public opinion.
But understand that even we see that our hypocrisy knows no bounds.
As an opinion columnist, I regularly incite conversations about news-worthy events locally and beyond and by default take a stance on the issues. I could just as easily opine about the arrest and misfortunes of those whom I like or dislike and fall well under the purview of my First Amendment rights to do so.
The question really comes down to what the motive is I guess. For me personally, it is about getting after the truth.
But there is something that does not sit well with me and the arrest page. The fact that follow-up stories of those featured there are reserved for the more sensational of the accused and that the average so-and-so is considered hence forward from their published mug shot guilty of whatever they were arrested for, well, it bothers me. And it should bother you as well.
I asked a friend in local law enforcement about it once and was told the arrest page is published at the beckoning of the people. That the police would rather not do it. There’s one to be fleshed out, yeah?
People love it when you lose though, right?
For what it’s worth, I want to share with the readership here something they might not know about those of us in the press corps. In spite of working for different and competing publications, a lot of us are friends and colleagues. I have been on assignment with Jud Burkett covering drug busts in Pine Valley, and my sons attend school with his. I was at Todd Siefert’s going away party, and we had admonishing words for each other’s work. I have taken classes from Dave Demille’s wife and covered water conservancy stories with him. I consider him one of the best reporters in town. Ed Kociela is a close friend and mentor, as is Joyce Kuzmanic. Mori Kessler and I share the distinct privilege of being the two founding writers at St. George News still in the business and going strong. I’ve seen some flashes in the pan and some promising future writers both. In my career, I now have the privilege of not only writing and producing media but mentoring and developing up-and-coming writers.
What I am saying here is simple: There are real people behind the articles being published here locally, and the work they do is paid nominally if at all. But they do it and commit to doing it well for you, the reader.
Was Joyce Kuzmanic arrested for DUI and her face plastered all over the web for fifteen minutes? Sadly, yes. Will she press on, take her lumps, and continue to her commitment to producing solid news for you the reader? Most likely. And you, the reader, are lucky to have her.
See you out there, Chief.
Well said. Just because “the people” “want” something, responsible journalists shouldn’t feel the siren call. (You can stop laughing now.) The question has been asked and re-asked (and repackaged in such ways as “The Running Man,” “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?,” “The Hunger Games,” etc.), but “where does it stop?” Pay-per-view executions? There isn’t a single person whose eyes don’t roll when an uncomplimentary fact is revealed about themselves. When the lovely and pure Rush Limbaugh was caught stuffing his fat face full of illegal prescription meds, I laughed and laughed until I choked on the harmless “tobacco” I had just finished “inhaling.”
Very well put…
If your going to publish the arrests… they should also publish the acquittals!
I worked for the Los Angeles Daily News when the Rodney King trial jurors’ private information was published by every major news outlet in the market. Not a good scene.
The publishing of the arrests that includes the address and, at one point, date of birth is a disgusting practice. Washington County should grow a pair and eliminate this practice. For such a red state that we live in you would think that just one of our politicians would stand up and complain about the violation of one of our most fundamental rights. Plastering the faces of individuals across the internet is a barrier to a fair trial by one’s peers and a violation to their privacy. Many more “forward thinking” counties have eliminated this barbaric practice. When you hear a police officer say that they will arrest someone based on a 51% chance of guilt and let the court sort out whether they are guilty or not, you realize that you are dealing with a high potentiality for error. People lose their jobs over this. It is pathetic. Wake Up Washington County!!!!
Agreed. Unexpected, thanks for the props!
The dirty secret is the fact that a large majority in these parts loves to see WHO’s WHO on the Washington County Bookings website. It has a cult following no doubt. At least compared to the Spectrum, however, it is an equal opportunity situation. The Spectrum has serious bias with certain groups and local individuals. If a Californian(s) commits a local crime it will be mentioned outright, and duly noted – usually in the headlines… THAT IS ONE EXAMPLE…. Something about those evil Californians… The bottom line, and I agree 100% with S.Tay’s comment…. YOU ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN THIS COUNTRY… Posting a picture of somebody – before they have been found guilty of the specific crime, is damaging and a form of social punishment. Yes I have been to Purgatory… Stood in the lobby for about a minute… Why? I guess I am just crazy – or just wanted to fulfill destiny in my own way….