Tag: crime

Hidden treats and tricky touchy topics

First of all, I just wrote a piece that I hope to share on-air – er, on-Web video – about the parts of KTVZ.COM that just don’t get the attention they deserve, because they’re not locally produced.

Of course, folks go to the Website for local news, but have you ever just happened to click on the part marked Lifestyle, off to the right in the Navigation links? Just the Halloween page alone has recipes, safety tips, videos on how to make great kids’ costumes without sewing – the works! And there’s tons of content on every topic imaginable, from technology and money to health, family life etc. Give it a try once in a while!

Okay, then there’s the heavier topic I may/may not do a video piece on, depending on whether I want steam coming out of my ears for all to see.

We have quite the questioning group in our article-comment community – some are the typical armchair quarterbacks you might expect, but some try to put the thumbscrews to ME over why we didnt report this or that, or didn’t know this or that that the cops aren’t telling us, etc.

It gets pretty maddening. So let me make some points.

Other than victims’ names – if they aren’t hurt, we usually leave that out – I use just about EVERYTHING police tell us in news releases, in our online stories. And quite often, more, because there are inevitable ‘holes’ in releases that I try to fill, some more obvious than others (“Captain, when it says ‘vehicle’ – are we talking a car, motorcycle, SUV? And when it says ‘residence,’ do you mean apartment, duplex, mobile home?”

Stuff like that.

But quite often, police don’t include some information in a release because they don’t want to hinder their investigation by revealing too much. Most, I presume, of our online comment-posters realize that, but some get all incensed and claim we or they (or both of us!) are “covering up.” It makes me as mad as the ones who say we “slant” stories in order to make them more exciting. BS. But they have a right to their opinion.

I enjoy some decent head-scratching questions about what “REALLY happened” in this or that notorious crime. But I get heartburn when I see folks claiming to know “the real facts” and throwing them out there AS facts. How do we know Mr. or Ms. Anonymous isn’t just trying to muddy the water and mess up what police and the courts are trying to do?

It’s not as easy a cut-or-dried issue as others where it’s clear where the line is and what goes over it and needs to be deleted (remember, I can’t EDIT postings, only let them be or toss them out – the system doesn’t allow me to edit them, which is good, because then I’D assume liability. No thanks.)

There have been a few folks who’ve called for my head on a platter, claiming the postings – which I admit do get pretty wild, and insensitive at times – tarnishes the station’s reputation. Those daggers thrown at me don’t bother me too much, because I work for an organization that has totally supported our efforts to build dialogue on the news we report. They see the pluses that no doubt have the inevitable minuses, too.

No, what makes me nervous is the threat some of our anonymous postings pose to people’s reputations or ongoing criminal cases. In other words, I fear a lawyer at the door, with a tort claim or subpoena. After all, one doesn’t have to WIN a lawsuit to create an unholy nightmare for the recipient.

So that’s why I often plead, even beg, folks to THINK before they type, and think AGAIN before they hit the ‘submit comment’ button. If they value our exercise in community dialogue, and don’t want to see it vanish, they need to think of the impact of their words, intentional or otherwise. I’ve had to laugh at some postings that rip apart the claims of a crime victim or someone involved in a case, then add at the end, “My prayers to the family” or somesuch. With such comments posted like that, they’re going to NEED those prayers.

I think ulterior motives are boundless in such troubling postings. I have no doubt that I’ve failed at times to be completely equal in deciding when to delete a post for violating Terms of Service – depending on how big the avalanche of disturbing posts, how scared I am at the particular moment, etc. I’m human, and don’t always react to the same things the same way.

But I try. And I tell some folks, “You think those are bad? You didn’t see the ones I DELETED.”

Ugh. Anyway, enough venting for one night. Y’all have a great week!

Two Internet tools – or is one really a weapon?

Remember the old college theme-paper directive: “Compare and contrast”?

The Net is full of interesting comparisons and contrasts. Take two Websites, one neat one I’ve known about for months, the other new to me – and quite worrisome.

First there’s www.caringbridge.org. It’s a place where the critically ill or those caring for them or about them can create free Websites to keep everyone far and wide up to date on their conditions. Take, for example, the page created for Bend concrete finisher J.R. Litehiser, citically burned in a SE Portland house explosion in late July. I’ve never met the man, and signed up for purely professional reasons (as we told people about his injuries weeks ago), but getting the daily updates, reading of his daily struggles, his will to survive and the support of his loving wife come through loud and clear.

What a neat service – and totally free. Something we can point out to some of those who call us at the station, asking (or pleading with) us to do a story on someone with a rare disease, etc. Granted, our on-air audience is different, but this is another way to reach out to folks (and let them know of fund-raising efforts as well), and not have to wait for the media to do its thing.

Now, the yin to my yang. A New York Times article today pointed me to www.criminalsearches.com – a fairly self-explanatory name for a Website that lets you plug in ANYONE’s name, and come back with their bare-bones criminal history. (It really helps if you know their birthdate, especially if the name is very common at all.)

So imagine all the uses, or abuses, beyond the likely ones by prospective employers, parents checking on their children’s teachers, etc. – it boggles the mind. A freaky parlor game, for one. And it’s clear the records linger there for more than a decade, at least.

Its easy to say criminal records should be public records – but what if they’re wrong, for example? I can only imagine the hassle of trying to get a court clerk somewhere to correct a long-ago record.

But it also allows you see what’s on file about you – and isn’t that a good thing? I sure can see both sides of this argument – small businesses that in the past couldn’t afford to spend much time/$ looking into a job applicant now can do so easily – and if they find something of concern, track it back to the court of record.

So what do you think – Big Brother run amok, or “find a need and fill it” free enterprise at its best?

That darn Internet – every time you find a great new tool, you also find a worrisome new weapon. Only nature, I suppose.