What kind of coverage do you expect when bad things happen?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:41pm Anna Derocher
Since I’ve become an editor, I spend most of my time in the newsroom. In my first five years here, though, I was a reporter covering news and business. Sometimes I miss those days because I enjoyed getting out of the office and talking to people. I wanted to tell stories that were full of emotion, that readers could connect with. Sometimes those stories were of happy times; many times they were not.
On Saturday, we got word there was a shooting death in Rockford, the city’s 13th homicide this year. I went out to the home in the 100 block of 15th Avenue initially so I could get a photo to publish to rrstar.com. I snapped a few pictures and then walked over to a few men who were standing outside the Polish Falcons Club next door. The men told me the victim, Jeremy Butera, was a nice guy who had just bought the home less than a year ago.
“This is not good in any neighborhood,” said Jim Cooper, president of the club. “But it’s really tough when it happens next door. It’s too bad, really.”
When I got to the house 30 minutes earlier, I saw a young man pacing on the porch and talking on his cell phone. I dreaded going up to him, but I saw him talking to a reporter and photographer from WREX-13.
So, I took a deep breath and headed his way. His name was Dan Egbert, and he was Jeremy’s childhood friend. I met Jeremy’s 2-year-old son Tre and talked with Jeremy’s mother Bonnie. At such a sad time, this family welcomed me into their home and shared their stories. Dan allowed me to shoot video of him sharing a memory of Jeremy.
It’s important we try to talk to victims’ families, but you hate to be intrusive at such a tough time. Sometimes the families say no. Sometimes they say yes. I understand both answers.
I often wonder what kind of coverage our readers expect of us in cases like homicides. I understand the answers will differ depending on perspective. So, what’s yours?
Entry Filed under: Journalist, Homicide, Coverage
3 Comments Add your own
1. John F Sweeney | August 18th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I think the paper should focus on the reality that we have a tremendous gang problem in this community. Of course there are isolated incidents of violence that are exactly that, isolated. However, the influx of \"rif-raf\" has cause our community to be taken down to levels that are not acceptible, and it is especially being noticed by those who have lived here for a long time. Every possible means of divulging the problems should be used, and the newspaper is a good method of putting that information out there. Maybe then instead of \"weeding and seeding\" we\’ll actually pull some weeds….I know some \"weeds\" have blown into my neighborhood.
2. Anna Voelker | August 18th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
John,
Thanks for your comment. We are exploring crime, current and historical, as part of our 180 Degrees project. You can find more details here: www.rrstar.com/communities/x121157245. We hope by reporting how we got here, we can help the community solve these problems.
Anna Voelker, online news editor, rrstar.com
3. Tim Keller | August 19th, 2008 at 11:46 am
I would gather this type of thing is going to become more common in this town. Businesses are packing up and leaving at an alarming rate. When jobs disappear the crime rate spikes. You should anticipate spending more of your Saturdays covering this type of tragic occurance. This city is on the verge of collapse and I, for one, don’t plan on sticking around to see it turn into the next ‘Detroit’.
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