Publishing details irresponsible
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Editor,
A family member read to me a news story that appeared recently in the Missoulian newspaper, written by Vince Devlin.
It described the report of a Polson Montana man charged with soliciting the murder of a local woman. The article proceeded to reveal activities occurring over the past nine months in such detail, as to be hurtful to not only the judicial process, but more importantly to the victim, due to the graphic detail published.
Where are the ethics in journalism? There is little sympathy for a criminal found guilty of the charges made. Courts and juries resolve charges before them. However, does not a newspaper have any duty to protect the victims from collateral damage?
A question for the journalist: Who gave you this private and hurtful information in excess of the charges? Why did the other Montana newspapers not go into that excess? Your article was sensationalist, sordid and shameful. As a member of the public served by the newspaper which employs you I would hope that some sort of professional standards prohibiting your conduct would have stopped you from writing those horrible details, and, also, that your editor and publisher will take the matter up with you - resulting in (at a minimum) your public apology.
James Sisler
Big Arm
