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News stories are about providing information, and there is nothing more frustrating for the reader than finishing a story with unanswered questions still hanging. Journalism students are taught about the five Ws: who, what, when, where and why. They are a useful tool to check you have covered all the bases”
Peter Cole wrote that in The Guardian on Sept. 25, 2008, but it also could have been said yesterday or 100 years ago. The five Ws – often expanded with an H for “how” – have been the mainstays of newsrooms nationwide since the first publisher yelled, “Stop the presses!” (And, man, was it fun to do that.)
Most folks are very aware of and easily recognize the first four – who, what, when and where, which are rather self-explanatory. However, trying to find an answer as to “why” can be challenging.
First, a quick primer about crime stories. After an arrest is made, the initial story written about it can appear one-sided, often only including the charges along with the investigating law enforcement agency’s narrative of what happened. It’s rare for the person who was arrested, or their attorney, to talk with the press this early in the process.
There are follow-up stories if the accused makes bond or the case is continued, then another if the case is resolved via a plea bargain. However, in that instance we still may not know the accused’s defense, which sometimes doesn’t even come out unless the case goes to trial or there is a sentencing hearing.
It’s the defense attorney’s job in sentencing hearings to portray their client in the most positive way possible and offer a compelling reason (or excuse) why the deed they were convicted of was done. The Cherokee Scout has published multiple articles over the last few months about sentencing hearings that attempted to answer the question of “why” since the other Ws were not in dispute.
Unfortunately, some readers can forget about earlier stories published in the Scout and don’t understand what a newer report is trying to accomplish.
For example, one article was about a local man charged with child pornography. At the sentencing hearing, his attorney tried to explain what led to this person committing the crime, starting with how he grew up. Since that all was new information, that’s what led the report.
Since most people are not born with an affinity for pedophilia, in order to help prevent it tomorrow we must ask today, “How does a person become this way?” The takeaway from this article was supposed to be a warning to parents that if they abuse their children, if they give them alcohol at a young age, if they do not properly raise them and protect them from traumatic events, their child could end up like this person – in prison after committing horrible acts.
In order to know why a sentence might not have been stronger, you need to know why. Instead, as is all too common today, some people prefer to shoot the messenger instead of learning that lesson.
Another article was about a local man who received four years in jail on drug charges. His attorney said that happened because he fell in love with a girl, who just so happened to be a drug trafficker, leading to him making a dumb mistake and paying the price for it.
One reader was offended by the article placing “partial blame on a woman for a man’s own weaknesses.” I get where she’s coming from, but that’s what was said in court. It’s our job to report, not judge, and to leave that information out would not have aided the cause of journalism.
Interestingly, the court documents in that case specifically don’t mention this man as a person of interest until the very day he was busted. And, by the way, both of those cases involved defense attorney Rich Cassady, who has earned his keep.
There are multiple ways to approach every article. We don’t think of each story in a vacuum, but as part of our overall coverage of the situation. We don’t want to just repeat the same details in each story, but move it along with new and relevant information – each time making the total picture more clear.
David Brown is publisher & editor of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; or email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com.