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In today’s world there are many questions, with precious few answers. Here are just a few to chew on from conversations I’ve had in September.
Q: “I see many obits for people under age 75 in the Cherokee Scout. Sure would be pertinent to know if they were vaccinated or not for COVID-19. If not, it would be a great way to persuade more Cherokee County residents to get vaccinated. If so, readers deserve to know that, too. Wouldn’t you agree?”
A: I do agree, which is why I reached out to Allyson Cole, who handles marketing and public relations for Erlanger Health System, and asked if they could provide that information from Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Peachtree. I shared with her graphics that Union General Hospital in Blairsville, Ga., and WellSpan Health based in Pennsylvania are releasing weekly containing just this kind of information, which isn’t specific to any one patient and is especially relevant during the global pandemic.
Alas, you shouldn’t expect any further details soon. “At this time,” she wrote, “Erlanger Health System isn’t publicly releasing this information. If we were to provide an infographic like the ones you sent, it would be for the system as a whole rather than individual hospitals. I’m not sure if this will change, but we’ll let you know if it does.”
When I informed the person who asked the question about Erlanger’s answer, her response was, “Do your job!” Well, short of breaking into the hospital and personally checking each patient’s medical records – which would be a felony, in case you’re wondering – we’re at the mercy of whatever information officials want to give us, as they are not legally bound to provide more. I wish they would, as transparency always shines light into darkness.
Q: “I sent in a letter to the editor that wasn’t published. Why?”
A: In the last two decades, there are only four reasons why a letter wasn’t published in the Scout:
- The letter was anonymous, unsigned or didn’t provide contact information.
- The letter was a form note sent to different publications as propaganda.
- The letter was from a person who doesn’t live here nor read the Scout and was not about a local subject.
- The information in the letter could not be confirmed as being accurate.
That last reason is the one that tends to perk up people’s ears, but I can only think of two letters this year – both about COVID-19 – that were not published for reasons of accuracy. General statements of opinion are fair enough, as noted by the many letters published this year on both sides of the vaccine debate. However, if a letter contains specific allegations that can’t be confirmed as factual, I would be doing a disservice to the truth by publishing them as-is.
The letters policy is at the bottom of this page. Your thoughts are always welcome. We never pick and choose what to publish based on personal likes or dislikes – we simply run what we receive every week, however that falls.
Q: “I bet you would report the news a lot differently if your family or friends were involved in the story.”
A: I’ll take that wager.
No less than five times in the last decade, a person I know has been on the front page charged with a crime. One of those people was a longtime family friend suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who tried to set a house on fire while my son was inside. Some were folks I know from attending church services together. And, like many of you, I’ve also had the names of family members and friends published in the police report.
To be blunt, this is part of the job that really sucks. When someone you know, or even admire, is accused of something that seems very unlikely for them, your initial response is to think it can’t be true.
Whenever that happens, someone else is assigned to handle the story so I can avoid any conflict of interest and charges of showing favoritism. Sadly, however, I’ve been in this business long enough to know that anything is possible.
David Brown is publisher & editor of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; or email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com.