Ethics of the Sean Taylor Case

When Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was murdered in his bedroom last week, the Washington, D.C. media, particularly the Washington Post, ignited in a firestorm. To understand what football and the Redskins mean to Washington, you have to live or have lived there. It’s all we have. Despite the Redskins’ awful performance, overpaid players, and asshole owner, all people in D.C. care about from October to January, is football. In the past 11 days, there have been literally several dozen print and online articles in the Post devoted solely to Taylor’s life and death, along with thousands of comments and tributes written by fans and readers.

Sean Taylor was a beloved player idolized by hundreds of thousands of the Redskins faithful. When word broke of his injury and ultimate death, national and especially local journalists who knew Taylor were put in a tough spot. Obviously, the first priority of a journalist is to report the news factually and accurately. For the most part, this was done tastefully and responsibly, as much so as it can be when the topic is the murder of a celebrity or sports icon. Nevertheless, emotions and opinions snuck their way into articles meant to be news instead of opinions and columns.

Several of the writers, Jason LaCanfora, Michael Wilbon, Mike Wise, Thomas Boswell, and others, knew Taylor personally. I don’t think any of those journalists would have considered Taylor a “friend,” as that itself may have been a breach of journalistic integrity, but writing a story on the death of a person you encounter multiple times a week who is such a public figure has to be a tough thing to do.

There was some negative criticism of the articles written by Post journalists, stemming from “unfair” portrayals of Sean Taylor’s life in a time when many readers thought it inappropriate to speculate. Some took offense to the fact that some articles seemed to label Taylor as a criminal due to past “run ins with law” and that what happened to him was “not surprising.” Articles in which these statements were made were among the first written, when details were sparse and no apparent motive existed. Now that we know the motive was burglary, and that the alleged suspects had no connection to Taylor, any notion that Taylor “had it coming” have been all but squashed. Looking back, the biggest mistake of the writers covering this story was to include such speculation at an early stage when details were not yet clear.

Overall, the news coverage of the Taylor murder by the Washington Post was excellent, several steps above anything produced by ESPN or other national media outlets. In addition to the actual reporting (much of which was done through up-to-the-second blog updates and online-only copy), there was no shortage of editorials, opinions, and columns where many of the same reporters writing the news stories could exhale for a moment and share their true feelings. The Post also amassed a collection of multimedia including photo galleries, audio slideshows, and video tributes to Sean Taylor. All in all, it was first class coverage of a first class player.

Click here to view complete coverage of the Sean Taylor murder

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An alternative 'Artisan'

The Cherry Street Artisan in Downtown Columbia creates a fun, intimate and entertaining setting for listening to music, grabbing a snack or light meal, or just cozying up with a warm drink on a cold night. One of the most charming things about the Artisan is its drive and purpose to be an independently owned, locally driven place with a complete absence of commercialization. In a time where it seems like there are half a dozen chain stores or restaurants on every street, this is a welcome sight.

Starbucks has nothing on this place. Instead of generic "coffee shop" music playing on some dinky overhead speakers, the Artisan frequently features talented local musicians playing a mix of blues, jazz, and folk music. Even if you aren't a fan of these genres, their energy and stage presence has the potential to blow you away. Although there is a small floor-level stage set up in the center of the Artisan in close proximity to several tables, on one night a folk band decided instead to serenade the entire room, with patrons literally inches away from a band of fiddlers and trumpeters.

The Artisan features a menu filled with sandwiches, salads, desserts, pastries, and of course dozens upon dozens of beverage options. You can’t really go wrong with anything you order, and almost all items are prepared freshly and quickly. Whether you come for the food and stay for the music or come for the music but stay for the food, the Cherry Street Artisan is one place in Columbia everyone should check out.

Women Priests

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/FA01B93F74D2D9208625738D0019101E?OpenDocument

The article about women becoming ordained is a decent and fair article that shows both sides. This article begins with explaining the situation at hand, showing that the two women are attempting to become ordained priests and are facing difficulties throughout the religious organizations. The article shows that some of the organizations believe this is against their faith and that they will distance themselves from any congregation that takes place in the ordination. One group plans to host the ordination is facing trouble from the larger heads of the groups. The article also includes past occurrences of women being ordained. Following up is the reply from the women and their stance on the issue. They state that this is also a way to reform. The well rounded article then shows the views and opinions of other people. Overall, this article is well researched and written with its shown information.

Diverstiy

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/11/ohio_prison_population_surpass.html

I think this article shows no obvious effort to force diversity into its subject matter, and includes all citizens of Ohio in its article. As the article describes the increasing amount of prisoners that are entering the prison this year, creating more and more cramped spaces, it seems to address all aspects of diversity. there is no clear bias present, and in an article about prison, there very well could have been. The writer does a good job of sticking to the facts without throwing his own opinion into the article. As a citizen of Ohio, this article concerns me with the slowly declining rate of gaurds in Ohio compared to the thousands of prisoners, and this article did not turn me off in terms of excluding certain groups of people.

The Naperville Sun: “A Glimpse of China”

The article “A Glimpse of China” focuses on the second annual Fall Moon Festival in Naperville, Illinois. The town says that the festival is “a great time to celebrate the fall together and be a community while doing that.” The Dong Fang Chinese Performing Arts Association is in charge of running the festival. Performer Steve Smith said that this tradition is meant to bring people together and embrace a new season, while in China it is not exactly regarded as a special holiday. Smith also says, “What’s wonderful about that is Naperville is truly becoming more cultured and this is one of the many steps in that direction”.
In my opinion, Naperville is making progress when it comes to embracing diversity, but this article is a desperate cry to commend their effort to do so. The article speaks about the importance of tradition in the Chinese culture and is appealing to a broad audience. Racial diversity is a positive thing and it is great that Naperville hosts this cultural event. The quote regarding Naperville’s new found culture really rubbed me the wrong way. Writing the article alone would have proven that the town in diverse, so I found it disappointing that the writer had to add that quote when it is already obvious. Again, the article is very positive and centers on the importance of tradition.




http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/lifestyles/642259,6_5_NA09_CHINASHOW_S1.article

Death in Houston

This article is rather depressing, but then again it’s supposed to be. It’s about the death of a rather well liked shop owner by the name of Daeyeop Kim. There on lies the diversity, at least on that level. The news is supposed to report homicides, but there have to be many in a large city like Houston so why did they pick this one? I’m sure the fact that Mr. Kim was Korean had something to do with it, but another would probably be just how many people liked the man. Several people of several ethnicities came to his store to buy things or just hang out. It was emphasized how fair and hard working he was, which makes sense seeing as he had to maintain that shop almost by himself. These varied people who knew Mr. Kim and mourn his passing probably are another reason why his murder is given at least a little more attention then your average homicide. Thus, this article very likely drew in many readers, for Mr. Kim was apparently very connected to the people in his neighborhood. So, while not immediately apparent, this article does use diversity in a remarkably subtle way in order to get the story out there and strike chords with people. It is a very well done piece.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5296133.html

Online Predators: Only a parent’s concern?

My article doesn’t a horrible job of showing any diversity. But it is hard to show diversity in the small town of Columbia, IL (or even in Monroe County for that matter). There isn’t much diversity in small farm towns no more than 20 miles apart from each other. But in any case, the other ways to show diversity, after what I saw in this article, is if you are a parent or not. This article is mainly pointed towards parents. I believe it was mainly written to inform, even scare, parents about “online predators.” The article comes up with many statistics about the subject, which I am sure are true, but again I believe they are only stated to get the parents more concerned about their child’s safety. An older person without children might have a hard time relating to this subject. And the children who read the article will just begin to think, “Oh, it will never happen to me.”

So I see this article more for the parents of my county rather than for everyone.

Article:
http://monroecountyclarion.stltoday.com/articles/2007/11/13/news/sj2tn20071027-1028cla_3judgement.ii1.txt