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If you have ever tried
to crack open a coconut, you know what it is like to get information
from officers conducting an investigation.
Many of you have asked
me why we have not yet presented a full article on the investigation of
former Grantsville police chief
Ron
Gordon.
One reader went so far as to tell me, “I don’t care about flowers or
spring,” and then wondered why I couldn’t be more like a reporter from
the community’s past. Ouch.
Internet bloggers and
people on the street do not have to meet the requirements I do. As a
self-respecting newspaper person, I cannot print unsubstantiated rumors,
and my editor would never let me get away with it anyway.
In addition,
I have no intentions of tainting a jury, screwing up an investigation,
ending up in a lawsuit for defamation of character, or making police
officers upset with me.
And so, I
play by the rules.
Rumors are a news
writer’s nightmare. Chasing down rumors is like a wild goose chase; like
hunting a non-existent needle in a haystack. For me (and for
investigating officers), a rumor is nothing more than a waste of
valuable time.
Sure, I have heard lots
of juicy “tidbits” off the record, but information is only as good as
the source, and if I can’t verify the information, we can’t print it.
While rumors run the full spectrum of colors, we only print in black and
white.
Misinformation is used
in many ways. Comments that are processed through the rumor mill could
be pieces of propaganda to manipulate the public, to persuade specific
behaviors and beliefs.
That is not
news. Unless it can be verified, it is fiction as far as I’m concerned.
You’ve heard the saying, “consider the source.” Why would anyone
validate a tale told by an unreliable source? Always, always, consider
the source.
So, if you
have been disappointed with our coverage of the issue, I apologize, but
it wasn’t until this week that someone was finally willing to go “on the
record,” and I thank
Lieutenant P.J.
Sutton
for speaking with me.
We aren’t hiding
anything. We’re not covering for anybody. We are trying to find, verify
and share the truths of the matter.
Lt.
Sutton
is the most reliable source I could find, and he is one of the few
sources I trust.
While we can all stand
on the corner and spread whatever we’ve heard without much fear of
retribution, a newspaper cannot print it.
If we did, I could end up in a courtroom as well--and then you would all
be talking about me. |