We take pride in the newspaper we produce, and we hope the community does to. But part of that pride comes at a cost. We often have to write and print articles that may not portray some community members in the best light. This includes court.
We take pride in the newspaper we produce, and we hope the community does to.
But part of that pride comes at a cost. We often have to write and print articles that may not portray some community members in the best light. This includes court.
What some of you may not know, is that court knowledge is public knowledge, much similar to council meetings, and although we understand the turmoil in having your name and charges listed in the paper, it's part of our duty to share this knowledge with our readers.
When asked to leave someone out of the court report, we sound like a broken record, and the speech goes a little like this: “I am sorry, but there's nothing we can do, everyone goes into the article, no exceptions. IF one of our own were to be in court, even their name would be included in the court report.”
Our reporters work night and day to ensure the Leader is an outstanding newspaper, with only the latest and most informative news stories in our region, but with that comes a price.
Not all roads along the way to providing an excellent quality paper are easy, but we always do our best to ensure we take the highest road manageable, and still inform the public in a way that sheds the best light possible while continuing to get the story across.
Every job has its downfall, for some it's the temperature of the water cooler, for reporters it's covering things like court, where we know what we are doing is affecting these people in some way.
But as we tell anyone who asks, there's not too much we can do about it.
So, for those of you who have been printed in our court report, know it's not because we want to, but because we have a duty to our readers, and for those of you who are thinking bribing our reporters will work, it doesn't.
We are happy to address any concerns you have, and respectful letters to the editor are accepted.
We are here to serve the community and everyone in it, whether it's the good, the bad, or the ugly.
