Publishers' Auxiliary/May 2010
A couple gets a divorce, but it is not recorded in the newspaper until four months later.
Someone appears in court for a domestic assault, but the sentence isn't reported in the newspaper until weeks after the fact.
Their publication likely raises two questions among many readers, especially the subjects of the reports: What constitutes these items as news? Why is there such a delay in the report?
Public records are at the heart of news gathering in community newspapers. Yet most editors likely face the challenges underscored in these two examples.
The simplest answer – one that editors and should regularly communicate to readers – is that these are public records under state and federal laws. Ambulance runs, marriages and divorces, traffic tickets, court fines - they all fall under the realm of public information.
Individuals often will challenge publication of a specific record and present what they consider justification for withholding publication. Some of the arguments may have merit.
From a newspaper’s perspective, however, all public records must be treated the same. It's difficult to place an editor in the position of being judge and jury - trying to determine who has a valid argument for withholding information and who does not.
It’s understandable that individuals may disagree with the fact that newspapers choose to print public records. But consider the alternative. Editors should expect readers to be more critical – and legitimately so – if records were selectively published. A policy riddled with double standards is no policy at all.
As with any "right" to publish records, newspapers have an accompanying responsibility. Readers are correct that newsrooms should do everything possible to ensure timely reports.
Public records often are of sensitive nature - a divorce, a bankruptcy, a court sentence. The circumstances can be stressful for individuals and the publication of the item draws more attention. Delayed publication can unnecessarily aggravate a situation.
Newsrooms should try their best to ensure punctual reports. It's a two-step process and, unfortunately, one over which editors have varying degrees of control.
The first step is the release of the information from the appropriate agency. The process often has some built-in delays, and it's something that is really out of the hands of newsrooms. Reporters have limited ability to speed that process, but they should work with officials to get the information as soon as possible.
Newsrooms do, however, control how soon the information gets published once it is received. The turnaround of publication is something most newsrooms can improve.
Feedback from readers is a good reminder for newsrooms to always scrutinize their processes for the collection and reporting of public information.
Readers may ask why newspapers stand firm on access to and publication of these records. It's much like the proverbial "if you give an inch, they'll take a mile." If the press agrees to one concession, all too often an individual or agency will try to stretch the rules. Soon laws are enacted with additional restrictions on what once was routinely public data.
Editors should routinely communicate the message to readers that society is best served by a full menu of public data rather than a selective serving.
