How To...Be Human

This entry is in response to Matthew Henderson's blog:

Good point, Matt.  I can't even believe that a newspaper published something about the finances of a family whose daughter just died.  That is sub-human.  Why would a journalist abuse a family like that?  What does reporting the finances of that family have to do with the story anyway?  Relevance.  Humanity should always come first.  If success means throwing innocent people under the bus, journalists should count themselves out.  The victims of crimes are off-limits. 

I would also venture to say that even the accused have the same rights.  If a man allegedly killed a child, it does not give a newspaper the right to tell people that last year he did not pay his taxes.  This information is unrelated, not to mention, should not be public.  And what if it turns out that the man was framed?  Not only did this not have anything to do with the story in the first place, but also people know his business on top of him being publically humiliated.  This, folks, is why we all need to think before we write.

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