Behind the Headlines

When tragedy strikes a community, journalists have a difficult job. 

They must quickly provide accurate news. They must tell the human stories in a complete, compassionate way that will help readers cope with the tragedy.  Sometimes, they must deal with emotional responses from people who instinctively want to “shoot the messenger.”

And they must do it all even though they, too, are hurting. 

I couldn’t be more proud of the Herald-Leader news staff’s performance this week.  Since early Sunday morning, our journalists have been working almost around the clock to bring you the most accurate, complete and sensitive coverage they can of the crash of Comair flight 5191.

Within an hour of the crash, staff members were at the scene, or calling editors to offer help — or just showing up at the office to go to work.   Each day since then, they have given their all.

Throughout the week, these have been the newsroom’s guiding principles:

* Make sure information is accurate, and attributed to authoritative, identified sources.
* Keep speculation to a minimum when explaining all of the possibilities.
* Treat those involved in the story with respect and compassion.
* Be sensitive in the writing and presentation.

Some relatives of those killed haven’t wanted to talk to our reporters or be photographed. We have respected their wishes and tried to leave them alone. 

But many more relatives have wanted to share their loved ones’ stories, and those stories have brought our community closer.  You can see evidence of that in the profiles we wrote throughout the week as information became available.  Updated profiles will be printed in a special section on Sunday.

Reporters and photographers have worked closely with families when writing about their loved ones

to ensure accuracy and sensitivity.  A good example is the story and photo on the front page of
Friday’s newspaper about Sarah King Fortney, whose husband, C.W. Fortney II, was an Air Tran Airlines pilot on his way to work in Atlanta. 

Associated Press photographer Ed Reinke took the photo, but didn’t know who the woman and child in it were.  Reporter Valarie Honeycutt Spears recognized her as someone she knew, and sought her permission before we published the photo. After seeing the photo, Mrs. Fortney not only gave her permission, but told Valarie all about her husband. She later called to say how much she appreciated the story and photo and the way they were presented. 

Verifying the accuracy of information quickly has been especially important, because this is the biggest story the Herald-Leader has ever covered where developments were published quickly online before they appeared in print.

While Metro Editor Peter Baniak has directed much of the reporting, Online Editor Deedra Lawhead has made sure news was posted promptly on kentucky.com, which this week has had a worldwide audience of several hundred thousand readers.

We have received many compliments on our coverage — from several relatives of the victims, as well as from strangers as far away as Australia.  And, of course, we’ve also received a couple of complaints.

If you have comments about our coverage of this tragedy — good or bad — or suggestions for future coverage, please post a comment here or send me an e-mail.

Tom Eblen
Managing Editor