There are many roles the media has, but generally it's our job to inform the public about what they should know about their community.
It means that we make decisions on a daily basis about what information we do provide to the public and what we don't. We have to make some decisions about what we consider newsworthy and what we don't.
Not everybody believes it, but we do our best to report every story in a responsible way. As a weekly community newspaper, there are barriers we won't typically cross that other news sources will.
Earlier this week The New York Post published a front-page photo of a man seconds away from being killed by a subway train that would go on to run him over. While that may be an acceptable image to be published in the New York market, which is still open to debate, it's not something we would run in Estevan.
Not everybody trusts us to take our responsibility seriously. Maybe they see or hear about the Post's front page and are concerned that if given the opportunity, we wouldn't hesitate to publish such a dramatic and traumatic photo on our pages.
I recall a collision awhile back on the outskirts of Estevan where one man was killed, and as I arrived at the scene, was told by police that the area was closed and they had orders not to permit me to get close to take any photos. It's an issue I've encountered rarely, but it's led to discussions amongst our editorial team.
The collision occurred on public space. It led to hours of that portion of the highway being closed off, with traffic backed up into the city. It impacted the public and part of our job is to show why people were affected in such a way.
I was told at the scene to think about the man's family. Would I want photos of one of my family member's bodies printed on a newspaper's front page? There are few times that's what the media is looking to publish, and it wasn't what I was there for.
I'm not blaming the local police here, but by being restricted from the scene, I wasn't being trusted to act as a responsible journalist in a small market. Sometimes people see what the Post publishes, thinking we're a subway line away from printing the same, and that's not the case.
We don't wish to treat our readers like children. Sometimes terrible things happen that should be reported, and we do our best to treat those things with the weight they deserve.
A car accident photo can be an important one for us to present to the public. We have no intention of printing a dead body, but by showing some aspect of a collision, the intention is to give people a bit of a jolt. We don't want to disturb our readers, but showing an image of twisted metal accompanied by a report of what happened can leave an impression on people that may lead to more drivers paying closer attention.
The photo gives more weight to the story, and that might be what is needed to get some people to think more deeply about their driving habits. Sometimes we need a little reminder about how dangerous driving can be. If it encourages some people to take a little more care, than the photo is worth it.
We aren't bloodhounds on the lookout for shocking material. We take responsibility for what we print and while it isn't always pleasant, we try to make sure that we serve the public as best we can.
