Last Updated on July 16, 2017
As a general rule, I’m not one of the people in my station’s newsroom who responds directly to viewer questions or comments. Most of the time, like yesterday, that’s a really good thing.
My newsroom received an email from a viewer complaining about our having missed a story. What is typical of this kind of email was a writeup, (below several layers of forwarded email headers), that appeared on first glance to be a news story.
The viewer who sent it to us added this note:
“wow ! wonder why you guys never cover a story like this ??  not in your agenda I guess!!”
He apparently couldn’t be bothered to write a properly-punctuated note.  He didn’t sign his name, which is also typical of such emails.  (The funny thing is, many personal email systems send your real name along to business email accounts automatically.  Bet he didn’t know that!)
The story itself, though, features something that most of these do not: a specific location where the incident described happened, and a specific date on which it occurred.
This kind of information, for reasons that will become clear later, typically never appear in such messages.
The story is about an 11-year-old girl who was left home alone by her father in Butte, Montana. (No mention, oddly enough, is made about why a father would possibly be fine with leaving an 11-year-old child alone in the house for any reasonable length of time.)
In any case, as this story goes, two crooks broke through the front door of the house. The story, in its very first paragraph, points out that these crooks — not “suspects” — were illegal aliens.
Upon hearing these two men, our pint-sized heroine runs to her father’s bedroom and grabbed his “12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun.” The first of the two men was shot by this little girl at nearly point-blank range, suffering fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals. The second man was shot in the left shoulder as he ran down the stairs and bled to death before medical help could arrive.
The first burglar, the article points out, was found to have been armed with a .45 caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery wherein a 50-year-old man was stabbed to death.
The article concludes with this bit of tell-tale foolishness:
“Ever wonder why good stuff never makes NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, or ABC news………an 11 year old girl, properly trained, defended her home, and herself…….against two murderous, illegal immigrants……and she wins,
She is still alive.Now that is Gun Control!”
It then adds one other piece of information, a “thought for the day:”
“Calling an illegal alien an ‘undocumented immigrant’ is like calling a drug dealer an ‘unlicensed pharmacist.'”
As I stated, it is clear that this “article”  never came out of any traditional media outlet.
When one looks up the names of the parties involved and the date listed, November 5, 2007, one finds something very interesting: no “traditional” media outlet seems to have carried this story. None of the major networks. No major newspaper. Not even a small Montana newspaper that would have served the Butte area.
But what you do find, in great excess, is message board after message board in which this item is repeated. In many of those cases, naturally, the slam against the traditional media is included, leading one to wonder which came first: the forwarded emails or the message boards?
This viewer who sent this to us with the little snide comment about our “agenda” can’t possibly know that we didn’t cover this particular story two years ago unless he happens to have about a week’s worth of tapes or transcripts of every newscast we aired from that week. He can’t possibly know that none of the other mainstream media outlets his missive blasts didn’t cover it at the time without that same information.
Yet he uses this story as an excuse to slam the media.
But wait, it gets better: Snopes.com, that wonderful little fact-checking site that so many people just refuse to look at, confirms that not only is there no record of this actually having happened, but that the same story has been told with a young boy in Texas being the heroic home defender.  That’s quite a variation of facts: it’s not unreasonable to expect whatever “reliable” source that came up with this little tale to have at least gotten these basic facts straight.
Yet we get accused of having an “agenda” for not reporting a story that, by all indications, never happened and contains a pro-gun control message.
That is to say, this guy who slams us for being, in his mind, biased, bases his reasoning on the assumption that we didn’t cover a story that contains a blatant bias.
Is it really any surprise, with public sentiment like this, that there are plenty of talented journalists in the business who become embittered and just plain fed up, even though they themselves not only know how to write a fair, unbalanced story, but do so on a regular basis?
You mean there’s a law to stipulate the age as of which a child can be left alone at home without parental supervision for a period of time?
That’s stepping over a line…
I spent the afternoons at home after school by myself as of around age 9. That was a hell of a lot better option in my case than being under the care of the local child care institution.
It was my parents’ call and they made the right one in my case.
I know this is off-topic… I was just surprised to learn there was a law like that someplace. I don’t think it’s up to the government to legislate.
No problem, Mika. Some states to specifically set an age, others don’t set any age at all. It depens on the individual one.
OK, I phrased it badly, but the point is that each family should decide for themselves what works for them. My family had limited choices and so I was left home alone after school from age 10 on with a Very Scary Dog (LOFL) to protect me. I was a reliable kid who was afraid of her own shadow and so unlikely to do stupid stuff like letting strangers in; I usually hid in the back of the house whenever the doorbell rang. For years my mother was derided (by strangers as well as family members) for the choices she made involving work and family economics; had she been raising her kids today, she’d be a flippin’ hero.
There are plenty of families in which both parents work, or in which there is only one parent to work, and many daycares will not take kids over age 10 or 11. Surely you aren’t suggesting that a/the parent quit his/her job? There are simply times when there is no perfect solution and believe it or not this happens on a weekly basis if you are a parent. Or at least that is my experience as a parent. And I only have one kid. I have no idea how people with multiple children handle things!
I am not all that familiar with SafeKids, but my state says 11 is legal, so we went with 11 with our son. Was it a great solution? No. Was it what was available at that point in our family? Yes. Would I do the same thing if he were the sort of kid who lacked good judgment? No.
I guess I’m just thin-skinned about the past 17 years of people telling me I don’t know what’s best for my own kid. Really? Um, yeah. I think I actually do know. I know that he will be fine if he is fed something besides breast milk in his first 4 weeks, that he’s not too cold/too hot, that he really is able to walk home from school alone, that he truly does NOT have AD(H)D, that he actually is full and doesn’t want any dessert, that he is capable of traveling to Europe at age 11, that he can dress like a freak at an anime convention and still be a “good kid”….
Yes, this is an issue over which I get quite het up because it pisses me off that people who don’t know me or my situation have the gall to tell me they know better!
And finally, if I may quote an authority on this and many other issues: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Or if you need it spelled out: “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment.”
Cat.,
I understand your point. And that may be somewhat ironic, because I’m not a parent who has faced such criticism.
But you’ll recall that the point of this post was that someone who clearly has never spent a moment of genuine work in the media is criticizing those of us who are for what he presumes to be a shoddy job.
I may not have your specific experience, that of being a parent criticized by someone who isn’t, but I can relate to it, by being someone who works in the media and criticized by someone who doesn’t.
And for the most part, that’s the best any of us can hope for, because even a parent will not know exactly what another parent has had to deal with, and what works for one family may be a complete disaster for another.
So either no one gets to express their opinion, or we all do. And because this silly little blog is just about the only part of the world where I’m in control, I’ll choose that we all can, even when you disagree with mine. And as part of the deal, I’ll value your opinion just as much as I value mine, even when you think I’m completely off base, because hearing yours makes me think a little more about why I feel the way I do.
What more should we ask for?
Surely you aren’t suggesting that a/the parent quit his/her job?
Here, with all due respect, your anger is clouding your perception of my intention. You read my comment about wondering why there was no mention of this father’s wherabouts as his his 11-year-old child was home alone as my possibly suggesting that he quit his job.
I would point out that we don’t even know that the proverbial father had a job, do we? He could have been a habitual drinker who, when he wasn’t using that Mossberg to chase after game, was getting sauced at the local saloon.
Because you’re a parent, you rushed to his defense; you gave him the benefit of the doubt, and because I’m not a parent, you assumed the worst about my intention.
To be clear, I wasn’t trying to “judge” him or brand him as a bad parent. I mentioned this point, more than any other reason, because no legitimate news story would be complete without an answer to the question of why an 11-year-old girl was left alone. It might have been little more than a footnote to the story, or it may have been a large element of it, focusing on this man’s struggle to make ends meet at a 60-hour-a-week job he was forced to work after the death of his wife who had no insurance and left the family struggling with a long list of medical bills.
This absence of information was offered, perhaps more subtly than it should have been, as further evidence that the information didn’t come from an “official” source. It’s such an obvious question, in fact, that by not including it, we are forced to assume things we shouldn’t have to assume.
I’d be willing to bet, however, that there isn’t a cop who’d have investigated such a crime scene who, upon finding that child standing among the corpses, wouldn’t have asked the same question.
To put it more simply, I cannot plead guilty to an offense I cannot in good conscience admit to having committed.
Just to be clear, I’m actually not defending this father; I’m only suggesting that there was an implication of his having done something wrong by not being in the house at the time this event supposedly occurred.
“Where’s your dad, kid?” is not the same as “Why isn’t your dad here, kid?”
In the end, though, I do feel a general sense that we’re on the same side here: No one likes to be told how to do a job they are already competently doing by someone who doesn’t necessarily know what they are talking about.
Pax?
Agreed! 🙂
Similar to what you’re talking about, I’ve heard of people who will call a newsroom with some nasty allegation about something (usually a business or politician) and are absolutely outraged when the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t go on the air and report it right away. Of course, those same people are the one who often accuse stations of doing precisely that… reporting a story without checking the facts.
Also, (while I don’t think it’s that relevant to the latchkey issue) I have to agree fundamentaly with Cat. Talk to any parent… there are things about parenting that you can’t possibly appreciate unless you have kids. Just like there are aspects of adulthood that you couldn’t possibly have understood when you were a teenager.
Thank you.
Those chain emails are always the worst bits of garbage that can usually be debunked with about fifteen seconds of internet searching. A co-worker used to send me that junk all the time, and I’d send her back a link to snopes.com or some other website until she finally got the hint. One of the ones I remember was a chain email blasting then Senator Hillary Clinton for refusing to meet with a group of soldiers’ mothers. Turns out the group just showed up at her office when she wasn’t there. When she got back, she got in touch with them and made an appointment.
On the other subject, I was at home alone quite a bit as a child. With both parents working, I would get home from school — the bus would stop right at the bottom of the driveway — and I was supposed to lock myself in the house for a couple of hours until my parents made it home from work. Usually, I would watch TV, do my homework and read. Occasionally I broke the rules and went out and played, but that was rare because I always seemed to get caught by my parents. That whole arrangement started when I was in the second or third grade. And I was not the only one — there were so many of us that they came up with a name for us — “latchkey kids.” Perhaps my parents were neglectful, but I don’t think so. I was pretty responsible for my age and it was a happier, safer time — about four decades ago. I would not recommend or try the same thing today.
Yep, I had the key around my neck all day at school. My parents managed to raise 5 fully productive members of society, none of whom have been arrested, jailed, rehabbed or otherwise burdened society.
I had dozens of latchkey friends, too. I know about the same number, give or take, today. You wouldn’t believe the number of parents who assume their kids will be perfectly safe for 2-4 hours at the library after school, too. OMG–let me say it again: Public libraries are not necessarily safe!! They are public–anyone can come in them!
Isn’t it amazing that parents always managed to stop home unexpectely at the worst possible moment?? 🙂
“If the simple act of being a parent suddenly made every parent a certifiable expert on all things parenting, I might agree.”
Couldn’t agree more, Patrick. If we take that logic to its full extent, we’d have to believe that women can’t raise boys. After all, only fathers have been boys, right?
This is basically the “if you haven’t been there” argument, which is full of holes, yet is offered by people who would like opposing views to fall silent.
It’s prevalent in the abortion debate, for example. I’ve heard people argue that men shouldn’t have an opinion on it because, well, they’re not women! But, strangely, I never hear pro-choice people asking pro-choice men to be quiet. Why? Because they’re fine hearing from someone who agrees with them.
So, in this case, since I’m not a parent, I could agree with Cat’s view, but I should be quiet because I’m not a parent.
It doesn’t work, does it?
I think it’s great that you have an opinion on this. I probably like it more because it meshes with mine, but I think everyone should have opinions. 😀
Here’s an analogy. My husband played high school and college football. My son plays high schoolball. I did not. I know a LOT about football, more than many guys in fact. What I do not know about football is how it feels to play, what sucking wind on a cold, rainy 4th quarter is like, how hard it is to get up after having my bell rung for the 5th time in 10 minutes. That doesn’t preclude me from having opinions about strategy or about how much of a jerk a certain player is on or off the field (naming no names here). But there is a line I try not to cross that is somewhere near the point of calling a guy a wuss (or worse) for not getting up of his back after a hard hit, or of complaining about strategy when I don’t know the field and players’ conditions. I haven’t been there, so while my opinion may count, it can’t possibly be fully informed. It’s not anywhere near as informed as my husband’s. It can’t be as informed as my son’s even though I’m 3 times his age and have watched, literally, hundreds more games than he has. It doesn’t mean I can’t express and opinion and it doesn’t mean I can’t be right (I am, quite often), but it does mean that when the rubber meets the road, I can’t possibly know all the factors involved in playing football.
Need I draw a map?
That position still assumes a few things:
1) that a person experienced in something will make a better decision than a person who is not (really, where is the proof?);
2) that two people experienced in something will agree (after all, wouldn’t that knowledge assume one right answer?);
3) that a person who holds a breadth of knowledge (even second-hand) about something is still less qualified to render a valuable opinion on the subject than someone who has “been there” (how can someone be a cardiologist without having heart trouble?).
So, yeah, maybe draw the map.
Not to be brutal here, but I think you might want to leave the parenting commentary to parents.
Cat., I’m pretty cranky today, myself, so with that said, I’ll politely decline that suggestion. If the simple act of being a parent suddenly made every parent a certifiable expert on all things parenting, I might agree. There’s no end to the number of stories of parents who made lousy choices with regard to taking care of their kids.
But if my inexperience is too much of an obstacle, I would point out that the National SAFEKIDS campaign recommends that no child under the age of 12 be left home alone.
Uhm, people who forward crap like this to me get a link to Snopes in return, assuming I even took the time to read it. Usually, anything prefaced by FW: gets deleted sight unseen.
Minor aside: I was left home alone from age 10 on and I was (and am) fine with that. In the state where I live now 11 is the age at which it is not longer a crime to leave a child alone. Not to be brutal here, but I think you might want to leave the parenting commentary to parents. In any case, 11 year olds are perfectly capable of dialing 911 if there is an emerency. I’m sure some are even able to shoot 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotguns, whatevertheheck those are!
Yes. I am. Still cranky. I think that’s going on my tombstone. 😉
Overall I agree with your sentiments.
Ah HA! I’ve been waiting for two years to see if you’d cover this story on your blog. Glad to see you finally including it on your agenda! 😉
Snopes is oh-so-very-handy for dispelling some of the silly email forwards and old wives tales disseminated over the net and taken as gospel by some.
Right, Chris. It’s so handy, in fact, that it boggles the mind why people can’t take the time to look before they forward!