On the face of it, the story was accurate. But the family of a woman identified by the California Highway Patrol as the cause of an accident is furious. They have a right to be.
Although the article reflected information released by the CHP, it had two paragraphs at the end that colored the story and could have led inattentive readers to the wrong conclusion. The Sept. 4 Union-Tribune article described an accident on Labor Day evening on Interstate 15 as a five-vehicle pileup. It said three people were hospitalized, including the woman CHP said “was thought to have been the wrong-way driver” who caused the crash.
At the end of the story, after seven paragraphs detailing the chain-reaction crash, came two paragraphs 68 words that caused additional pain to a family already distraught because a mother, wife, daughter and sister was hospitalized in critical condition with head trauma and other injuries.
“Meanwhile,” the paragraphs in question began, “the number of drunken drivers arrested on San Diego County roadways under the CHP’s jurisdiction fell from 131 during Labor Day weekend in 2001 to 108 in 2002.”
Good news? Perhaps. But the statistics didn’t belong in the story. The information wasn’t relevant to the accident that left Karyn Graham, 24, identified by the CHP as the wrong-way driver, fighting for her life. As the CHP put it in a Sept. 3 press release, “it is unknown at this time why Graham was traveling (the) wrong way on the freeway.” Graham began coming out of a medically induced coma on Friday.
“I am outraged by your insinuation that my sister was drunk,” Navy Lt. Kevin P. Schultz wrote in an e-mail to the reporter whose name was on the story. However, it turned out the information was added by an editor who thought it should have been included. Later, however, he acknowledged, it could have been in a separate story.
It should have been.
“You never stated outright that she was drunk,” Schultz wrote the reporter, “but you insinuated it by transitioning directly from your description of the accident to statistics of drunk driving.
“My sister is a devout Christian, and she does not drink alcohol.” He described her as “a loving wife and mother of three children. She left home to return a rental movie and buy some diapers. It was supposed to be a quick trip to the store. She has lived and worked nearby the scene of the accident for years, and she is very familiar with the area.”
Including the drunk driving statistics was a form of journalese gone wrong. It is not uncommon for the CHP to release drunk driving statistics after three-day holidays such as Labor Day. While the information was relevant to the holiday just passed, it had nothing to do with the Interstate 15 accident.
Such information is appropriate in stories about Labor Day accidents if alcohol is directly involved. Including the drunk driving statistics in this case was inappropriate. A separate story, however brief, should have been written.
On Sept. 11, the world was reminded of the true definition of heroism. It was in the actions of firefighters, police officers, passengers and crew on United Flight 93, and others who lost or risked their lives so others might live.
On Thursday, Union-Tribune sports columnists Nick Canepa acknowledged the real heroes who were honored on Wednesday are “not the ones in pinstripes and $250 sneakers.” Can-
epa said sports figures are not heroes. “Hero should never appear in this newspaper or anywhere when referring to them, unless they do something truly heroic, and hitting a walk-off home run or throwing the winning touchdown pass or hitting the three-point shot doesn’t cut it.”
Canepa is right. Journalists, especially, should recognize that heroism doesn’t come with a paycheck or with Hollywood glamour. It comes with sacrifice, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice.
Of course, hero has more than one definition. No one I know of quarrels when the word is used correctly in its various definitions, only when it is used to describe someone who doesn’t deserve the honor. Hero shouldn’t be cheapened by applying it to people who do not deserve it.
Canepa’s column should come as a wake-up call to his colleagues. On Monday, two days before the anniversary of Sept. 11, the word hero was used three times in the Sports pages.
Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619) 293-1525. Send e-mail to:
readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
