Sometimes “unhappy” just doesn’t express how a reader feels about the way The Post and Courier handled something.
This Summerville reader, for instance, wasn’t just “unhappy” that The Post and Courier reported on toxicology reports that indicated Fort Dorchester Coach John Bagwell crashed his car while driving intoxicated and died as a result:
“Apparently it’s escaped your notice that young people are starving for role models. Otherwise, why did you blithely destroy a local hero like John Bagwell? What possible reason could you have had for printing that completely uncalled-for slam against a dead man and his grieving family? It added nothing valuable to public knowledge.
“What it did do was reveal you to be the scandal-mongering, profit-obsessed lowlifes you are. Stick to okra recipes and profiles about used-car salesmen, because you’ve clearly not evolved far enough up the food chain to attempt responsible journalism.”
She was not just “unhappy,” and several others shared her feelings.
John Bagwell, whose death we reported on the front page Jan. 1, was part of a much-loved, prominent family and was popular and respected in his own right as a coach and a role model for youth.
His death was news — tragic news.
In the Jan. 1 story, community members were quoted about John Bagwell’s popularity, about his prowess as a coach and athlete, and about his admirable character.
Three days later, Ken Burger’s sports column dealt with John Bagwell and the impact coaches can have on young people simply by the way they live their lives.
Several readers would like for The Post and Courier to have stopped right there. The story, however, was not complete. It could not be completed until police received the results of toxicology reports as they investigated the accident.
Those results, revealed last week, were dramatic. Bagwell’s blood alcohol level was .26 percent. The legal limit is .1 percent. The Post and Courier reported the results in the same place they reported the beginning of the story — on the front page.
Editors gave serious consideration to the story and agreed that to have ignored the report would have been shortchanging readers information about a community standout. They disagreed with the perception that at least some readers had that the information was of no value to the community.
I agree with the editors. The information was distressing to Bagwell’s family, to his friends and to people who never laid eyes on him but wanted things to be otherwise. Children loved Bagwell and emulated him.
School officials have put it well. They are using this information as a teaching tool for students. Bagwell’s death might well go a long way to convincing them not to drive while drunk.
My sense is that readers will value Bagwell’s life and lessons even if he made a fatal mistake. We all make mistakes. Some of us are fortunate enough not to die as a result.
What about the charge that the newspaper destroyed John Bagwell? The newspaper only reported the truth. And it is unlikely that revealing Bagwell’s fatal error in judgment could destroy what he accomplished as a person.
At the time of his death, there were reports that Bagwell might have been under the influence of alcohol. Several readers suggested The Post and Courier was covering that up by not reporting it. Actually, it was the responsible thing to do to wait until conclusive information was available.
It is very difficult for a newspaper to handle a tragic death such as John Bagwell’s without touching some nerves. It is good that readers complain when they are offended. Sometimes, as in the case of John Bagwell, hard feelings are difficult to avoid. Reader reaction, however, keeps the newspaper staff alert to the sensibilities of its readership.
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Several other readers were disappointed that an altogether different kind of car story did not appear in last Saturday’s paper. Car Talk, a routine feature in the Automotive section, is popular with readers whether they are car buffs or not.
In the syndicated column, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, also known as Click and Clack, answer reader questions about their automobiles. Sometimes answers are unorthodox, and usually they are amusing.
Jim Parker, automotive writer, said there was simply not enough space in that day’s Automotive section to accommodate the column. He will continue to make an effort to include it as often as possible.
The same thing happened Tuesday with the weekly running column written by The Post and Courier’s David Quick. The column ran Wednesday instead.
Readers have also asked why they often see the same syndicated column in another newspaper with more (or less) in it. The answer, again, has to do with space available. Editors here and at other newspapers have to edit and sometimes trim columns and stories so that they fit in the space available.
