Jonathan Flah, self-described “dedicated subscriber to your newspaper,” left a phone message last week saying he was “very concerned and extremely upset that in the May 9 Neighborhood Post on the front page is ‘Look ma, no hands.’ ” That was the heading above a photo with a Wellington dateline whose caption stated:
“Ricky Mendez (on the pavement, left) laughs while his friend Nick Bruckner (right) can’t bear to watch as Zach Breakey flies his skateboard over them during an ‘ollie over two people’ maneuver. The 11-year-old boys are fifth-graders at New Horizons Elementary School and were among a group of about 20 kids with skateboards, scooters and bikes who gathered in front of Tiger Shark Cove Park for some after-school fun.” Mr. Flah was disappointed there was no warning “stating that ‘This is not a cool thing to do kids, this is wrong.’ This makes me think that the Neighborhood Post is doing exactly what the TV show Jackass is doing.”
Mr. Flah added he had already had a conversation with Tom Peeling, the suburban editor, “and he doesn’t think there is anything wrong with this and isn’t aware at all of the TV show Jackass. That in itself scares the heck out of me. . . . This really concerns me that The Post thinks that this is OK, or at least I should say Mr. Peeling feels that this is cool and this is just regular old news.”
Not all readers are familiar with Neighborhood Post, the special community news section that appears Wednesdays in both the home delivery and rack-sale editions of The Palm Beach Post. There are eight Neighborhood Post editions, from Delray Beach to Jupiter/Tequesta. The first four sections have been published for 16 months now; the other four started eight months ago. “Readers seem to love the localized community news, so the sections have been very popular,” Mr. Peeling said.
Mr. Peeling also said he understands Mr. Flah’s concern. “As a parent, I wouldn’t want either of my boys trying such a stunt,” he said. “But it’s not our job in the news columns to lecture to parents or kids about what they should or shouldn’t do. We present snippets of everyday life, which is what this photograph captured. I’ll bet there are a lot of parents of kids with skateboards who have no idea that their kids might try such a stunt. Hopefully this photo will call it to their attention and they will talk to their kids about it and explain the dangers involved.”
Both have points. I agree with Mr. Flah that the photo was “a little scary.” I agree with what he said when we spoke: “I understand that news is news, but I just think it’s a good idea to say this isn’t cool.” I can recall suggesting in the past that editors in some cases include a “kids, don’t try this at home” caveat. There is justifiable concern among editors, however, about introducing the element of opinion in what should be a straightforward presentation of facts as was provided in this case.
As for that TV program, I too, had hardly a clue about it. It took a check of the paper’s library to remind me that Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts had described it as “the MTV stunt show that has plumbed new depths in poop humor,” and Richard Roeper of The Chicago Sun-Times had called it “the most disgusting, tasteless and pathetic show in the history of television – or at least since the middle of January.”
Frankly, I dislike giving such a program the further publicity that goes with mentioning it. As I understand it, the star submits to humiliating stunts. That’s nothing like what these 11-year-olds were doing, so for me the allusion to the show was a real stretch. In this case, the youngster who was watching and laughing as his friend tried the skateboard jump wasn’t being a jackass; like his buddies, he was just being a kid. Mr. Flah was more on point in saying that working in a reference to the potential for injury would have reflected the kind of conscientious editing he feels the caption deserved.
