A small but vocal group of readers has made it clear that they feel the Star is printing too much detail in this war against terrorism.
Last week’s calls concerned Monday’s story about Raytheon and its Tomahawk missiles.
The story quoted a Raytheon spokeswoman, and the accompanying graphic was based on readily available techical information from Raytheon’s Web site and the Department of Defense.
Legitimate news to me.
Readers disagreed.
“Living down here in the middle of ‘nowhere’ seemed relatively safe – until today’s local news reporters announced that Raytheon produced all 50 of the missiles that were dropped on Afghanistan. I suppose potential terrorists are already aware of the role of Raytheon. But the reminder will not help me sleep better at night,” wrote one.
From another: “I was surprised and appalled that your newspaper would announce to the whole world where the attack missiles came from. My husband and several friends work there, and now fear that since the terrorists now know the source of the weapons, they could plot against Raytheon.
“What a shame to lose a great father and grandfather because you announced he makes missiles.”
Said a WWII vet: “The Raytheon story tells the terrorists where to hit next. There’s just too much information out there. Can’t anyone keep his mouth shut?”
Others were more pointed: “Monday’s Raytheon story paints a red bull’s-eye on Tucson.”
And from another reader, “It’s putting us in a terrible position and in harm’s way.”
Yet another: “You’re giving more ammunition to the enemy.”
And finally: “Your article was done at the time the government has warned the country to observe extra security against terrorist attacks. Good timing on your part! If the agents of the Taliban were unaware that the Tomahawks were made here, they probably will know it now and could be preparing a retaliatory strike.
“During World War II there were posters everywhere warning that ‘Loose Lips Sink Ships.’ That same motto applies today about giving out information that could bring on terrorist attacks!”
A common newsroom response to callers was if terrorists can learn to fly an airplane, they can certainly learn how to use the World Wide Web. A “Raytheon AND Tomahawk” search finds 1,720 sites on the Internet, with pictures and technical information.
Two other stories last month brought similar response.
Readers called about a Sept. 21 story detailing Southern Arizona’s military arsenal and its role in any conflict. “Living so close to the border, how could the Star reveal such information?” one reader asked.
The second story was about past security breaches at Tucson International Airport. Readers called the Star’s Sept. 22 story “all but a how-to” for future hijackers. “It encourages terrorists and tells them that it’s easy to do. And it scares the bejesus out of passengers,” said one.
What Star reporters are writing about isn’t secret. Sources are named. Stories are meant to explain, not to inflame. Editors strive for a fair and balanced report.
All of that is of no consequence to the reader who was outraged by Wednesday’s A1 story on Osama bin Laden’s response to U.S. retaliation.
“I think that it’s really inappropriate for you to be printing verbatim the al-Qaida statements from the propagandists in Afghanistan. It’s really disturbing to have these calls to action printed in our local newspaper,” he said.
He continued: “Why should we be balanced? There’s no need to be fair in wartime. Just print a picture of that smoking heap in New York. This was despicable. We don’t need to know their side of the story.”
The Star, however, believes that our readers do need to know “their side of the story” in order to give our readers a full picture. Editor and Publisher Jane Amari says the Star will continue to decide on a story-by-story basis whether to run statements by terrorists.
“It is generally more useful to our readers to use synopses of statements in the context of an explanatory story,” she says. “But if we believe printing a translation of a statement is important, we will do that.”
* Debbie Kornmiller, the Star’s reader advocate, wants to hear from you weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Call, fax, e-mail or write: 434-4080 Fax: 573-4107 advocate@azstarnet.com
P.O. Box 26807 Tucson, AZ 85726
