It was a story people said they wanted to read. Victims of the Cedar fire asked for it; readers e-mailed The San Diego Union-Tribune. They asked when the newspaper was going to do a story about Sergio Martinez, the West Covina man who, after becoming lost while on his first hunting trip, is suspected of triggering the Cedar fire, California’s biggest wildfire. More than 2,200 homes in San Diego County were destroyed by the fire that last October took 15 lives and burned nearly 274,000 acres.
A story about Martinez, only the 11th (out of nearly 450 on the Cedar fire) to mention his name, appeared Jan. 18, nearly three months after the fire started. The front-page article spawned a handful of e-mails to the Union-Tribune from readers who were vehement in their criticism. They said they thought the story was unfair to Martinez who in October was given a misdemeanor citation for setting an unauthorized fire in Cleveland National Forest. As the story explained, the investigation is ongoing.
One reader accused the newspaper of engaging in a witch hunt. Another questioned whether the interests of ethical journalism were served by the story. Yet another criticized the story for what appeared to be character assault.
Reporters set out to find out everything they could about Martinez and to talk to people who knew him. While there were some anonymous but positive quotations from friends about Martinez, much of the story hinged on public records. Martinez’s financial woes were detailed. Court records were cited about his run-ins with the law. Martinez refused to talk to Union-Tribune reporters who, instead, spoke to his attorney who also is his cousin. The story also quoted forestry officials from transcripts, including those who interviewed Martinez and his hunting companion. The hunting companion, according to the story, could not be reached for an interview.
Editors insist, and I agree, that the newspaper had an obligation to tell this story. Early on, authorities identified Martinez as the pivotal figure in the largest wildfire in the state. Thousands were left homeless. And 15 people died. Alex Roth, one of the reporters whose name appeared on the story, called Martinez a historical figure.
When Martinez was spotted by a sheriff’s helicopter pilot, smoke and flames were seen not far from where he was standing. But, whether he set the fire on purpose or somehow triggered the blaze accidentally has not been determined, and he has not said. The story made that amply clear. It also explained that a person who sets a fire in a national forest could face criminal charges, but proving it “is notoriously difficult.”
Yet, I share some concerns about the tone of the story when it comes to some of the descriptions of Martinez. I have no quarrel with the factual information. For example, the story said Martinez lives with his parents. That is fact. It is not a judgment. But saying the home is in a working class neighborhood is judgmental.
The references that bother me include calling him a high school wrestler of “moderate talent” without attribution; saying that he made “unspectacular grades” that turned out to be a B average. To some, maintaining a B average may translate into spectacular.
The story also made references to his weight, a factor John Cannon, the assistant metro editor who edited the story said was “a critical element;” it played a role in what happened on that hot October day. That was established through quotations taken from transcripts of statements made by dispatchers at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. As the story said, Martinez became separated from his friend and was stranded in the blistering sun for hours. “One of the dispatchers described Martinez as ‘dehydrated and out of his mind,’ ” the story said. When a dispatcher was asked how the fire started, another dispatcher replied: “Lost hunter. Big overweight hunter, gets sick, gets dehydrated. He’s lost, he sets the fire because he’s lost and he wants someone to find him.”
Yet it was a reference to his weight deep into the story, in the 33rd paragraph of 53 paragraphs, that bothered me the most. It said: “After high school, Martinez’s physique began to balloon. His wrestling weight in high school was 135 pounds; today he looks at least 100 pounds heavier.”
The story could have made the same statement without saying his weight ballooned. Martinez’s weight in high school could have been cited and the story let quotations from forestry officials speak about how difficult his current weight made his rescue.
It also seems to me that it would have been better to qualify a statement early on that said no charges had been filed against him. At that point, it would have been appropriate to say a citation had been issued, especially for people who were reading about Martinez for the first time. The story said it, but much later.
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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.
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