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By David Brauer | Published Mon, Jul 26 2010 1:10 pm
Here's your latest chance to play "So You Want to Be a News Director?"
Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Cottage Grove 14-year-old Angela Tschida was missing, and had possibly run away with a 37-year-old convicted sex offender her mom had dated.
Nearly every media outlet ran with the story and ran Angela's picture. Normally, you'd take great care with names and photos of a kid, but that call was perfectly reasonable given the girlhunt.
But now that Angela has been found, do you keep running her picture? As one journalist asked me, "Doesn't that possibly subject her to further and unnecessary attention?"
Newspapers and TV have split on this question, at least where web versions are concerned. The Pioneer Press and Star Tribune aren't running the photo; all four network TV stations are. (Her image is the top story on KARE11's site at the moment. Can't find anything at all at MPR.) What would you do?
(Update: The Strib ran the photo in Tuesday's print edition.)
Argument against running the photo: the need to show Angela's face has passed; treat her like you would any other minor.
Argument for: cat's out of the bag; her photo's been everywhere. Even if you wanted to protect the girl, her photo will pop up for any moron with a Google Search.
Follow-up question: now that she has been found, do you stop reporting her name? Same two arguments apply.
I'm in the no photo (starting ... now) camp. Don't see how you can avoid printing the name, given its relatively prominence and necessity in identifying the evolving story.
Assents, demurrals welcome.
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