Over 25 years ago my neighbor and I were sitting at my kitchen table, playing Scrabble and just chitchatting like we often did. I'll never forget one particular conversation that began with her statement: “So you're seeking the death penalty.”
I was stunned. I didn't believe in the death penalty, even when my husband's killer was convicted of premeditated murder, and even though the killer stated very specifically that he wasn't sorry for what he did. I was confused about why she would say that.
She read it in the paper.
Find out what's happening in Montvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to her the newspaper stated that the family was seeking the death penalty. That was partially true as my family was pretty split on the issue, but that part wasn't reported. Because the press reported that the family was seeking the death penalty, in her mind I was seeking the death penalty too.
Even when I told her I wasn't.
Find out what's happening in Montvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The press is a powerful medium, more powerful, I think, than most of us realize. If it's in print (or today online) it becomes the truth in readers' minds even when most stories contain many “shades of gray” that are simply too complicated to include in a typical news story. Those shades of gray are what provide context: facts, opinions, motives, values, circumstances.
Today's unfettered blog responses to news articles exacerbate this phenomenon but that's a topic for a different day.
People are complicated, and any story that includes people is more complicated than what is printed.
