Day 2

Another day, another story to get right. Our first reporter who discovered the bottle of gasoline did some great investigative reporting, but screwed up on many fronts in her conduct. The information she gathered shouldn’t be used. She crossed over police tape and a No Trespassing sign to get her evidence, which was already illegal enough, but then she didn’t tell the police what she had found, stealing evidence from the scene. It would be impossible and irresponsible to go to press with her information, since we would be keeping vital evidence away from the police in their case to use for our own benefit.

Good thinking on the photographer’s part, but we will not do anything with the photograph right now. Keep it on file in case the boy is charged or considered a suspect, but we will not print anything until we are certain he has a hand in this case. All signs seem to point to Jake Mahoney, we can all agree about that, but until he has been considered a suspect or charged with anything by the police, we shouldn’t run anything about him. We got his name as a suspect off the record from a police officer, but that was exactly what it was- off the record. We are not going to break ties that we have with the police for a fact that has only been confirmed off the record. We will be patient.

What we will use for this coverage are the quotes from Sally’s husband, Bob (without the ones about how he will kill Jake Mahoney) about his wife and how he is not sure if she is going to make it. The reporter who talked to the Red Cross should use that information to write a story on the families who have been displaced because of the fire. This would make an interesting, touching piece, and will suffice for now, since our information is still a little shaky. In the main story, we will mention that the fire is being investigated as an arson (not naming names) and offer a number for people to call with anymore information on the fire. If the police know more, then we will know more.

I am concerned that my reporters will want to jump the gun and print something before it is ready so we will have a good story. While I’m all for breaking news first, I think there are a lot of risks that are being taken in this case, such as stealing the bottle of gasoline, and printing the name of a minor who has not officially been considered a suspect. These kinds of things can get our paper in a lot of trouble. Bottom line: We’re holding the story until it’s confirmed that we can go ahead. Other than that, we have to be patient, and wait it out.