Nicholas' Blog Entry #4

Chapter 11-Compassion, Privacy, and Ordinary Citizens
The news stories that I wanted to examine for chapter 11 involve new stories on the Middlebury student Nicholas Garza from this winter. Nicholas Garza Story By: Eva Sollberger (Seven Days) is a great example of “Compassion, Privacy, and Ordinary Citizens. Eva wrote a couple of really informative compassionate articles and videos about Nick Garza when he was missing. When reading this chapter and deciding which articles to write about this one came right to mind.

In reading this chapter a couple of things stuck out to me:
“These two incidents (outlined in the chapter) highlight the basic questions of this chapter: How do you handle the privacy of ordinary people who get drawn into the news? What is the role of compassion in the demands of daily journalism?”

Although many journalists and newspaper reporters think compassion shouldn’t be involved in reporting Eva did to a certain extent. She was respectful, well informed, kind, and set the tone in her videos and articles about Nick Garza. Back when this was a headline, I remember thinking about her compassion and how thoughtful her coverage was. Times like these call for sensitive, tasteful reactions and reporting from the media and I think Eva did just that.

“It wasn’t clear at that stage what kind of missing person’s case this was. For starters, who was Nick Garza? To his parents, Natalie and Demetrius, Nick was beyond exceptional. He was smart, handsome, talented and caring, and he seemed to possess a degree of self-control unusual in someone his age. But to someone who didn’t know him, Nick Garza could have been just another Middlebury freshman, probably away from home for the first time, who got himself into trouble he couldn’t handle.”

The chapter goes on about what the majority of journalists and newspaper reporters think about compassion. It brings about the term “objectivity” and whether or not compassion conflicts with this notion.

“Many journalists, especially newspaper reporters, shun the notion of compassion. They believe compassion runs counter to objective reporting, which most reporters try to practice despite widespread doubts as to whether it’s achievable or even desirable.” (Smith 213-14)

When ABC aired a segment linking Nick Garza and a 23 year-old Wall Street broker that had been seen drinking 20 martinis before he went missing titled, “Two Missing Men Are Likely Buried in Snow: Intoxication Plus Exposure to Elements Makes for Deadly Combination.” The family felt “stung” after this news story was aired. It is a perfect example of news reporters being uncompassionate. There was really no need to make assumptions and to point out the obvious in this story. With a bit more sensitivity and compassion the story would have been tasteful and actually helped out two ailing families. They did not need to be pushed down further!

“Hanley’s comments, which he reiterated on a subsequent Fox News broadcast, stung Nick’s family. Since arriving from Albuquerque, Natalie, when not with the search team or talking with police, was working the phone and her laptop, gathering knowledge and support from missing-person’s advocates. She hunted for scent-dog handlers and, she admits, so-called “intuitive counselors.” She made contact with an organization that helps maintain awareness of missing-person cases by raising reward money. And, like Tom Hanley, she too was talking to the media. Natalie knew the cable and network news outlets, in particular, love mysterious disappearances. But she soon discovered that the stories with the greatest traction don’t involve missing persons who are victims of their own irresponsibility.”

“Nobody cares about a drunk college student,” Natalie says. “I wanted people’s eyes to be out for Nick, to get some attention. That ABC article hurt very much. I felt like it undermined everything I was trying to do.”