Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Front Page Quandry In the local paper yesterday, two articles regarding the same vehicular death, Knobs band leader kills trooper and self , appeared. Both articles were on the front page of two of the paper's section. The state trooper's was in the main section of the paper,while his killer's, via vehicular homicide,was in the local section. As a point of reference, the Knobs are, or were, a local Delaware r&r band founded by the DUI driver.
Not a good day to be the editor of The News Journal. Here was one person with a wife (via the high school sweetheart path), two kids, and a recent promotion, i.e., a young guy with his future pointing upwards, killed performing his duty as a police officer. On the other side was a guy with the patented musician's hard luck story who'd already clipped a woman 8-10 minutes earlier on his inebriated last tour, concluding his downward spiral by taking someone's life.
How much importance do you attach to these seperate lives now entwined in mutual deaths? I agree that Cpl Christopher Shea's, the state trooper, story be on the front page. It's fair and it concerns the victim of the accident. Having Philip Healy, the Knobs' leader's story in the paper that same day AND on the front page of the second section of the paper was a bit much. Perhaps waiting a few days and then tucking it on the back page of the local section would have been more appropriate. In the piece on Healy, there were the usual comments made by the friends as to what a great guy he was....how kind he was..how gentle...Give me a f'ing break! He was drunk enough to have two car accidents within 10 minutes. And this was at 2:00 in the morning when traffic is light! My heart goes out to Officer Shea's family. Healy's family, on the other hand, will have to deal with the shame of his damaging departure and the anguish it has unnecessarily caused. The News Journal? Another op for a blood-sucking article.
Not a good day to be the editor of The News Journal. Here was one person with a wife (via the high school sweetheart path), two kids, and a recent promotion, i.e., a young guy with his future pointing upwards, killed performing his duty as a police officer. On the other side was a guy with the patented musician's hard luck story who'd already clipped a woman 8-10 minutes earlier on his inebriated last tour, concluding his downward spiral by taking someone's life.
How much importance do you attach to these seperate lives now entwined in mutual deaths? I agree that Cpl Christopher Shea's, the state trooper, story be on the front page. It's fair and it concerns the victim of the accident. Having Philip Healy, the Knobs' leader's story in the paper that same day AND on the front page of the second section of the paper was a bit much. Perhaps waiting a few days and then tucking it on the back page of the local section would have been more appropriate. In the piece on Healy, there were the usual comments made by the friends as to what a great guy he was....how kind he was..how gentle...Give me a f'ing break! He was drunk enough to have two car accidents within 10 minutes. And this was at 2:00 in the morning when traffic is light! My heart goes out to Officer Shea's family. Healy's family, on the other hand, will have to deal with the shame of his damaging departure and the anguish it has unnecessarily caused. The News Journal? Another op for a blood-sucking article.
Comments:
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I agree to a point...the officer's death is more tragic and heartbreaking than that of the drunk driver....However, placing shame on whats left of Healy's family (I believe his mom and one of his siblings passed away) is unfair and misguided.
I agree to a point...the officer's death is more tragic and heartbreaking than that of the drunk driver....However, placing shame on whats left of Healy's family (I believe his mom and one of his siblings passed away) is unfair and misguided.
What could be more clear? A whole state along with family, friends and law enforcement across the country are mourning the loss of an amazing husband, father, brother, police officer, and friend, and the News Journal is concerned about selling papers. Two lives are lost, yes, but one was of a completely innocent person who only sought to do the right thing, all the time. While I am certain that Mr. Healy's family is sad for their loss, it does not change the fact that he is a murderer nonetheless. He may have been a seemingly great guy, but it would appear that an all-around good guy would be more considerate in making decisions that affect more than merely himself. The News Journal made a bad choice by trying to paint a fair picture--this was not a fair incident. There aren't two sides to this story--Healy was having a great night and was too drunk to give a damn.
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