Media I Don’t Get It
posted by November 9 at 10:07 AM
onWhy is the Seattle Times choosing not to name a mentally ill man who was allegedly scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars by Huling Bros. auto salesmen in 2006?
According to the Times, they’re not naming him “because he is mentally ill and vulnerable.”
Uh, okay. I can sort of understand that—but it seems far more appropriate in, say, a stalking or rape case, where the victim is actually vulnerable to being victimized again. That seems pretty unlikely in this case, given that all the alleged perpetrators are no longer in a position to victimize him. More to the point, his name has already been widely publicized—here and here and here and here and here and here.
Holier-than-thou much, Seattle Times?
Comments
Big whoop.
Yeah, why don't they put his picture on the front page with a big "Rob This Man, He's a Nutter" headline?
If you solve today's Jumble, his name is spelled out in the circled letters.
@ECB, When this story first broke awhile back the Times mentioned that the victim was put into a mental hospital. He may still be hospitalized at this point so the chances of him being victimized again are slim. Well, I am sure the hospital will screw him over..
And you better by telling everyone where to find his name? Holier than thou much?
Criticizing Seattle Times for their policy toward anonymity?
Lame. But you knew that, didn't you? I hope so, anyway.
Well I'd think they don't say the name of rape victims so they can avoid the stigma attached to being one. I'd say the same goes for the mentally ill.
Not like once someone finds out that a girl has been raped they're going to try to get her again.
Erica - Shut up.
Quit bitching about the Times.
CHRIST! We know you hate EVERYTHING. We know you're better than EVERYONE.
We get it.
Let it go.
Holier-than-thou much, Seattle Times?
Pot calling the kettle black jesus, who's more holier than thou than ECB?
The Duke accuser's name was semi-public knowledge before newspapers decided print it - were they wrong for choosing to exercise taste and leave it out?
Additionally, I suppose that any other scammers that may inhabit the greater Seattle area would no doubt exercise restraint and not seize potential opportunity to further take advantage of the mentally ill guy upon learning his identity. Cuz, y'know, they're just classy like that.
Don't worry, they'll publish his street address next week.
"CHRIST! We know you hate EVERYTHING. We know you're better than EVERYONE.
We get it.
Let it go."
This pretty much summarizes how I've been feeling about The Stranger in general, lately. It's really frustrating, actually.
Haven't they fired you yet?
So true @12. I'm so fed up with the Stranger I haven't picked it up in months. And the slog is the same shit every day so I hardly even read it anymore.
Erica, no matter how much you bitch about the Times, they will always recognized as a real newspaper and the Stranger will always be the goofy little weekly that the hipster kids read.
More folks are interested in "Drunk of the Week" than anything you have to say.
I love Drunk of the Week and wish there were more of them - like Drunk of the Day ...
Sure, maybe all the perps aren't currently in a position to abuse him, but who knows about what some other predatory knucklehead will decide to do?
It seems like ECB has a vendetta going against people who don't hold much power (thinking back to her slog about "objectionable" people riding the bus).
And printing his name would serve ... what? Face it, "ECB", you're so bitter toward the grown-up papers, you'd be pissed off if they HAD ran the victim's name.
Forget about him being victimised again. More to the point is, because he was victimised the first time and reported it to the police, we all know he was covered in, and living in, his own feces. I don't WANT to know his name.
Would people that have stopped reading the paper and Slog please refrain from commenting on the paper and Slog? Thanks.
@19 Why? It bothers you when people point out the Stranger's own hypocracy, backpedaling, duplicity, and perfidy doesn't it? Haw haw haw!
So just because other media print the name of this poor soul, the Times should break its longstanding policy and follow along.
Everyone knows you can find the identity of just about any victim of a much-publicized crime on the Web with a simple search. Doesn't mean everyone else has to drop their standards.
Of course, The Stranger pretty much has no standards.
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