COLUMN By MIKAYLA FRANKLIN fhspress.com Editor-in-Chief Posted January 22, 2013

As people, we are born curious. We want to know everything that's going on, everywhere, at any given time. Reporters have to be curious in order to get the story that their audience is striving for. However, there are boundaries that need to stay in place at all costs.

Ian Bolger writes an article on a student band. Photo by Hannah Bucher.

A lot of reporters have come under fire during recent events. Phrases like 'if it bleeds, it leads' have been used to describe the mentality of a news reporter. Though I believe that the saying is untrue, there are occasions when news correspondents will go too far in order to get information for their next big headline. There are some events where it is extremely disrespectful to pry. With severe tragedies, for example, reporters should beware. Trying to get an interview with someone who is obviously in severe emotional or physical pain shouldn't be a priority.

In our upcoming fhspress.com newspaper, there will be an article concerning an incident in which a student was expelled. The situation is very serious and in no way a laughing matter. However, getting the word out is what the newspaper is all about. In order to protect the privacy of the student or students involved, we are not planning on using any names.

Human compassion should come before a big article any day. There is a place and time for media, and there should never be a time that it is profiting on the pain of others. Our job is to get the word out, and leave no questions unanswered, while keeping boundaries solid. As long as these boundaries are set, online and printed media should be around for a long, long time.

mikayla.franklin@fhspress.com

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