It’s been a rough week.
When there’s a fatal crash, it’s always a dark day — for the drivers involved, for their families, for first responders, for law enforcement — and for us at the Star Herald.
It’s hard to report sad news about local families, and it’s even harder to do that work under a barrage of social media criticism.
“Shame on you for posting those pictures,” one wrote about the wrecked vehicles.
“Is the paper that hard up for news that they had to post this right away?”
“Your decision to publish graphic photos before the victim was even laid to rest is not just disappointing; it’s heartbreaking.”
Many said we should have waited a “respectful period of time” before reporting it, and many implied that we don’t care “who we hurt in the pursuit of news.”
We’re here to say that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Our news team has a combined 60 years of experience, and we are no strangers to criticism for missteps, perceived or otherwise.
We have thick skin, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care.
We are lifelong residents of the communities we cover.
We care.
Especially about the drivers and their families involved in the March 27 crash in Rock County.
We and our families have deep local ties with both drivers and their families.
And it was with heavy hearts that we covered the tragedy in our paper.
We deciphered law enforcement crash reports. When discrepancies were spotted, we asked more questions and quickly updated the crash report online.
Our hearts grew heavier Tuesday morning when charges were filed against the young man who survived. It became a crash story and a crime story. Both have impact in a small community.
And we care about this.
Which is why we made sure the information was accurate and timely.
Not for online clicks and newsstand sales, but because it’s our job.
In a world of immediate social media information, it’s easy to forget the Star Herald isn’t just another social media commenter.
We are guided by professional protocols and ethics.
And while it’s hard to see bad news in our community newspaper, we are a newspaper. We sometimes share bad news … in a timely manner.
Not “after a victim has been laid to rest” and not “after a respectable time for the family to grieve.”
Sad news doesn’t get less sad if it is reported later. It is still sad.
And reporting it in a timely manner doesn’t mean we don’t care about the families involved.
The March 27 crash happened on a very busy State Highway 23, and it closed both lanes of traffic while emergency responders worked at the scene.
Social media posts of the crash had already begun circulating that night, and when the sheriff and Minnesota State Patrol released information the next morning, we passed it along.
When we spotted discrepancies in reports, we contacted authorities and updated information promptly.
When images of the wrecked vehicles became available, we shared them also.
Were they distressing?
Yes. Fatal crashes are distressing, and mangled vehicles tell the story.
Was it unethical to share them? No. Not by any measure of journalistic standards.
Does it mean we don’t care? No. Definitely no.
Our hearts ache for the Crawford family who lost a husband, father, son, brother, nephew, cousin … and more. Much more.
And our hearts ache for the Delfs family, whose son, brother, nephew, cousin … now carries the weight of criminal charges and the knowledge that his actions took a life.
Yes, it’s hard to share news like this. It’s hard to read news like this.
Life is hard.
And it’s our job to do the hard work of recording these life stories — good and bad — in the Star Herald every week.
We are who we are. Good and bad.
And we care about the impacts of that news on our community either way.
