Update: Rave Raid by Local Newspaper
I've never contributed an article before, but here goes. I am currently on vacation in Utah, and I am very close to where this happened. It is a big issue in the papers. Just not as big as when the president came by, or the brother with a sword getting shot by his brother, or the sewage system flooding 19 houses because someone put a dog in the sewer...but hey, it still makes news. So on with the story.
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Source: The Salt Lake Tribute: UTAH page B2 (#1 local paper)
Author: Connie Coyne (Reader Advocate...whatever that means)
http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_2978214
Edit; link added - Skyline
Rave raid coverage shows incremental story development
A story in Monday's Tribune about a police raid in Utah County on a rave party drew more than 200 e-mails and phone calls from people angry over the report.
One male reader sent the following e-mail, which was typical of much of the reader response:
" I sent an e-mail to the reporter who wrote the story about the paramilitary-style invasion of the dance party a couple of days ago, and cc'd you. I have not received a response from anyone at the paper, nor have I seen a correction in the paper regarding the story. As I stated in my original e-mail, the lead was inaccurate in stating as fact that the rave was illegal. My understanding is that it was established at the time the story was written that there were illegal activities going on at the rave, but that whether the rave itself was illegal (i.e. had the correct permits) was beign disputed.
" The writer appears to have passed off police allegations as fact, instead of following a basic rule of journalism, which is to note that something is an allegation when it is just that."
Probably the opening paragraph of the Monday story should have read:
"About 60 people were arrested Saturday night when police officers busted what they said was an illegal rave in Spanish Fork Canyon."
Police in Utah County still maintain they believe the rave was illegal because, although the promoter had a mass gathering permit from the Utah County Health Department, he did not have a mass gathering permit from the county that requires a bond and the approval of the County Commission.
Now let's get to the "about the paramilitary-style invasion of the dance party" section of the e-mail. Police departments are paramilitary organizations - especially a special weapons and tactics (SWAT) unit. Any police raid on a large gathering of people is going to resemble to a certain extent a military raid.
Finally, let's talk about putting together a story - on a Sunday - about a police raid that occurred late Saturday night. Unless one has a tape of the raid - which several of the local TV stations and The Tribune ultimately obatined - there is only one source to rely on for initial reports: the paperwork filed by the law enforcement officers who made the raid. That is the source used by reported Michael Westley for the first story that appeared on Monday.
Both Brent Israelsen and Sheila McCann, the editors who supervise the cops and courts news desk, concur that digging up such information on a Sunday often is a tall order. Neither of them felt the Monday story warranted a correction.
Executive Editor Tom Baden agreed, but he stressed that readers critical of the story had raised an important point: It's the responsibility of The Tribune, or any newspaper, to vigorously check information from the police - no matter when an incident occurs.
On Tuesday, The Tribune did just that, publishing a follow-up story in which several people who attended the rave said that police used excessive force in the raid.
Partygoers interviewed for the Tuesday story said that officers beat people to the ground, used weapons to intimidate the crowd and used excessive profanity in ordering the crowd to leave. All of those allegations were denied in the Tuesday story by one of the officers at the raid who reviewed amateur videotapes of the raid.
Teens as young as 16 were arrested during the raid, according to police.
The bottom line to all of this discussion is this: Many news stories are incremental and develop over a number of days as reporters have better access to information and to more sources of comment. The difference between the Monday and Tuesday stories illustrates the incremental nature.
The Tribune will continue to cover news on weekends to the best of reporters' and editors' abilities. If initial stories on Sundays or mondays require follow-up stories with more information and nuance, then those stories will also be gathered.
This Week's Stats
200 Complaints about "rave raid" story.