Last week we got word about the death of a Mira Costa High School student. We were soon on the phone with school district and police officials. After getting details of the incident, we decided not to run anything. Here's why -
From police reporter Larry Altman:
A reader asked me Tuesday why the Daily Breeze did not cover the March 10 death of a Mira Costa High School student from Redondo Beach. Another local online media outlet did, although the story did not state how the student died.
Obviously, the sudden death of a 17-year-old boy has affected the Mira Costa student body. Principal Julie Ruisinger e-mailed parents about the boy's death and made counselors available to grieving students and faculty. She did not say how he died."At the present, we have very limited information," Ruisinger wrote.
Although I have information from police and the coroner's office about what happened, I didn't write a story because this teen committed suicide at home. The Daily Breeze doesn't have a rigid policy, but our general practice is to not cover suicides that occur privately.
Sometimes we do publish stories about private suicides in the paper. Many years ago, a Torrance teenager killed himself within days of leading his Little League team to a national victory. I covered the story and even went to the funeral. The story unfortunately brought pain to his family.
I've been thinking about this latest death. There's a part of me that thinks I should write a story because of the impact his loss has had on campus. And there's definitely a story behind why someone so young would take such an action.
But so far, we'll stick to the practice of leaving it alone.
This respect for the family's privacy is understandable and should be commended.
Clearly this is a tragedy and my thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and students a MCHS. The reporting or, in this case, not reporting must have been difficult but to error on the side of privacy for the family is commendable.
I have known Larry Altman for years and have only known him to act responsibly and honorably. Good job Daily Breeze for allowing the family to mourn out of the public eye.
I applaud the Breeze for not publishing the story about the student's death. Too often the media is so intent on getting a scoop that they don't wait to get all the facts or consider the feelings of the family.
/George