This is the latest in our ongoing series of “Reflections” — essays and podcasts in which our student journalists discuss the lessons they’re learning as they cover Durham, including the county courthouse.
In this piece, Lilly Clark asks provocative questions about the news media’s role in covering people who have had dealings with the legal system: Just because information is in the public record, do journalists need to share it? What’s the fallout when reporters don’t follow up on a courthouse story? When should an editor unpublish an article on their website? In essence, she wonders, when it comes to courts reporting, do journalists do more harm than good?
Lilly’s thoughtful essay is the second in our Reflections series. The first was this wonderfully written essay by reporter Grace Abels about how much she learned about herself from her Pride Month interview of Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry.
These pieces are made possible thanks to a generous grant from The Purpose Project, a collaboration of the Kenan Institute for Ethics and Duke Divinity.
You can follow our Reflections essays and podcasts by following us on Twitter, subscribing to our newsletter, or by periodically checking for them on our website.
– STEPHEN BUCKLEY