Our View: The media’s poor coverage is hurting Moscow 

By this point everyone on campus has seen them. Reporters and sleuths alike coming into our community, trying to get the story. Folks like Nancy Grace setting up her show outside of the King Road house.  

We have seen a lot of terrible reporting and sleuthing on these tragic homicides that have shaken our community to the core. Reporting and sleuthing that not only doesn’t do a good job of informing people but also reporting that actively hurts everyone in Moscow.  

To start, a lot of the national reporters have done a poor job at covering these events. For them it is just another homicide they cover. They will move on and not have to deal with the fallout of this. For all of us in Moscow, this has changed our lives. It will take a long time to feel “normal” again. 

Although national reporters may not have a connection to Moscow, and none of them will have to deal with the fallout, local and state reporters, especially UI alum, will.  

Lauren Paterson, a UI alum, works with Northwest Public Broadcasting and Spokane Public Radio. She lives in Moscow but works in Pullman.  

“I have never covered a story like this, with so many national news outlets absolutely descending on the Palouse and sleuthing all over town,” Paterson said. “It felt weird at first, like I was getting scooped essentially, in my own town, at my alma mater.” 

The Society of Professional Journalist has a code of ethics for all journalists. This helps journalists keep themselves and their choices ethical. 

With NWPB being the local NPR member station, Paterson is held to the highest ethical standards. 

“Because I’m a reporter for Public Broadcasting, we have the highest ethical standards,” she said. “I was committed to only getting the information out to our community that was vetted, and I feel like that was especially important because there were so many rumors swirling around.” 

Alexandra Duggan is another UI alum that works for KTVB down in Boise. She spent time back up at her alma mater to report on the murders and arrest of Bryan Kohberger. 

“Understanding the community and understanding the school is definitely needed before reporting on such a horrific tragedy like this one,” Duggan said. “Being an alum from U of I put me in a different headspace because the community and the school is really a part of my identity.” 

Like Paterson, Duggan was dedicated to making sure that she reported on just the facts.  

“You have to be very careful about what you throw at the wall,” Duggan said. “Just because it grabs somebody’s attention doesn’t mean it’s always the right thing to report on.” 

One of the most recent examples of poor reporting and ethical choices came from a story in People Magazine. This entire story is based on an anonymous source, something that the SPJ code of ethics warns about. In the “Seek Truth and Report It” section, the code reads “Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.” 

While there are times where you do need to use an anonymous source, as a journalist, you really want to try to avoid it. Reading through this story, they only identify this person as an “investigative source.” This kind of reporting just feeds into the true crime sleuths on the internet. 

All of these self-proclaimed detectives online who have obsessed with the homicides of four of our peers are just as harmful as this poor reporting. People on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram spread unconfirmed rumors and speculation that hurts everyone here.  

Before the arrest of Bryan Kohberger, it wasn’t uncommon for these sleuths to theorize about who the murderer was. As it turns out, they were all wrong. This led to a UI professor to sue one of these sleuths who accused them of being the suspect. 

“I was trying to stay away from all of the stuff swirling online because that’s not what’s going on, that’s just people trying to find out what’s going on,” Paterson said. “Instead of reading and scrolling online, through TikTok or on Instagram, I was out in the community. I was talking with the Public Information Officer for Moscow PD or going to Cathy Mabbutt’s office.” 

While national outlets were knocking on doors, jumping out of bushes or trying to get into the dorms at the end of winter break, some of the local reporters were trying to approach students with as much respect and empathy as possible.  

“When I was talking to people, they were much more inclined to talk to me because I was a student there,” Duggan said. “But then again, it doesn’t make it better. A reporter coming up to you, asking you how you feel about these tragic murders in your town, and the fact that the reporter is a University of Idaho alum, doesn’t help take the pain away, it doesn’t make anything better.” 

When it comes to reporting, ethics need to be the number one priority. Apologizing for getting something wrong doesn’t take back the damage that getting something wrong causes. Reporting on Reddit and TikTok rumors may get clicks, but they don’t help a grieving community, campus or family.  

On top of a lack of ethics, many national outlets lacked empathy when speaking with students and community members.  

“You can’t be a robot,” Duggan said. “A lot of people just wanted to come and vent. A lot of times, I was just that person they vented to. It really wasn’t about getting their statement, it was about ‘how can I help you; how can I listen.’” 

Countless national outlets and internet sleuths got so many things wrong when it came to this case. None of the pain, or problems they caused, can be taken back.  

The Editorial Board can be reached at [email protected]