Thread: The Oregonian's response to my email re: Dani Countryman

I guess it is safe to say that Jessica Bruder of the Oregonian did not agree with me. Below is their email response.

Not even a "dear so and so" at the beginning of the email.

----------------------------

If you've been following the Oregonian's ongoing coverage of this case,
you'll know this was only one story in a series that has already
explored just about every other angle you address: the murderers, their
illegal status, the senseless and vicious nature of their crime.

These stories include:
Jails vary in checks on inmate citizenship:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/sto ... xml&coll=7
Suspect stepped on girl's neck, police say:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/sto ... xml&coll=7
Cousins charged in strangling of teen:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/sto ... xml&coll=7
And my earlier story: Texas teen's death leaves grief, officials
looking for answers:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/sto ... xml&coll=7

Letting the brutal manner of Dani's death gloss over the brutality of
her daily life would not be a service to the truth, nor would it be a
service to the thousands of children in our community who are quietly
neglected and forced to grow up to quickly, without the love and support
that should be each child's birthright.

This poor girl deserved to have a better life while she was living it,
and the tragedy of her death doesn't erase that one bit, to my mind.

But thanks for your comments.

Jessica Bruder

Here was my original email to her. She never did answer the question why she wouldn't use the word illegal in her article.


Dear Ms. Bruder,

I just read your article, "Dani's death: the darkness wins."
What do you mean the darkness wins?


The article spent 99% of the wording trashing this poor teenager as if she deserved this gruesome crime. I thought that journalists are supposed to be precise and accurate. Where in the article does it state that the 2 perpetrators were here illegally? If our immigration laws had been enforced, she would be alive today. Maybe that is what you should focus your next article on.

I have never read an article about such a gruesome crime, and the entire article puts down the deceased and the deceased's family.

A very upset reader.

This is the same reply I received! I guess she got quite a few emails...so now I'll write to the editor of the paper.

Letting the brutal manner of Dani's death gloss over the brutality of her daily life would not be a service to the truth, nor would it be a
service to the thousands of children in our community who are quietly
neglected and forced to grow up to quickly, without the love and support
that should be each child's birthright

If this is the point she was trying to get across, then the article was very poorly written and should have been saved for a much later(and more appropiate) date

heh, I got the same response from her.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=77677

same things here.
lots of replies just say thank you for the comments

bttt

Sounds like this reporter's mind is closed. Maybe you tried this already, but is there an ombudsman or readers advocate you can complain to at the paper? I would also hammer her with letters to the editor.