Article called detrimental,
violation of journalistic ethics

To the Editor:

Dear Patrick Yost,
Small-town newspapers play a vital role in the communities they serve. Reporting the news in a fair and objective way is a difficult balancing act in close-knit communities where relationships may span generations and passions run deep. A small-town newspaper editor must report what is newsworthy without bias and, most certainly, without sensationalism.
The financial bottom line is important to keep newspapers in the homes and on the newsstands each week, but NEVER to the detriment of the people of the community.
The recent article in the Morgan County Citizen violated every code of ethics a journalist should follow. Your article was clearly written to sell newspapers and is yellow journalism at its worst.
Our community deserves better. The Wilkins family certainly should have been treated with compassion, not condemnation. They are suffering a loss we would never wish on any one, and your newspaper inflicted more pain with your irresponsible reporting.
Shame on you.

Anne Ponder Young
Madison
Via e-mail

Writer is “shocked at lack of compassion” of paper, 
thanks Ben Carter for text that ran in last week’s edition

To the Editor:

I want to thank Ben Carter for the full-page article he printed in the paper last week. It was well-said and stated the comments that should have been reported in the beginning. Mark is my brother and I have witnessed the sadness and hurt that the local paper has caused his family. The paper had plenty of time before being released to contact the Wilkins family for their statement. I too agree and was shocked at the lack of compassion that our local paper showed during this difficult time. I also have never written to the newspaper before, but found it appalling that a local paper that knows the family would report this way.

Darla Pennington
Madison
Hand-delivered

Printed in the May 17, 2012 edition.