THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 15, 1995 TAG: 9509150003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Regarding Charlise Lyles' ``Disparity of news coverage is right there in black and white'' (column, Sept. 7):
While no less tragic, murder in Portsmouth's black community is an all-too-commonplace occurrence. Can you imagine the macabre reputation the paper would earn by giving murder front-page space every week?
Ms. Lyles points out the newspaper's lack of coverage as a problem, but any writer knows that commonplace events, no matter how horrible, are not nearly as newsworthy as rare or unexpected happenings.
Though her intentions are undoubtedly good, consider the impact if Ms. Lyles dedicated her efforts to reporting on the easy accessibility of heroin and cocaine on Deep Creek Boulevard or the necessity for families to educate children in a way that they may grow to live peacefully with all of the community.
The murders that occur in Portsmouth's black community are horrible and, as I said, all too frequent, but that very frequency makes the deaths less newsworthy.
Charlise Lyles could aid the Portsmouth community by offering suggestions for ways to enhance safety instead of criticizing the newspaper. I hope she will use her God-given gifts for better purposes. The entire community, black and white, will be indebted to her.
STEPHEN D. REEL
Portsmouth, Sept. 9, 1995 by CNB