Most people think the news media is too graphic already. We are accused of sensationalizing stories; showing disturbing images or blurting out lurid details most don't want to hear. My job is to not only protect KFBK's 90-year news reputation and brand and keep my station within FCC regulations, but honor my own journalistic integrity and ethics as well.
Each week I get emails from the U.S. Attorney's Office or Sacramento District Attorney's Office reporting a person arrested for having child pornography on his or her computer or this man or woman convicted of molesting a boy or girl. Unfortunately, these stories are so routine most of them don't get on the air unless there are extenuating circumstances such as when the brave little girl testified against her attacker because she didn't want him to hurt anyone else.
But we at KFBK decided to take different action after discussing the Penn State child rape case in the newsroom. Many people did not know the horrifying details. They did not know how sordidly these poor boys were abused. We decided to publicly report details of one of the child rapes contained in the Grand Jury transcripts that are available for public view. But we pledged to give a full warning to our listening audience.
The segment between KFBK anchorwoman Kitty O'Neal and John Lobertini at 5:40 p.m. last Thursday was compelling radio. The on-air discussions with Kitty and KFBK's Kelly Brothers and Rob McAllister that day were just as passionate as we, at KFBK, serving as a collective voice for our community, tried to comprehend how such horrific events could occur and why no one stepped forward to protect children.
We felt it was in the best public interest to let you know just how bad it was. This was not touching and fondling. This was allegations of a man, a coach, a mentor, sodomizing a 10-year-old boy in the shower which was witnessed by a graduate student, now an assistant coach at Penn State, per the Grand Jury transcript, which I have read in full.
Our purpose in letting you know was one part inform, the other part to horrify so hopefully you will be moved to take action if you ever suspect or witness abuse or, just as important, to talk to your children about child predators.
Life can be brutal. Life can be hell. But you can't take action or right a wrong if you don't know about it.
"All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing," Edmund Burke. Circa 1790.
More than 300 years later, let us not let this happen again.
