Sometimes even good intentions fall flat

By Karen Woodmansee

Appeal Staff Writer

One aspect of a reporter's job that many don't understand is why we print stories that might hurt someone, especially if it turns out that person didn't really do anything wrong.

Well, it depends on the situation.

Reporters and editors regularly get tips from people - workers, bosses, residents, students, teachers, parents and oftentimes crackpots - alleging wrongdoing of one kind or another. Many of these tips are anonymous.

We try and check them out for the most part, unless it's something like "the CIA put a microchip in my butt and are monitoring my every move."

It's not uncommon to come to work and have a voice mail or e-mail alleging someone in authority did something untoward or illegal. We don't write a story unless we can verify the allegation through action in court, or at an open meeting, or if there is an official report to law enforcement.

That was the case when I got a tip that Virginia City High School principal Patrick Beckwith had asked five members of the girls basketball team to reverse their shirts so that they could play defense during an Intercession basketball class.

The tipster used some strong language to describe the incident, and also made some unseemly comparisons. The tip included the information that a police report was filed, so the first thing I did to check out the tip was to contact the Storey County Sheriff's Office, where Lt. Chris Parsons told me a father had filed a report, but not an official complaint, because his daughter had been embarrassed changing her shirt around with the principal in the gym.

After talking to Parsons, I contacted Beckwith, who was out of his office. I left a voice mail for him and then called Storey County School Superintendent Rob Slaby, who declined comment on what was essentially a personnel matter.

Beckwith called me back and gave his side of the incident, which was that he took over the class when the teacher, regular coach Patti Brouhard, was ill, and wanted the girls to play against each other.

He was in the room when the girls took off their jerseys, but was careful to avert his eyes. The girls wore sports bras under their jerseys, which cover a lot more than what I used to wear. I was told that although a video camera was in the room it was intended to discourage theft or vandalism, was located above the door to the gym, and showed the whole room, rather than focusing on one thing. He also said that the tapes automatically erased.

He said no parent or student had complained to him, and that his relationship with the students was not tense or damaged in any way.

I included all of the above in my story, except the sports bra. I didn't think it was necessary to question a teenage girl about what she was wearing under her shirt, as it would only embarrass her. I also didn't name the father, or any of the players, to spare them any further discomfort.

I made sure to put Beckwith's comments at the top of the story, with Parsons' description of the report at the bottom, because I know many people don't read the entire story.

The whole thing seemed rather harmless to me. I thought the only thing the principal maybe should have done differently was have the girls change in the locker room.

So why write a story at all?

Because rumors don't go away easily, they just get spread wider and get nastier and nastier if not refuted. And rumors left unrefuted can stick forever. The tip on my voice mail was not the first I'd heard of the incident, and some of the comments were getting ugly. Also, another newspaper had already mentioned the report, without interviewing the principal or the deputy, and conclusions were already being jumped to.

It was important to allow the principal to explain the situation, which he did, I thought very effectively.

For the most part, the reaction I got to the story was "much ado about nothing," which was the impression I had of the whole incident.

I later learned the Beckwith family was hurt by the story and some of the less-than-charitable comments made by anonymous posters on the Appeal Web site, and I'm sorry about that. It was not my intent. The principal has always been professional in his dealings with me and I tried to be fair to him.

Maybe I failed, but I believe in the long run they would have been hurt much worse if the whisperings were left to fester. Even something innocent swept under the rug looks like a pile of dirt until the rug is pulled up to show there's nothing there.

On Thursday, Parsons confirmed that the investigation has been closed.

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 881-7351.