Crandon, Part I

In her first posting about the tragedy that occurred in Crandon Sunday, McBride takes MSJ to task for printing the names of the victims before they were released by the authorities. She states that this is "VERY wrong" due to the risk of the families finding out this way. While she would be correct under normal circumstances, and there have been documented cases in which it was the reporter who ended up being the one to notify the family of a tragic death, it could be argued in this case that MSJ wasn't that far out of line in this story.

The MSJ report wasn't filed until late that night, and it was reported that the names came from families and friends. This shows that the families were aware and were identifying their loved ones. Secondly, perhaps McBride forgot what living in a small town is like, but the news travels much faster informally than through official conduits, so it is likely that the family was already aware of what occurred, long before the paper or even law enforcement knew the identities.