Story not intended as critique of band decision
What I have learned in 27 years in this business is that, you can’t always gauge how a story will be received.
The age of the internet has only compounded my befuddlement in that regard.
On Wednesday, a ride accident at the Ohio State Fair killed one man and severely injured several other people. The tragic and rare nature of the incident, coupled with graphic videos of the mishap, made the story gain national attention.
Because local people visit the state fair, the newsroom at the Journal-Tribune decided to localize the story by delivering an angle relevant to area residents.
Because the Union County Fair is also underway, our first thought was that we could look at the steps local officials take to ensure local rides are safe. We also wanted to ask if there was any concern about that the incident could impact local fair attendance.
Then Wednesday night we also learned that the Marysville High School Band directors had decided to cancel a Thursday trip to perform in the daily parade at the state fair. I know this because my daughter is in the band and I received the email from band directors.
We used this email in the story and quoted the reasoning behind the cancelation – “In light of the horrible tragedy that occurred on the Midway, we feel that it is best to cancel this year, especially since we don’t know if the fair will even be open tomorrow.”
In our daily Facebook post we noted the story and sought input from local citizens – “The Marysville High School marching band canceled its appearance at the Ohio State Fair in light of yesterday’s accident. What do you think about the marching band’s decision?”
And at this point I learned that you can never completely anticipate perception.
Respondents accused the newspaper of casting the decision in a negative light. Basically saying the story implied that the directors made a poor decision and we highlighted it to sell newspapers.
I can only assume the online commenters did not read the story and gathered their assumptions from the one sentence posted on the Facebook page, because the story presented nothing but facts.
The story simply detailed the cancellation and backed it up with a quote about the reasoning for the decision. I’m not sure why some felt this gave the band program a black eye. Personally, I felt the decision was timely and appropriate.
I’m a lifelong resident of this town, a local taxpayer, an MHS graduate and the parent of a current flutist in the band. It was my decision to include the band information in the story and it was made with no intended malice.
-Chad Williamson is the managing editor of the Journal-Tribune.