Furst Draft

Notes for KTTC spot today

Since I believe my notes are typo-free (except for punctuation...), here's what I teased on TV a short time ago:

good morning -- glad it's hump day, but you know, during holiday weeks like this, hump day just means you're running out of time to get the work done -- among the chores on our list is to make sure we have all the memorial day observances in the paper -- we'll make a downpayment on that today -- we have a few dozen events listed in today's paper and we'll have an updated, hopefully complete list in on saturday

the jobless rate in olmsted county dropped to 4.3 percent in april, the lowest in more than three years -- goodhue, mower and winona counties also reported their lowest levels in more than three years -- the overall rate in the region is 4.8 percent, compared with 5.2 percent

20 years after joining the rochester police force, sgt. eli umpierre is about to achieve another milestone -- she'll become the department's first female lieutenant -- she's promoted on may 31, one of nine on the force, and it's the third highest rank in the dept. -- congratulations to her

and on the front page, we'll have a remembrance of a guy a lot of you may have seen over the years, especially if you travel on center street -- he'd sit in a folding chair in front of his house at 11th avenue northeast and center and just have a pleasant wave for passersby -- he was know to friends at johnny, the can man -- johnny passed away last week, we'll tell you his story today.

More on oil patch hours and income

Today's Answer Man column already yielded this email comment from a guy named Jon C. Thanks for passing it along, A-Man.

Dear Answer Man –
 
I worked for Halliburton Energy Services in Rock Springs, WY in a business development position.  Before entering the sales force, I was required to spend 18 months in the field on the rigs to gain experience and respect of my fellow co-workers and the company men who represent the gas and oil company leasing the land where the drilling is taking place.  On many occasions I worked over 140 hours in a single week on certain jobs.  In some instances you arrive on site and the crew from another company had to finish their work before you could start your job, sometimes they would run into trouble and you were left to sleep, eat, read or twiddle your thumbs in the front seat of a truck until they were finished.  Once I spent 3 days and nights in the front seat of a ford f450 waiting to start our work, and then our job would take sometimes upwards of 12 hours.  I got paid the second I left the gate of our headquarters until I returned.  So our work took a few hours, but I was on site for 3 days which means I just got paid for 72+ hours, plus 2-3 hour drive time back to base.  Of course on the way back to base, we had to stop to eat a warm meal, and the drivers of the big rigs couldn’t drive drowsy (company rules) so of course we stopped to nap a few hours after eating, then finally head in.  All the while you are getting paid.   So the 240 hours in a 2 week period is not unheard of.  You also have to take into consideration overtime and per diem.  You get paid tremendously well for breakfast, lunch and dinner if you were out in the field.  With that said, it is rough work, long hours and very difficult to maintain a personal life or have any family time.  I know many people who have left because of the difficulty balancing work and life, but find the money too irresistible to give up so they end up going back.  
 
 
 
 

Personal to anonymous critic

To the anonymous writer of a letter that I, as well as the publisher, received this week.

I typed it in and was planning to respond but changed my mind. I have thick skin, but the inaccurate and offensive comments made about Rachel Ehmke's death and our coverage are insensitive to others and are only revealing about the author -- and you chose not to identify yourself.

Just guessing, but maybe you called me last week and went down the same path of blaming and name-calling. That anonymous female caller (an adult), in the end, revealed her connection to the Ehmke bullying case, which explained some things.

In any case, the one point I'll address is this:

(By the way, you claim to welcome dialogue and yet you disabled the comment section of the Furst Draft blog. I presume it was so that you could have the final word, end of discussion).

Sincerely,

A concerned citizen

For the record, the comment feature is not disabled. A few months ago, we decided to pre-approve comments because, as always, some people abuse the feature -- abuse the anonymity -- and post comments that are offensive, vulgar, libelous or defamatory.

We do welcome comments, and most are approved quickly. Try me.

 

Coverage of teen deaths is intended to help, not hurt

Here's an early draft of my column for Thursday:

A 13-year-old rural Mantorville girl took her own life on April 29 and we put that story on the front page. A week later, a 17-year-old Century High School boy committed suicide and that story didn't run on the front page.

Why the difference?

That's a fair question. Two readers pointed out that the Mantorville girl was white and the Rochester student was black; another reader noted that the latter was self-identified as gay. Those readers wanted to know if the deaths received a different level of attention because of race and sexual orientation.

They didn't. In fact, we discussed the race and sexual orientation issues at each turn as the latter story developed, since perceptions of this kind matter, as well as the reported facts.

But our overriding concern in covering the suicide death of Century student Jay'Corey Jones just a week after the highly publicized suicide death of Rachel Ehmke was to not hype or over-do the news of another teen suicide. Typically, we don't cover suicide deaths at all, as I mentioned in a column last week. There's a long-standing media policy, based on research as well as common sense, that reporting on suicide deaths, especially in a prominent or graphic way, can endanger others who are dealing with mental illness or psychological issues.

The issue that took the Rachel Ehmke story to the front page was that her parents said that bullying was a factor in her suicide death -- as the Dodge County sheriff's investigation later said, it was a "likely factor" in her death. At a time when parents and children everywhere say bullying is out of control, we've reported on dozens of anti-bullying programs and events in our area, and Gov. Mark Dayton has a task force to develop an action plan for dealing with bullying, that made it front page news, in my judgment.

Rachel's story led the front page on May 1, and on May 2, we published a front-page editorial, along with a news story that said the Dodge County Sheriff's Office was investigating. The latter was an important development in the case, and one way in which the Kasson story differed from the Rochester story.

The Jay'Corey Jones tragedy occurred late on Sunday, May 5. We learned of it Monday morning but didn't have enough facts to run a brief. On Tuesday, May 7, we had a full story on how he died and how schools were responding, but despite a lot of effort hadn't talked yet with Jay'Corey's father. We were able to talk with him for the full story that ran on Wednesday, May 8, in which he said bullying related to Jay'Corey's sexual orientation played a "big part" in what he described as his son's depression and suicide.

That story might have gone to the front page, though it was three days after Jay'Corey's death, but we thought it was better on an inside page, with the concerns raised about the intense media coverage that already had occurred.

From everything I've read recently and have learned over the years, I completely get that we in the media have to be exceedingly sensitive to coverage of suicide deaths. Every time we report on it, we're obligated to explain how complex suicide deaths are -- they generally involve emotional and psychological issues that go beyond one cause or factor.

Other guidelines for media include not describing the cause of death in graphic detail, avoiding dramatic headlines and photos, and providing as much information as possible about warning signs and treatment.

We've done our best to get the news out -- including the news about bullying, or what I think is more accurately called harassment -- while acknowledging the vital role we can play in helping others to avoid tragedy.

The deaths of Rachel and Jay'Corey are just two of the suicide deaths that have occurred this year in our region. In Olmsted County, about 15-20 deaths by suicide occur each year; Dodge County has about three. There's more we can do to help, and not hurt, with our coverage of this mental health issue, and we're making plans to do that.

We're just as committed to doing everything we can to call attention to the bullying and harassment that has become a major problem in schools, and to push for action to stop it. Our reporting makes it clear that Rachel and Jay'Corey experienced bullying and harassment, and again, as the Dodge County authorities say, it was a likely factor in Rachel's death.

According to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, "While bullying doesn’t cause suicide, a stressful environment and persistent, emotional victimization can increase a person’s risk of suicide. Together, we can create awareness about the dangers of bullying." The toll-free number for Lifeline is 1-800-273- TALK (8255).

Bullying and harassment of children in schools, or anywhere else, is unacceptable. No child should be afraid to go to school because they'll be taunted, pushed or punched, ganged up on, have their locker vandalized, called obscene names on Facebook or in text messages, or harassed in any way. No adult should stand by and do nothing. Just as we in the news media can have a positive impact on suicide prevention, we can aggressively report on harassment in schools and what's being done to stop it.

On Tuesday, May 29, the next Post-Bulletin Dialogues meeting will deal with what's being done, or not done, to deal with bullying. I'll be joined by several people who are working on the issue, including Vangie Castro, youth programs education manager for the Diversity Council and a member of the governor's task force, and Danielle Borgerson-Nesvold of the Austin-based organization Community Against Bullying.

The informal community meeting at John Marshall High School will begin at 6:30 p.m., and I for one can't wait.

Two last items, if you care about this issue.

See the movie "Bully," now showing at the Galaxy 14 theaters in Rochester, and consider attending the vigil and walk from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Mill Pond in Austin. The movie is a tough, heart-breaking look at how lives are changed by bullying, and the latter is a way to do something about it.

Update on Weekend edition changes

After the changes in our color comics and Total TV over the weekend, I expected a few calls such as this one, and wasn't disappointed:

Your damn TV guide gets worse all the time, now you don't even list Saturday evening in the damn thing. If you're not going to put out a decent TV guide, why don't you just forget it altogether, dumb-asses!

I wish I could put the voice mail recording here so you can hear the snarling anger in the guy's voice. Of course, he didn't identify himself or leave a number, and his phone doesn't allow caller i.d. -- standard practice for calls of this kind.

I had two other voice mails from readers who couldn't find the Saturday TV listings, which now run in the Life/Weekend section (F2 Saturday), and two emails as well. Not bad, considering all the changes we made Saturday, but we'll keep listening.

'Bully' opens in Rochester

Got this note today regarding coverage of bullying...I'm going to ask Caryn if she can write a similar column for us. The movie will be shown at the Galaxy 14 theaters in Rochester, beginning today...more on that in a second:

It’s great to see your coverage of bullying. I’m forwarding the link to an op-ed piece I wrote for the Pioneer Press, which mentions some resources that might be useful for your community. 

Best,

Caryn

Caryn Sullivan
Contributing Columnist, St. Paul Pioneer Press Opinion Page
http://www.carynsullivanscribe.com

Here are details on the movie, from today's edition:

The much-discussed documentary "Bully" starts today at Wehrenberg Theater in Rochester.

According to the website Eventful, "filmmaker Lee Hirsch examines five cases of youths who endure vicious persecution at the hands of their peers."

• One goes to reform school after threatening youths who tormented her for years.

• Cameras record another as he's beaten and teased on the bus.

• A star athlete is ostracized and worse after she comes out as lesbian.

• Two boys, ages 17 and 12, commit suicide to escape torture.

Eventful says the movie is rated PG for intense material involving kids and strong language.

Wehrenberg reports show times Friday to Sunday are 11:45 a.m., 2:10 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 9 p.m. On Monday through Thursday, the show times are the same except there's no 11:45 a.m. showing.

The film might play longer than a week, depending on attendance.

Bullying task force in Mankato on Monday

Here's a release for the Mankato "listening post" event coming up. I've invited the co-chairs of the governor's task force, or other officials from the group, to join us for the P-B Dialogues event on May 29.

Bullying Prevention Task Force to Hold Listening Session in Mankato

Members of the Governor’s Task Force for the Prevention of Bullying are convening listening sessions across the state to hear from Minnesota students, educators and community members on the issue of bullying and school climate. On Monday, May 14, a listening session will be held in Mankato. This will be the fourth listening session held by the task force.
The Mankato listening session will be convened by Task Force Co-Chairs Julie Herzog and Walter Roberts, and members Willie Bridges and Thomas Scott. The listening session will take place at South Central Community College and will offer student, parents, educators and community members an opportunity to weigh in.

Created through executive order by Governor Dayton, the task force is comprised of 15 members charged with examining best practices and policies that currently exist to prevent bullying. The panel is further tasked with providing future recommendations to the Governor and the legislature on this subject. The listening sessions will provide the opportunity for stakeholders to provide information and insight to task force members that will inform the group’s final recommendations to Governor Dayton and the legislature.

Members of the taskforce include the Commissioners of the Department of Education, the Department of Human Rights and members of the legislature. Governor Dayton also appointed additional members with experience or expertise in psychology, education, pediatrics and anti-bullying advocacy.

What: Governor’s Task Force for the Prevention of Bullying Listening Sessions
Who: Task Force Co-Chairs Julie Herzog and Walter Roberts, and members Willie Bridges and Thomas Scott
When: Monday, May 14, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: South Central Community College, 1920 Lee Boulevard, North Mankato, MN

###

A research paper I need to find

This presumably is the Yale report regarding bullying and suicide:

Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2008 Apr-Jun;20(2):133-54.

Bullying and suicide. A review.

Kim YS, Leventhal B.

Source

Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. young-shin.kim@yale.edu

Abstract

Being a victim or perpetrator of school bullying, the most common type of school violence, has been frequently associated with a broad spectrum of behavioral, emotional, and social problems. Suicide is third leading cause of mortality in children and adolescent in the United States of America and around the world. This paper provides a systematic review of the previous 37 studies conducted in children and adolescents from communities, as well as in special populations that examined the association between bullying experiences and suicide, with an emphasis on the strengths and limitations of the study designs. Despite methodological and other differences and limitations, it is increasingly clear that any participation in bullying increases the risk of suicidal ideations and/or behaviors in a broad spectrum of youth.

Does bullying contribute to suicide?

Does bullying -- what's better described as harassment -- lead to suicide?

Two national suicide prevention advocates, responding to our coverage of the Rachel Ehmke tragedy in Kasson-Mantorville last week (and now the Jay'Corey Jones tragedy in Rochester as well), tell me it doesn't, more or less.

I don't buy it.

First, here's the email trail. On Monday, I received this:

Dear Mr. Furst,
 
Thank you for your recent reporting regarding the tragic death of Rachel Ehmke.  Bullying and suicide are both serious public health problems, and we need to do so much more to stop them.  However, the relationship between bullying and suicide is not necessarily a relationship of direct cause and effect.  Suicide, and what leads one individual to it, is highly complex and almost always the result of many factors.
 
We are very concerned that this narrative, which is being repeated in almost every news report, that bullying leads to suicide, is inadvertently contributing to more suicides.  We are in a sense telling bullied kids everywhere that suicide is a rational solution to their abuse and this can be a very dangerous message for vulnerable youth.
 
I would like propose that the Post Bulletin delve deeper into this complex issue of youth suicide.  Every day, we lose 10-12 youths and young adults to suicide.  Some may have been bullied, an equal number were the bullies, but most have never been bullied at all.
 
I hope that our organization can facilitate a larger conversation about suicide so that together we can work towards prevention.  In the meantime, please refer to the media recommendations for safe media reporting about suicide at www.afsp.org/media.
 
Sincerely,
 
Wylie G. Tene
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Public Relations Manager
212-363-3500 ext. 2024
wtene@afsp.org

Agreed, "the relationship between bullying and suicide is not necessarily a relationship of direct cause and effect." I couldn't agree more that "suicide, and what leads one individual to it, is highly complex and almost always the result of many factors."

Our reporting on Ehmke's suicide death on April 29 has included that at every turn.

Here's my response to Tene:

Thanks for the note. Typically we don't cover suicide deaths at all, as my column on Wednesday noted. In this case, where the allegation that bullying was a contributing factor was made public, we thought it was important to handle it differently. We've tried to be explicit about suicide being immensely complicated and that it's generally about more than a single cause or factor. We'll certainly be doing more on this in coming days, and I'll add your note to my blog.
Thanks again,
Jay

Tene then sent this email after the death Sunday of Jay'Corey Jones, the 17-year-old Century High School student who took his own life; his father said that bullying, related to his son's sexual orientation, played "a big part" in his death.

Dear Mr. Furst,
 
We are gravely concerned that this most recent apparent suicide that was just reported in the Post Bulletin, could be directly related to the amount of media coverage given to the death of Rachel Ehmke.  As you know, this phenomenon is called suicide contagion.  Contagion occurs when a death receives much media coverage, and that media coverage is given high prominence and duration.  I would strongly encourage the Post Bulletin and all local media outlets to again review the media recommendations for safe reporting at www.afsp.org/media.  The last thing we all would want is to contribute to a third or fourth or more deaths.
 
It would be recommended to avoid reporting about the individual deaths all together, not even reference them.  And instead (if you feel you must report about this), to report about effective prevention programs, suicide warning signs, how parents can talk to their kids, what schools can be doing and what helpful resources are available in the community.  I realize that the last thing journalists want to hear is advice on how to do their jobs, but kids’ lives are in jeopardy – this is not overstated.
 
AFSP has a toolkit for schools on how to respond after a suicide.  We also have a teen depression education program for teens and school personnel that local schools can begin to use immediately to inform their students about this issue.  You can learn about both programs here - www.afsp.org/schools.
 
Sincerely,
 
Wylie G. Tene
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Public Relations Manager
212-363-3500 ext. 2024
wtene@afsp.org

Aside from being offended at the immediate linkage of the two cases and the "grave concern" about our responsibility, I responded:

Hi, Wylie -- we've very aware of the guidelines at AFSP (and other suicide prevention information) and generally agree with it, generally report these incidents in briefer form. We're concerned about the copy-cat impact of coverage. That said, the death that occurred Sunday night was in a very public place and could not go unreported, and unless a family member or friend of the young man who died Sunday night says there's some connection to media coverage of what happened last week, your linking of the two is guesswork.

Because we're much closer to the reporting here than you can be, I assure you we're doing our best to be responsible and to not over-do the coverage of this news.

We'll have a story in Wednesday's edition that offers fuller backgrounder on suicide, warning signs, impact of coverage, etc.

Thanks for your concern,
Jay

On Tuesday, I heard from another suicide prevention advocate, Daniel Reidenberg, managing director of the National Council for Suicide Prevention. Here's his note:

Good afternoon Mr. Furst,
 
Thank you for your efforts to try and raise awareness of the issue of suicide.  There is a clear need for media to do that responsibly and accurately regardless of the circumstances, and most importantly as a prevention story rather than in response to a tragic loss of life.
 
I am the Executive Director of SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education), a Minneapolis based national nonprofit working to prevent suicide.  I am also the Managing Director of the National Council for Suicide Prevention and the US Representative to the International Association for Suicide Prevention and I sit on the International Association’s Media Task Force.
 
I have read some of what has been reported on your website and while I am appreciative of your stating the complexity of suicide, I am also deeply concerned about the reporting and the over-linking of suicide and bullying.  Research has not (anywhere in the world) demonstrated a causal link between the two, yet readers will glean from the Post Bulletin stories of a connection.  While I feel terrible for the family who recently lost their daughter to suicide, and they can say it was due to bullying, they can’t in fact know that and the research does not support it.  Bullying very well may have been a contributing factor in her death, but bullying itself does not cause a suicide.  It is common and frequent that survivors look for answers, reasons and often someone or something to blame in their grief.  Unfortunately local and national media coverage of suicides and a reported connection to bullying has led to others believing that there is a direct link between them and that when a suicide of a youth has occurred, it is most likely due to bullying or related behaviors.  Sadly, what research from around the world has demonstrated in more than 50 studies is that the media actually plays a real and significant role in suicide contagion.  Recently in our state there has been a lot of this (specifically around suicides on highways and suicides and bullying) and we must do all that we can to stop or minimize the risk of further contagion effects by limiting the reporting on suicides, handling any reporting of them responsibly and based on research not grief or conjecture, and sending a message of hope and help to those struggling.
 
The Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide (www.reportingonsuicide.org) were developed by an international expert task force that included media experts and the Poynter Institute.  I would ask that you review the Recommendations and seek input from experts like myself or Wylie Tene at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (wtene@afsp.org) in writing or publishing future stories.  We would be happy to offer you assistance not to do your job or write your story, but to help minimize the risk that someone sees it and follows already previous tragic losses by suicide.
 
Thank you for reading this and please help us as we do what we can to reduce the risk of further tragedies.
 
 
Daniel J. Reidenberg, Psy.D., FAPA
Executive Director - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
Managing Director - National Council for Suicide Prevention
US Representative - International Association for Suicide Prevention
8120 Penn Ave. S., Suite 470
Bloomington, MN  55431
w)952-946-7998
f)952-829-0841
www.save.org

I responded much as I responded to Tene and invited him to write a guest column on the issue. I also would ask for more information on his assertion that "research has not (anywhere in the world) demonstrated a causal link" between bullying and suicide. That may or may not be true, but it defies logic and reality to say there's no "causal link" between harassment -- "bullying" is a totally inadequate word, in my opinion, for what we're talking about -- and suicide, perhaps especially for young people.

Everyone agrees suicide is complex, but in the Rachel Ehmke case, there's no doubt that bullying and harassment were "likely factors" in her death, as the Dodge County Sheriff's Office has said. They investigated the case and that's their determination, not the parents and not the media's.

You might say that sheriff's investigators are not trained psychologists with expertise in suicide, etc., but honestly, it defies common sense and credulity to say that bullying was not a factor or a "causal link."

As I've said in my columns, we need to be as precise and sensitive as possible as we report on these devastating cases of teen suicides. I completely believe that media coverage has consequences, and the news has to be reported accurately and responsibly, with information on warning signs, ways to help, numbers to call.

But we can't hide the truth of what happened. As Dodge County investigators said, Rachel Ehmke's parents said she had been bullied and harassed for months, and they believe it contributed to her death. There's no way to avoid reporting that.

How many more lives would be damaged or destroyed if we did?

Technology -- cellphones, especially -- have profoundly changed the lives of young people as well as the rest of us. There's no question that text messaging and social media have become preferred weapons for harassment in schools, on a scale that many adults simply can't imagine.

This case has made clear to me how much the rules have changed in how we have to report deaths of this kind. With Facebook, Twitter and other social media, we've all become public figures of a kind, and the most personal news has become public, worldwide. When just about everyone in Kasson-Mantorville knows within hours of her death that a 13-year-old Mantorville girl has committed suicide, it's absurd to think the news media can ignore it, or ignore the circumstances, the comments of parents and others who have information.

The Sunday night that Rachel died, I searched "Kasson" on Twitter and found dozens of tweets from people who knew her, knew her family, knew friends of friends, and they shared the most personal details and opinions on what had happened. Most referred to the bullying she experienced.

The news was out. What we could do was check the facts, report what people with knowledge of the case were saying, and provide the type of background, context and who-to-call information that could help others.

So, today, after the Dodge County sheriff's report came out, we received this email from Tene:

Apparently, there is some new information coming out about this case that implies that Rachel may have fabricated the bullying.  Are you aware of this? If you need insight on this please let us know.

I was furious at this, in part because this will probably be the lead on a lot of news stories tonight -- and it's not the conclusion of the sheriff's report.

My response to him:

Hi, Wylie -- Jeff passed along your note. Here's the link to our story and the sheriff's office document: lead on the story is, sheriff's investigation concludes that bullying and harassment were "likely factors" in the child's death.
 

And his to me:

Thanks Jay.
 
As with all suicides, it turns out that this tragedy is much more complex.  Our sense is that as the investigation continues, we will learn even more.  

Yes, we will. What we all learn, as we go forward, will be important, and hopefully will help avoid yet another tragedy.

 

'Bullies reflect adult models'

Larry Dobson has an excellent editorial in the May 8 Byron Review...not yet online, but here's the link for you to check when it goes up. Here are the closing lines:

We want to leave our children a world that is a better place to live than we found it. The best way we can do that is to give them an example of living with integrity, cooperation and respect toward everyone around us and demanding integrity, cooperation and respect for others from all those we allow to hold leadership roles in government and business.

It's time we stop making heroes out of adult bullies.