Libel and abuse

While creating a headline for an article in lab, I came upon a story written by Joe Johnson, a journalist for the Athens Banner-Herald. The article entitled "Parent's indicted in boy's torture," features two brothers whose parents have been indicted on five counts of false imprisonment and cruelty to children, plus two counts of aggravated assault. 

In the first paragraph of the article, Johnson writes "A Bogart couple has been indicted on charges they handcuffed their 12-year-old son in a closet, made him go naked at home, shot him with a pellet gun and deprived him of food." This is the opening paragraph of a horrific domestic abuse case, and Johnson writes it poorly. The first line should have been ended with "the couple has been indicted on charges." If the lede had been written this way the reader would have been aware of what really happened to the boys, and then further detail would follow. Additionally, he should add what the charges are, such as: "The couple has been indicted on charges... of false imprisonment, cruelty to children and two accounts of aggravated assault." That way the readers would know right off the bat what the article was about. His next error lies in "made him go naked at home." The account should have been re-written as "the boy was forced to be naked while at home," or something of the like. 

While the opening paragraph incites empathy for the 12-year-old, it is not in quotations, so we know that Johnson did not get this information from a court record or police report. Thus, he should have written the information more clearly as it was not a direct quote.

On the other hand, Johnson uses appropriate AP style language when dealing with the charges against the couple. He protected himself from libel in this way, even clarifying that the couple has only been charged in Oconee County and not Clarke County. 

In addition to the information that Johnson gives in the article, he does a great job of not identifying the children involved in the abuse. He does this through protecting their identity by not naming the parents or publishing their jail booking photos. This falls under the proper use of journalist ethics. 

Despite Johnson's weak lede the article is informative, correct and accurate.