Editorial: What we saw at Chesapeake

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Last week, Chesapeake Energy Corp. laid off several hundred workers. Two years ago, the company endured a similarly massive force reduction.

Now that National Newspaper Week has arrived, it provides a time to think about how journalists do our jobs, and how readers see that.

When we covered the story, we included a photo of three unidentified men walking toward a campus parking garage with bags of belongings. One held a set of antlers. Some readers criticized this decision. They felt that it was insensitive, exploitative, unfair and just not necessary.

One commenter suggested that we wouldn’t publish a picture like that if we had been through something similar. Our managing editor, Adam Brooks, actually did go through this – he lost his job in those previous layoffs. Since he has a background in journalism, he would have understood why we ran that shot. He would have known that news organizations strive to provide information, but they also want to tell stories. They look for details that paint a picture, that give insight into what happened.

That image of three men leaving their office, probably for the last time, portrays the situation more deeply than a list of what percentage of people lost their jobs in what part of the country ever could. And it certainly tells you more than a practiced, sanitized quote from CEO Doug Lawler.

The discussions with our readers reminded us to be sensitive to the concerns of our subjects who, after all, work with us and live in our neighborhoods. It also pushed us to think about if we did the right thing. We still think we did. People won’t always want to be featured in the news. Maybe they’re facing a job hunt. Maybe they’ve just lost a home to a natural disaster. Maybe they’ve been caught committing a crime or abusing the public trust.

If we think our readers will be interested and we present the information fairly, we will bring it to you. Part of our role in society – along with our competitors and colleagues – is to think about what people need to see, not just what they want to see.

We hope that you will remember that sometimes covering the news means showing images that discomfort our readers and our subjects. It’s not always the most polite thing we could do. But it’s an important part of helping you know what’s going on in your world.