To the representatives of the Youth Media Council:

We enjoyed out meeting today at the Tribune to discuss why the Alameda Journal, Oakland Tribune and other Bay Area News Group papers ran the names of the youths arrested and later cleared.

We look forward to working with the council to expand our sources to better represent the diverse community we cover.
However, the Alameda Journal, Oakland Tribune or other Bay Area News Group papers did not commit “a shocking breach of journalistic ethics" in publishing the names of the two youths charged in this incident. The youths were not merely arrested, we waited until they were charged to report who they were.

In general, the Bay Area News Group takes great pains to protect the identities of youth and already have in place standards that under most circumstances keep the names of youth out of the press.

Only in cases of serious crimes, such as felony assault, a child being tried as an adult, or charges of murder, do we ever print the names of minors. Whether or not even that is appropriate is a debatable issue and you will have people who come down on both sides. But as a news organization, those are the standards in place and we feel they are fair and just.

I disagree completely that running the names after the minors were charged was inappropriate. It is unfortunate the authorities charged them when it was later discovered they were innocent. But that responsibility lies with the D.A., not the news organization that reports the filing of charges.

As a news organization our job is to report and we did so only after they were charged. Our mistake, which we have agreed to correct, was not running the names of the young people when they were cleared. We did run a story in the same location which said they had been released, but we tried to minimize their exposure by not including the names in the follow-up story. In hindsight, that was a mistake, but one we offered to correct.

It is important to note the Oakland Tribune and Bay Area News Group have a very progressive stance when it comes to the issue of youth.

We have a relationship with the Boalt Hall School of Law and Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley to collaborate on a project examining the potential benefits of using Restorative Justice as an alternative sentencing model in Alameda County. We believe there have to be better ways (than punitive approaches) of redirecting young people to become productive adults, and RJ is a potential program that could work. I do not know of any news organization in the Bay Area, California and maybe the nation taking that kind of editorial position and applying resources to see if it could work here.

That action, more than signing some pledge, speaks to our commitment to addressing the issues that impact our youth.
We also have a project called Not Just a Number which among other issues, looks at why youth in Oakland are, by and large, succeeding despite the many challenges facing them. To see that project visit www.oakalandtribune.com <file://www.oakalandtribune.com>

The Tribune does agree to work with the public and the council to expand our sources so the official story is not felt to be the only story, especially when it comes to accessing ethnic communities. But this has to be a two-way street. We need members of those communities, many of whom are reticent to open their doors, to step forward and be willing to engage our reporters so their voices can be heard. Our doors are always open for discussion and we look forward to an ongoing dialogue with the community and the council.

Being an African American male, I understand what it feels like to be a person of color and the dynamics that often exist between communities of color and the authorities.

Lastly, if anyone has information the Alameda Police Department violated anyone's rights in the course of its investigation, we need to know and will follow up any credible leads we are provided.

Our responsibility is to be professional, respectful and accessible to the communities we cover.

Martin G. Reynolds
Managing Editor
The Oakland Tribune
AME for Local/Regional News
Bay Area News Group-East Bay
510-208-6433
mreynolds@bayareanewsgroup.com