27 Replies to "What the police/medical response in Admiral is about"

• dsa August 6, 2014 (12:37 pm)

  Six cop cars and a fire truck at site as I drove by.

• Brian August 6, 2014 (1:31 pm)

  Maybe people should just mind their own business and go about their day instead of posting a possible case of domestic violence on the front page of the West Seattle Blog.

  You don’t need to publicize everything.

  • WSB August 6, 2014 (2:24 pm)

    Hi, Brian, if we get a flurry of texts about a sizable police response, we’re going to do our best to find out at least a baseline of what’s going on. I hope you are not suggesting that because it’s domestic instead of random, it should not be spoken of? – http://www.womensaid.ie/help/whatisdomesticviolence/myths.html#m6 – (that is not necessarily the best link making that case, and domestic violence victims are certainly not only women, not only partners, not only spouses, but it’s the first one that came up) – thanks – TR

• Admiral935 August 6, 2014 (2:23 pm)

  When I went out around Noon there were 10 (ten, I counted them) cop cars, the fire truck and another vehicle behind it that I didn’t really look at. There were no sirens (that I noticed), I’d just gone out for some air and wow they were all there. Many cop cars left and then an ambulance with siren arrived about 20 minutes later. Then later an SUV cop car arrived or cruised by. The activity seemed to be centered a driveway just West of Cali on College.

• T Rex August 6, 2014 (2:31 pm)

  WOW Brian, what a horrible thing to post.

  Domestic violence should be every persons business to help and stop it. You have got to be a complete moron to think otherwise.

  TR is going to explain to you AGAIN what this blog is all about. NEWS and information. And they are the cream of the crop in this business as far as I am concerned. They have done nothing but good for this community and helped give people insight on what is happening in our neck of the woods.
  Wise Up.

• Cycleman August 6, 2014 (2:52 pm)

  You’re right Brian, mind our own business. Like Gaza, it’s not our business let the just kill each other off!!!! Absolutely joking.

• G August 6, 2014 (3:12 pm)

  A little thin-skinned, folks. I don’t want to speak for Brian, but he brings up a legitimate concern that local reporting can – might – be invasive in certain situations and can lead to mob mentality in the comment section. I’m sure the WSB agonizes over this decision often – public service versus individual privacy.

  I don’t anyone is diminishing the public service the WSB provides.

• Legitimate Question August 6, 2014 (3:55 pm)

  Brian, do you think the WSB should post cases of street muggings and random assaults, or should those be kept off the blog as well?

  Is it all violence that you don’t want reported or just the kind that doesn’t involve strangers?

• colleen August 6, 2014 (4:13 pm)

  Domestic violence is, generally speaking, a felony and thus not a ‘private’ matter. I am pleased that WSB and the Seattle cops take DV seriously. Not all communities do.

• HappyOnAlki August 6, 2014 (4:16 pm)

  G, not sure I understand your point — are you saying domestic violence deserves “individual privacy”?

• Dis August 6, 2014 (4:16 pm)

  Domestic violence is never about individual privacy. It thrives in silence, in private, behind closed doors, in attitudes of “it’s not my business.” Domestic violence should be everybody’s business.

• G August 6, 2014 (6:14 pm)

  This is no longer private, it is already in the hands of the law, where it should be. I think we should leave it there.

• Brian August 6, 2014 (7:11 pm)

  There is a difference between a community taking the crime of domestic violence seriously and publishing as it happens accounts on the front page of a blog.

  Our laws, police, community, social services, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and everyone else absolutely should take DV seriously.

  Publishing as it happens accounts of a dv incident is insenstive to the victim and is akin to gawking at a bad car accident.

  Its also the lowest form of journalism WSB.

• West Seattle Hispter August 6, 2014 (7:47 pm)

  Thanks for posting this article WSB, your contributions to our community are valued.

• Legitimate Question August 6, 2014 (8:07 pm)

  Perhaps that’s the disconnect, Brian. I feel like we ARE the community and the neighbors who should take this seriously. Clearly you don’t count yourself as part of this community. I hope someday you will.

• Carraig an Splinkeen August 6, 2014 (8:42 pm)

  Brian: you are off base here, even though your sentiment has merit. Several people asked WSB about an incident in their neighborhood, which WSB regularly responds to. The information WSB provided was the bare minimum and what would be open to anyone who checked. I hope you are using your evident abundant energy in lambasting WSB to also volunteer on preventing domestic violence— that is where your focus needs to be. Peace.

• miws August 6, 2014 (9:17 pm)

  So tell us, Brian, if you were running a hyperlocal newssite, and received several texts regarding a large Police response, how would you have replied to them, and notified others that may be concerned, but didn’t text you? Because, apparently, you would not have published the information.

  .

  Mike

• XXX August 6, 2014 (10:03 pm)

  I find it interesting that anytime anyone posts anything remotely critical of this blog, people lose their minds and immediately pounce all over the commenter.

  This is a public for-profit product, and deserves criticism just like any other publication.

  I worked in newspapers for over 20 years, and I learned very early on that if you can’t handle criticism, you shouldn’t be in the industry.

  And I’m not saying WSB can’t handle it, but obviously the blog comment bullies who overrun this blog have very thin skin — you’re not always right, and there are people who have opinions differing from yours — get over yourselves.

• Elle Nell August 6, 2014 (11:09 pm)

  XXX- truth be told! And interesting enough, for-profit sometimes makes for a rigid culture…

• Dis August 6, 2014 (11:20 pm)

  Whenever anyone says that domestic violence is a private affair, they need to be corrected. It’s not a matter of bullying, being right, name-calling or any other unnecessary verbiage. It’s a matter of compassion; it’s a matter of survival.

• XXX August 7, 2014 (12:20 am)

  miws>>>

  Not speaking for Brian in any way, but this is what I take away from this kind of situation… “hyperlocal” or New York Times, there has to be some kind of editorial judgement as to what is newsworthy and what isn’t.
  I personally don’t think that a bunch of cops dealing with a domestic is newsworthy. People call or text or whatever doesn’t mean that it warrants a story. To me, these kinds of stories water down the integrity of the organization. And, quite frankly, kind of makes it look like a lookey-loo, nosy neighbor-type affair.
  That being said, it’s West Seattle Blog’s call, and they can publish whatever they want. But when they put this stuff out there for public consumption, under the guise that they’re “real journalists,” well, they open themselves to criticism.
  Personally, I’ll keep wading through this stuff just because I enjoy the daily train wrecks.

• Carraig na Splinkeen August 7, 2014 (6:31 am)

  So let me get this straight “XXX”: WSB can be criticized by a reader, or readers, but other readers cannot have their say on those comments? This is called discourse, which should be civil, and the same “rules” apply to WSB as to posters—put something out there and you may hear contrary points of view. If your “wading through daily train wrecks” means hearing about a very serious tragedy in our neighborhood then that is sad. If the “daily train wrecks” mean hearing about opposing points of view, well that is pretty sad, too.

• mtnfreak August 7, 2014 (7:46 am)

  Amazing that a 6 sentence notice about a police response is considered a big story in the comments. I thought the WSB has done a good job at reporting what was a sizable police presence in my neighborhood, with a 4-sentence initial statement and a 2-sentence follow up, and left it at that.

  FWIW, domestic violence complaints is the leading cause of police injuries (and worse) on the job. So when 911 receives a domestic violence call, they dispatch ALL available units, immediately, to the scene. Adding a reported knife into the mix only heightened tensions.

• lox August 7, 2014 (7:54 am)

  Reading the comments section on WSB can be exhausting.

• West Seattle since 1979 August 7, 2014 (10:23 am)

  XXX, would you consider it newsworthy if someone broke in and robbed and best someone in their house, or mugged them on the front sidewalk? Those are assaults, but domestic violence is an assault too.

  Reporting on domestic violence is different than reporting on, say, a loud argument with no violence, which would be personal. Once there is violence, it should no longer be kept secret. It’s an assault, and there’s a police response.

  Also, WSB didn’t print the address or names of the people involved,.

• Perspective August 7, 2014 (1:11 pm)

  XXX – I don’t think there’s any question that the WSB exercises editorial judgement all the time, and that as a for profit business, that judgement is tempered by the economic realities of running a blog like this, which I can imagine is no cake walk, particularly given the small staff and consistently high quality of the writing. Do these guys ever sleep?
  -That said, the currency of any commercial media venture is viewer-ship, or in this case, clicks, and businesses spend their limited advertising dollars in places that reach the largest audience for the least amount of money. And as far as I can tell, the WSB is a bargain for West Seattle businesses, and most of them must be thrilled to have such a highly targeted place to advertise, really for the first time. But one of the things I’ve observed over the years, which must be disheartening to Tracy and Patrick, is that the stories they seem to really pour their hearts into, about schools and other public issues that really matter, get the fewest clicks, and this comment thread is a perfect example. I doubt that there’s a single in depth story about local schools, and there have been many, that have received as many comments as this one has. Like they say in Tracy’s previous career, TV news, if it bleeds it leads. And although I have no way of knowing, I suspect that it’s one of the reasons she left that dreadful and soul crushing business.
  -I have no doubt that this blog was started with the very best of altruistic intentions. And there’s no denying that they’ve done a lot of good. But as the business grew, through what appears to be incredibly hard work, they have no doubt observed that the stories people are drawn to, and the ones that usually get the most clicks, which is the only thing that advertisers care about, are the stories about crime and the misfortunes of others, sadly. And it’s a business, not a PTA newsletter, and these kinds of stories are where the money is.

  • WSB August 7, 2014 (1:29 pm)

    Thanks, “Perspective,” but I have to correct you.
    .
    Our coverage plans and decisions are not remotely in any way, shape, or form driven by “clicks.” And we don’t make money through “clicks.” We don’t sell advertising by clicks or by number of times ads are shown or pageviews. We sell it for a cheap flat rate that is the same now as it was in fall 2007 when our traffic was a fraction of what it is now. It’s display advertising, like newspapers in days of yore. And because we publish in blog format, with most stories displayed in their entirety on the main page (some have jumps), you see it all by clicking on the main site, unlike most newspaper or TV sites, where you see the headlines but not the stories without clicking on the headlines. We don’t track clicks on individual stories, because there’s no way to do that unless somebody chooses to open the comment page by clicking the comment link or the headline.
    .
    The reason we cover breaking news, which so often falls under the purview of “Why all those fire trucks are …” etc., is because our mission is to inform people. And that includes “why all those fire trucks are…” “why all those helicopters are …” “why is the Port of Seattle area north of the bridge empty,” etc. As I wrote explaining another story recently, everything starts with a question. The reason we are doing this is because people are looking for information and, dating back to the windstorm of 2006, they asked us because they thought we might know, and they couldn’t find the information anywhere else. But breaking news is a small fraction of what we cover. We spend most of our time on civic matters, from transportation to community councils, stories like the Landmarks Board hearing downtown yesterday at which, as usual, I was the only reporter.
    .
    And to correct another erroneous perception that some voice on occasion, the number of comments on a story bears absolutely no relation to interest in or value of the story.
    .
    Much of the rest of the news business, I’m sorry to say, would not be able to say what I’ve said here, because they operate differently, from how they sell advertising to how they monitor their traffic and make coverage decisions. That’s why I left “legacy media.” Luckily, a fair amount of West Seattle residents and people with an interest in WS otherwise seem to be interested in the heavily civic mix we present (plus don’t forget we also spend a ton of time on off-home-page stuff like calendar entries and lost/found pets).
    .
    Tracy

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