I'm a journalist: I can do whatever I want!

By: Sarah Harl

Over the course of this class, I have become increasingly frustrated with reporters who think they have the right to stick their nose in everything, simply because they work for a newspaper.

One such paper is the Providence Journal, of Rhode Island, who will argue before the Supreme Court that thousands of pages of jury questionnaires should be made public in the case of the 2003 nightclub blaze that killed 100 people.

Because Providence is such a small town, and virtually everyone knew someone affected by the 100 deaths that occurred when pyrotechnics used inside the building started a blaze, the court used a 32 page questionnaire to help select their jury.

Even though the case never went to trial, as the nightclub owners pleaded no-contest, the Providence Journal is still demanding that these questionnaires be released.

Despite the fact that the questionnaire asks very personal questions about potential jurors marriage, and medical and criminal history, the Journal still feels these questionnaires are somehow newsworthy.

The Journal claims that they want to use the completed questionnaires as a teaching tool for the court, as a sort of guide for how long or extensive jury questionnaires should be.

But, the Journal was provided with a blank copy of the questionnaire. This blank questionnaire would suffice just fine in teaching the court--although I'm not sure the Providence Journal is really the best teacher for the court systems of Rhode Island.

Essentially the Journal is trying to make news out of nothing. A questionnaire that is not newsworthy or necessary to be seen by anyone besides the court, that wasn't even used because a jury was never called in this case.

But because they are journalists, they feel they have the right to whatever information they want.

Journalists should all take a step back and consider the things they demand they should have a right to see. And as the people we should seriously consider how much access we give them into our personal lives. Pretty soon they will be telling the Supreme Court they should be able to read my diary as a teaching tool for Simpson College.

Get over yourselves journalists, and stop using self-righteous reasons to demand access to material you have no need to see.