DEBATING THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS STORY

Normally, when a 24-year-old woman is arrested for allegedly forging a
prescription for Xanax, it wouldn't merit more than a brief mention in the
newspaper.

But when that woman is Noelle Bush - the granddaughter of one president,
the niece of another and the governor's only daughter - it becomes a bigger
news item.

But how big a news story? If you were the editor of the hometown newspaper
in the state capital, how much ink would you give the story? Where would it
appear in the paper?

If you put the story on an inside page, aren't you showing favoritism to a
child of the powerful? Aren't you being a "homer," downplaying your bad
news when the national press is playing up the story?

But if you put it on the front page, aren't you just showing your liberal
bias on a day when you can particularly embarrass President Bush because of
his State of the Union address? Aren't you insensitive to the problems of a
person who's unlucky enough to have a famous family?

Ah, the joys of being an editor.

For quite some time Tuesday, the other editors at the Democrat and I
debated this issue. We looked at the story as parents. We would hate to see
this happen to our child, and who couldn't help but feel sympathy for Gov.
Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba.

We looked at it based on our history of dealing with the children of
prominent individuals who had been arrested. Some were on the front page;
others were inside. It all depended on the severity of the allegation and
what other news was happening that day. (All news is relative. What may be
a big story one day may receive lesser play the next, depending on other
events.)

There have been other incidents or petty crimes involving public officials'
minor children that we didn't report - either because they were things we
normally wouldn't report about average citizens or rumors that couldn't be
verified on the record.

So what makes this case any different?

Well, it involves an adult accused of committing a felony. And it involves
someone named Bush, which is a big story in our town, not to mention around
the country.

In the final analysis, my decision came down to what it so often does: What
are people talking about in my community? People have to believe that we
will print the news and not do favors for the powerful.

As for where to put the story, I recalled what happened when a publisher I
used to work for was arrested for drunken driving. When the paper's editor
asked him where to put the story, his reply was, "On the front page, of
course."

That is where this story belongs, too.