Overkill. ‘In the

morning paper, the town read disturbing allegations about a local

personality, followed in the afternoon by the news of his suicide. Readers

immediately flamed The Plain Dealer with angry phone calls, letters, and

e-mail. Rose hadn’t been charged with any crime, many noted, and by

making the investigation public, the newspaper had, in effect, killed him. The

paper had turned itself into a convenient outlet for residents to vent their

disbelief.

In response, The Plain Dealer became defensive and launched an often

harsh counterattack that at times seemed even more reflexive than its

readers’ reactions. In a series of editorials and columns, the paper reminded

readers that journalists are supposed to report facts–and that Rose was a

suspect. It is not the paper’s fault, editors said, if subjects of articles

choose to commit suicide. In answer to an e-mail message from Merle Pollis,

Rose’s best friend of 25 years, Douglas Clifton, The Plain Dealer‘s editor,

sent off a response that read, in part: “I know how I would react to a false

accusation of that sort. It would not have been to blow my brains out.” ‘Brill’s Content