WESTFIELD – Last week, the city of Westfield saw three residents die within six days from heroin-related overdoses.
The first death occurred on February 4, two days before a 16-year-old Westfield High School student died, which was the second death, and a third unconfirmed death occurred on February 10.
The media has been trying to keep up with reporting these deaths because its news, because the public needs to know about this crisis and because there is hope that these deaths will act as a warning for those still struggling with addiction.
What can get lost in the reporting is that each of these people who have died has loved ones who may or may not be anticipating reading about their losses on the front page of the newspaper.
Reporters rush to find information about the victim, which starts by searching online and through social media. Reporters try to reach family members. Reporters want to personalize the accounts. Reporters don’t always succeed at showing the victim in a positive light.
This happened when a story ran in the February 8 edition of The Westfield News regarding the death of Adam Cotugno who died on February 4.
A close friend of the Cotugno family sent a letter to The Westfield News. It is included here in its entirety at the request of the letter writer, Juanita A. Carnes of Westfield:
“Adam Cotugno was a mother’s beloved son. He was a well loved brother,grandson, nephew,friend, neighbor, Eagle Scout and member of our community.
“Given that the Westfield news strives to be a community newspaper and usually does well with that, I was saddened to see a poor journalistic article that serves only to hurt those that loved Adam.
“The article about Adam glared negatively when compared to the article about the other recent tragic heroin overdose in town.
“If your article was clearly in pursuit of fine journalism, there might be an argument in favor of it. But the journalism was poor. It has no substance. Your sources were clearly from the internet and outdated. The word ‘apparently’ does not belong in a news article.
“While members of our community are struggling with inconsolable grief, is it really necessary to add to it? Is it necessary for a mother to read about her phone call to 911 on the front page of her local paper? Is it necessary to dredge up an arrest? Is it necessary to paint him in a negative light when an article adjacent to his about another OD victim does the opposite?
“The heroin epidemic is news. The fact that yet another member of our community is a victim is also news. This article could have been written with respect and caring for a handsome, intelligent, hardworking, kind, funny, caring young man who lost his life to a highly addictive, lethal drug.
“Drug addiction does not erase the beautiful child he once was. It does not negate his positive mark on this world or the love of family and friends for 28 years. A front page article should not be scraped together from classmates.com and Facebook to minimize a victim’s life. And most of all, it should not hurt those already suffering pain that words cannot describe.”
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
