If Spencer Ackerman is trying to be the next Hunter S. Thompson, then of course he is entitled to make the attempt. If the Targum insists on printing his self-aggrandizing columns, then that is their prerogative, so long as they continue to run on Fridays, when almost nobody reads the newspaper.
That being said, I think the editors have put themselves on the wrong side of the fine line between journalistic integrity and tastelessness by allowing Ackerman to write the police blotter. Turning ordinary crimes into sensationalist works of short fiction is as boring as it is unnecessary. And to say that the information is provided by the New Brunswick Police Department is somewhat of a lie. I doubt that they described the perpetrator of a crime as "an out-of-control music fan," or speculated on the resale value of
the merchandise stolen by said perpetrator.
Spencer Ackerman is entitled to his delusions of self-importance, but please, keep it in the confines of his opinion pieces and don't allow him to distort the news for his own amusement.
Kelly Sexton Douglas College
Be the first to comment on this article!