Last week, the Des Moines Register published a map of schools in Iowa that lacked security (see the screen shot above). According to Poynter.org, the map was published “to answer questions from parents about what sort of police presence their school districts had.” Register Editor Rick Green said that the map “showed no schools, showed no addresses [and] it did not go into detail.”
Unlike the map of gun owners published earlier this year by the Westchester County, N.Y. paper, The Journal News, the Register’s map did not show pertinent details, such as names and addresses. It was, however, interactive and enabled readers on the paper’s website to view individual school districts. According to Poynter.org, after publishing an interactive map, the paper changed it to show only districts with full-time security; after receiving even more criticism, the paper pulled the map entirely from its website. Interestingly, both The Journal News and the Des Moines Register are owned by the same company, Gannett.
So how is this case different from the map of gun owners published by The Journal News? After all the criticism that The Journal News endured, what would motivate the Register to publish another interactive map that involved the sensitive issue of gun control?
Thanks to Joe Daly for the tip on this case.
Sources: Poynter.org, Des Moines Register
Media Ethics Report 