The AJ-C can smell that Pulitzer coming. The bodies are barely cold in the ground and the paper is already deeply in the hunt on reporting how it happened. And why we need to know. Don’t believe that? Hell, the editor comes right out and tells us:
Why are we writing this story?
Managing Editor Leroy Chapman Jr. answers the question “Why are we writing this story” about the Jan. 22, 2023, publication of “Strip club visit raises questions about fatal UGA crash.”
WE ARE PURSUING THE FACTS. Here is what we know so far. On Sunday, Jan. 15, our state woke to tragic news: Four young people — two University of Georgia athletic department employees and two football players — were in a deadly, single-vehicle accident. Two died and two were injured.
We soon learned that the rented SUV carrying the four was driven that morning by 24-year-old university employee Chandler LeCroy, who died from her injuries. Devin Willock, a 20-year-old sophomore offensive lineman, was a passenger who died at the scene.
WE ARE ASKING ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTIONS. LeCroy was driving a rental car. The university rents such vehicles to drive recruits on campus visits. Police say speed contributed to the accident. Why the four occupants of the SUV wound up together that night is important to understand. Those facts will determine who is ultimately accountable and what role the university’s decisions and policies might have played. The university is responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of student athletes.
Now, the AJ-C doesn’t usually run rationalizations at the end of their stories unless there’s something significant they believe their readers need to understand. At least that’s one way to interpret that ponderous explanation. Another way, one that I think better fits the occasion, is that they know they’re pushing the envelope of what’s newsworthy. It really doesn’t take much of a leap to reach that conclusion, because they tell you straight out in the header:
Then, they nail the finish with this lame attempt at pathos.
I would ask Chip Towers how that last paragraph enlightens us as to “events that led to deaths of two”, but I’m afraid that would take us to a discussion of to whom the paper assigned the prestigious Toppers beat, something I really would rather not know about. Besides, that gets away from the most egregious point of his tweet. “Led” is doing a shit ton of heavy lifting there, because led implies causation. Even the article acknowledges that the reporters don’t know when Bowles and LeCroy met up with McClendon and Willock, let alone whether LeCroy was under the influence when she was driving. All they can say is that the four left the club together in the wee small hours of the morning.
The rest of the piece is speculation about the roles Bowles and LeCroy were playing, interstiched with timelines and charts in an attempt to fuse the speculation with gravitas. And, of course, those Toppers references. Because while most don’t care about whether LeCroy was driving a rented vehicle paid for by the school, a little appeal to others’ prurient interests never hurts to draw eyeballs.
Speaking of the school, the reporters tried hard to coax some comments from UGA but, disappointingly no doubt (“University officials have not responded to detailed questions about the crash from the Journal-Constitution. “), received only this from a school spokesperson:
“Our primary focus remains on providing comfort and support to the families and friends of Devin, Chandler, and the two others who were injured, as well as everyone impacted by this tragedy. Out of respect for the individuals and their families, we will not comment further at this time on the accident or the ongoing investigation.”
Perhaps the AJ-C should have taken the hint. But then, that’s not news, is it?
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UPDATE: Mr. Towers be doublin’ down.
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UPDATE #2: Some related thoughts…
Investigating what happened that night is certainly a story worth pursuing. But it doesn’t mean a story must be written. As far as we know so far, the four hanging out together — no matter where it was — was not illegal and doesn’t necessarily suggest it was a reason for the accident.
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