When does a situation become news?
A car crash – that’s news, and deeply private. A dental surgeon who hides a health diagnosis, impeding his or her fine motor abilities: this is news, and is private. Another theoretical example would be a school bus driver who is sanctioned for driving despite a medical condition.
These examples mix medical situations, professional orders with public responsibilities – and the role of newspapers in society. When any of the above examples make it to the courts, the public interest is heightened. Situations don’t end up in court for no reason. There must be enough reliable evidence to have the case heard. And, if there is a judgement, the resulting conditions for the dental surgeon, the bus driver or whichever professional, are all the more worthy of public record.
There is such a case in the Pontiac right now. A private situation, perhaps a mental health condition, has impacted a local professional’s ability to operate a professional office to standard, clutter being the symptom that brought his private world out into public view. The sanctions, levied by his professional order and delivered this spring, required him to have a clean and tidy office and pay a $5,000 fine. None of the individual’s abilities to perform his role were found to be impaired. The sanctions were focused on the state of the office itself.
Within the newsroom and team at the Pontiac Journal, a fascinating conversation has been underway about whether to publish the details of this case. The privacy element is a clear reason not to publish it, out of respect for the veteran member of Pontiac’s establishment, as well as in honour of all the help he’s offered for decades. Sullying his reputation would never be a newspaper’s role. This is because the newspaper publishes facts.
If a deed is carried out that damages someone’s reputation, the natural next thought is that he or she should act honourably. The adage, ‘don’t steal if you don’t want to be found guilty for theft’ comes to mind. But no one can say: if you don’t want people to think you are sad, stop being sad’. In this case, the adage doesn’t apply as the individual was found
to be in contravention of professional standards presumably because of
a condition. The condition may have impeded his ability to request help
in keeping a clean and tidy office, eventually resulting in an investigation and sanctions.
While this is, for a standard newspaper, a clear news story, we at the Pontiac Journal are carefully deliberating its publication out of the
desire to protect this professional’s privacy. Local newspapers have
this flexibility to care.
Published in the Pontiac Journal on June 4, 2025.
