“Why Didn’t You Report On…..?”

Reporting the news is a busy business. Whether you’re covering a city, suburbs or certain beat – each day we need to make decisions as to what to report.

Occasionally, I’m asked why Patch haven’t reported about a certain incident, named names, or covered an event. There isn’t always an easy answer.

I’ll do my best to try giving you a glimpse as some reasons.

If the police or fire departments are involved, it can be a matter of waiting for information to confirm what happened. In fact, we had a situation happen recently at St. Michael Patch where information about an attempted abduction was making the rounds on Facebook. Until it was , Patch didn’t report on the matter.

Decisions can also come from not disclosing the names of those arrested until formerly charged, usually not identifying juvenile suspects or victims of sex crimes and deciding to report public verse private incidents – such as a suicide. Sometimes it can be can be whether a charges in a crime were felony or misdemeanor.

And, we do our best to report with the resources (and time) we have available.

Other times, we may not be aware an incident, event or possible story is happening. In a city of – we try our best, but can’t be everywhere.

That’s where you can help.

If you have a story idea, email me at wendy.erlien@patch.com

Here’s some other ways to become involved:

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• Share Maple Grove Pictures and Clips

What would you like to read about on Maple Grove Patch? Share your ideas in comments below.