I read lots of news. From my days as a paper boy in Seattle delivering the Post Intelligencer, I had respect for those who reported the news. But over the decades, the role of reporters seems to have shifted and on air reporters have greater prominence. They also seem to require more sensationalism, much of what they create with their reporting.
In past blogs, here and elsewhere, I have examined a news article, looked online into the background and reported behaviors of a perpetrator of crime who is being reported on, and commented about what I believe is the extent of their trauma. As many of you know, the Iditarod is a world renowned sporting event with international participation and world wide coverage. A story of significance involves the drunken ride on a snowmobile by an Alaska Native Village resident who killed one sled dog, injured two more and terrified two mushers. [LINK HERE] The act is certainly deplorable, and the news coverage has been extensive in Alaska. I also saw it reported in some of the national online media. And because my daughter lives in Cairns, AU, I read their local paper and see that the story has made the Queensland news media. [LINK HERE]
The man charged with crimes related to the incident seems like an otherwise good young man. He has accepted responsibility for his acts and acknowledged being in a drunken blackout. That means he has no recollection of the event. It usually takes a lot of alcohol to reach a blackout state for experienced drinkers. And he has acknowledged his actions, which will make his guilt easy to prove.
I am a passionate man, I admit that, and a lot of what is reported irritates me about the reporting and the state response. First, bad things happen all the time in Alaska. We average over 1,400 Child Protective Service reports monthly. [LINK HERE] Although they are only reports, many of them are subsequently proved. And I am sure there are scores more that are not reported. Yet one incident of a dog being killed in a race, with two injured, gets news print (and pixels) worldwide.
As one who has labored to bring attention to the ACE Study and the terrible consequences of childhood trauma, my colleagues and I get almost no ink or pixels. Instead, the “human interest” in a sensational story gets the attention. Even what the judge says in the article I cite from the Alaska Dispatch News responds to the act and makes it clear that he cannot be a fair an impartial judge of the actions. How inflammatory can it be to say that he would have approved bail of $500,000 instead of the $50,000 requested by the prosecutor. As a non-practicing attorney, I would immediately move to peremptorily challenge that judge, but others probably share the same reaction. Many extremely serious crimes don’t have bail set at half a million dollars, especially for someone who is a low flight risk and has already accepted responsibility for his actions.
When I read or listen to followup stories, they last for a short period of time and any interviews are with people who express shock at what happened. Well, my work as a lawyer and health care executive has made me aware of the huge trauma that exists in Native Alaska. When Dr. Vincent Felitti, co-principle investigator of the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, visited Alaska to talk about the ACE Study, his visit was not covered by any news outlet other than the Juneau Empire. And their story was not picked up anywhere else.
And what about Mr. Demoski? He is mentioned in Alaska Courtview as having at least eight contacts (charges) of criminal acts starting in 2008, as a juvenile. The signs of trauma are everywhere. But the person I listened to being interviewed was the spouse of a musher who addressed alcohol abuse and mental illness. The her credit, she did say we need to get to the root cause of the problems, but all she was referring to were the many snow machine trails that criss cross the Iditarod Trail and the problems they create.
We need a press that is willing to report on innovative solutions, but not be persuaded by statements of success. For example, it has taken us years to persuade the State of Alaska to seek data on ACEs in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). And now that we have it, it gets very little press coverage. Pat Sidmore and his colleagues have performed some amazing analysis of the data. One particularly tragic finding is that Alaska Natives have approximately twice the rate of 4+ ACEs that the general population has. [LINK HERE]
Mr. Demoski has a troubled past, probably extending to childhood. He had a lot of involvement with the criminal justice system and the signs of trouble were there. With this act, he did what I say can happens to anyone with an alcohol problem that is being managed the traditional way -- “stop drinking or we will”, in the words of a former Alaska attorney general, “hammer you.”
With the incredible dollar amount of resources controlled by Alaska Native health and tribal organizations, you would think that addressing childhood trauma would be a prime issue for us. While it is slowly being talked about, I can tell you that I am frequently the only Alaska Native in attendance at ACE focused events. We need more.
Comments (3)