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Courthouse reporter's confessions

By Mark Obbie

Newark Star-Ledger's Carmen Juri wrote a touching essay -- which resonated loudly with me -- about what she tells her 6-year-old about her day at work, covering courts in Newark. She lies. She summons memories of happy stories she did before we went on the courts beat. And then pretends that's what she did all day. The lies protect her daughter from the pain on parade in the courts. Juri writes about how she can't distort her daughter's image of reality, not quite yet:I believe that my little white lies serve a greater good. If nothing else, for a few minutes, I can at least fool myself into thinking that yes, I really did write a beautiful story with a very happy ending.All courthouse reporters can relate. Perhaps this is why some of us could bond more with cops and prosecutors and defense lawyers than with the feature writers back in the newsroom. (Via Romenesko)

Full post as published by Lawbeat on February 27, 2009 (boomark / email).