It is sometimes difficult for me to know when it is appropriate to comment on the Cavalier Daily’s coverage of stories. My charge is to be the readers’ voice and my efforts are to point out things, both good and bad, that can help improve the paper overall. I am, within that, free to write about whatever topics I choose. When something like Hannah Graham’s disappearance occurs, though, it can feel like it’s insensitive to delve into the specifics of news reporting or opinion pieces while so much is happening. The Cavalier Daily is, as I have often written, a newspaper run and written by college students. The University is not that large and the reality is that at least a few of the students working on The Cavalier Daily likely knew Hannah.
The proximity and familiarity that the students who work on The Cavalier Daily have, though, is just what makes the reporting in the paper so valuable in a case like this. It is also what makes it important to pause and reflect on that reporting. At the request of Hannah’s friends, the Second Year Council painted over Beta Bridge this past week for the first time since “Bring Hannah Home” was painted the week after Hannah’s disappearance on September 13. I’d encourage you to go online and see the excellent photography that accompanied the article. Having the bridge painted felt to me like an important symbolic gesture for the University that brings with it some time for reflection, including on what I think was an impressive showing by the Cavalier Daily staff.
Much of the best of what they do was on display through the course of covering this story. From time-stamped updates in articles early on that kept people informed about the initial information as it came out to the timeline of the investigation published on September 23rd, we saw some of the best uses of technology and the digital-first push we’ve seen all year as readers. The time stamped updates, particularly, were valuable at a time when readers were seeking only the latest news, and information was coming from all kinds of sources as the story quickly gained national attention. There was also video of a camera drone that Albemarle County Police used as part of the search process, a captivating photo gallery of the candlelight vigil held for Hannah and an arresting photograph of the memorial constructed at the Whispering Wall.
Beyond the use of technology, Kelly Kaler did a great job spearheading the reporting on the story. The whole news staff did good work. What I found particularly notable is that the writers did not rely on only a couple of sources in their stories but covered all aspects of the case as it developed. Kaler herself reported on Charlottesville City and Albemarle County Police activity, courthouse developments after Jesse Matthew was taken into custody and Virginia State Police testing of forensic evidence. Because The Cavalier Daily was able to have a lead writer for the story, her voice carried through and helped make it easier to follow the many developments. That was a terrific decision by the editors.
As good as the coverage was, there were places where there were and are limitations. The search feature for The Cavalier Daily website continues to confound. Trying to find all of the articles and stories about Hannah proved almost impossible, and I ended up using Google to locate them and then clicking the link on the author’s name to see all other articles that person had written. The timeline on the 23rd of September was excellent but then wasn’t updated again. A few of the articles had links to prior articles about the investigation but most did not. If a reader was checking in every day it was possible to follow the good reporting, but if that reader wanted to go back and catch up, refresh their memory or just reread everything, it became increasingly difficult to do so as time went on. For major stories, perhaps a page to collect everything in one place would help.
Ultimately, I don’t think those limitations detract much from the value of The Cavalier Daily in this case. The writers gave us a combination of good reporting, good writing and perspective that was not available anywhere else. The balance of being dispassionate enough to report on the story while not denying the emotional effects on everyone involved is a hard one to strike, but I think the staff did it here.
Christopher Broom is The Cavalier Daily’s public editor. He can be reached at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter at @cdpubliceditor.
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