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Covering the Lower East Side Murder
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 9, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 9, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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After wondering about the intense (some might say excessive) coverage of Nicole duFresne's murder on the Lower East Side - and being party to it - Gothamist is glad that the Village Voice Jarrett Murphy investigated the local reporting on it. Murphy's article, "A Murder Made For the Front Page," looks at how the NY Times, Daily News, and Newsday covered the story, amid questions whether it became a race story (white woman killed by black teen). Of course, the papers say this story would have been covered no matter what race the victim was, given that the murder happened in an "interesting neighborhood" and had the "aspiring-success" angle. However, how readers perceive the information is another issue, and Murphy makes a point of saying that the racial dynamic should have been addressed.
Also interesting about the reporting in the duFresne murder: Reporters weren't sure if duFresne's website was hers.
But did the website belong to the right Nicole duFresne? At Newsday, metro editor Diane Davis's staff found four women with that name, and one reporter actually called a living one's relative. Over at the Times, [Michael] Wilson—not knowing if he had found the right Nicole—left a message on the victim's cell phone, then called a second number listed on her website. A short time later, Jeffrey Sparks called him back and confirmed that Wilson had found the right duFresne. Wilson asked Sparks how he'd heard about the crime.
"She died in my arms," Sparks, the fiancé, said. Suddenly, Wilson had the victim's life story and an eyewitness in hand.
Gothamist was fascinated with the story because it's a neighborhood we are frequently in - not to mention a neighborhood whose crime rate had fallen. And then the police's quick investigative work leading to the arrests helped keep the story front of mind. What's your take?
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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