Gazette coverage of sex offender/campaign treasurer was bad

I am taken aback by the screaming headline, “Campaign official is ‘high risk’ sex offender,” on the lead article in the May 28 edition of the Gazette.

If your intention was to torpedo Jeff Herman’s challenge to Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez’s re-election campaign, I’m confident that you have succeeded.

Your coverage of Mr. Herman’s campaign treasurer is sensationalist, and, while I appreciate that you gave him and his treasurer an opportunity to respond in the body of this lead article, your presentation of the information belonged on the editorial page, not on the front page.

Is not the information about the more than 70 Church sex abuse victims that you report on page 2 of more importance? And, by the way, what is the legal status of those offending clergy? If still alive, are they registered sex offenders? Shouldn’t they be?

I am also concerned that your listing of the treasurer’s home address creates a situation of danger for him. Why did you do this?

I have always counted on the Gazette to provide me with information about our community presented in an unbiased manner. This article has changed my opinion of the paper.

Marguerite G. Rosenthal
Jamaica Plain

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