The problem with my daughter

An op-ed from FOC News host, Alanna Paige

Pittsburgh Ledger reporter and WHO IS NO/ONE host Julia Paige

Nobody likes to criticize their own children. But good parents know that, sometimes, there is no alternative. It becomes necessary, to help them course correct. To help them learn.

So know that when I critique the actions of my daughter, Pittsburgh Ledger reporter and WHO IS NO/ONE host Julia Paige, it’s not out of malice, but out of concern—for what she is doing to the journalistic profession I love so dearly, and how she is leading a generation of journalists astray.

If I were to attempt to diagnose the root cause of this problem, I would say it’s the recent trend towards emotive “storytelling” in reportage. In an attempt to grab attention in the deranged cacophony of the modern media ecosystem, certain outlets purport to take you “behind” the story, to get you emotively engaged with the “characters,” to make it a “narrative journey.”

But this approach does a disservice to reality, especially in the realm of crime reporting. Criminals are not complex, no matter how much the media loves to romanticize them. And crime reporting should not be evocative, speculative, or alluring… it should be uncompromising, matter-of-fact and straightforward.

Unfortunately, my daughter’s approach to covering the criminal NO/ONE (and the events surrounding him) for The Drop demonstrate the pitfalls of abandoning these principles of crime journalism. Her loquacious, softball interviews might further pad out the drama for listeners, but they comprehensively fail to hold their subjects to account. Her own direct run-ins with NO/ONE, which failed to glean any usable information on the criminal, demonstrate that Julia is more enamored with the mystery of the man than she is interested in pursuing truth at all costs.

I don’t know if it is misguided optimism or cowardice, but the blatant refusal to confront lawless forces of evil head on only to enable their destructiveness means that society suffers. Our children suffer. And as a mother, I could not look myself in the mirror if I didn’t speak out on the spineless cohorts in the media who refuse to take a personal stance against these arbiters of moral decay. Even if one of those so-called journalists is my own flesh and blood.

Casting judgment is not wrong, it is imperative in order to move forward. And this failure comes at a crucial juncture. The political, social and legal maelstrom whipped up by NO/ONE promises to transform Pittsburgh—and we head into this time of potential upheaval with trust in the media at historic, rock-bottom levels. But rather than use this profound opportunity to chart a new, more journalistically-rigorous course, Julia and her wider team seems instead interested on innovating solely in the realms of scandal, and entertainment.

As our institutions are challenged, the Fourth Estate needs to do better. I had hoped my daughter would be a part of that. Instead, for now, she blazes a trail further into darkness.

Alanna Paige
FOC News