Naming teen a difficult decision

Dear Reader:

Today you will read a story that may leave you shocked. If you are the parent of a teenager, as I am, you will at least be more worried today than you were yesterday.

Missourian reporter Anya Litvak takes us into the lives of young people as they talk about and deal with sex. I don’t like to think that my 13-year-old could have friends who are pregnant. Or that by the time she is 15, many of her friends will have lost their virginity. The statistics are hard to ignore.

More compelling, though, are the stories of the young people Anya has interviewed. One in particular left many in the newsroom grappling with a tough ethical question: Is it OK to name a young, teenage girl — even when the girl and her parents give permission to use her name?

Normally, the question is reversed. I am often asked to approve anonymous sources. The Missourian policy is to avoid anonymity whenever possible. Studies show that readers trust information far less when a source is obscured. Besides, there is a power in a name; it provides a human face, a connection, a way for a reader to see beyond facts or figures or position statements.

Today’s story shows the power of naming. Frankly, I can ignore the issue more easily when reading about studies and statistics. It’s much harder when I get a glimpse of one family’s discussions and one girl’s actions.

Still, there was the well-being of this girl to consider. What would such publicity do? Would she be able to handle the comments of her peers? Of the larger community? Do she and her parents understand the implications? The fact that she is 15 years old played large in the questions, because I agree that children should be afforded a much higher level of protection.

During her reporting, Anya discussed these and other questions with the girl and her parents. She wrote a letter describing the intentions for the story and the possible implications of using the girl’s name and asked the family to sign it. They did. There were several conversations between Anya and her editor, Elizabeth Brixey. They both came to me; I opened the discussion to perhaps a dozen other editors.

None of the many conversations provided a simple answer. I was torn. Still am, in fact.

What convinced me was the courage and candor of Ashlie Cumpton and her parents, Tracy and Keith Lewis. They tell Anya they are confident that what they are doing is right, and that their story is an important one to tell for the sake of other parents going through similar struggles.

I’m convinced it’s an important story that needs telling, too.