Modified Tue, Dec 08, 2009 11:12 PM
Why Aiken made 1A
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close xOur recent article about Clay Aiken's criticism of the new Wake school board members riled some readers, who didn't think the story belonged on the front page.
The "American Idol" runner-up and Leesville Road High graduate used his blog to criticize newly elected board members as "selfish idiots."
Some readers questioned whether anyone cared about Aiken's comments and said only important news should go on the front page.
If that's the standard, we'd publish five weighty stories on the front page every day - maybe the latest unemployment numbers, corruption in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb exploding in Iraq.
The front page should be a lively mix of stories including traditional news as well as stories on the arts, religion, culture and sports.
There's a place too for stories of humor, quirkiness and inspiration. Some stories should make the front page simply because people will talk about the story, what we call a "talker."
That was the case with the Aiken story. When Aiken's comments were posted Friday on newsobserver.com, it quickly became the most-read story of the day. That doesn't mean everyone liked the story. Among those objecting was Aiken's mother, Faye Parker.
"I find it so interesting that you and your reporters waste time on the opinion of others that are posted on a private site," Parker, who lives in Wake County, wrote in ane-mail. "If Clay Aiken was not a celebrity, would you give a 'hoot' about his opinion?"
Parker said she wished The N&O would cover her son's foundation for special-needs kids, the National Inclusion Project (formerly known as the Bubel/Aiken Foundation).
"Not once in the five years of this foundation have you reported on that," she wrote. "The America I know has more compassion than our media proclaims. Why do you think only smut sells?"
In a telephone interview, Parker was friendly. She said she wasn't mad at us. She said Aiken should not have called the new school board members idiots and said he hopes to someday send his young child to Wake schools.
But she added: "Every time my son has something that happens, The News & Observer and the other media jump on it and make it a big deal," she said. "As a mother, you kind of get a little frustrated."
Aiken is a celebrity, and that gives him a platform. But I know better than to argue with a frustrated mom.
I checked on whether we had reported on her son's foundation. I found 21 references to it over the years in The N&O and our community papers. Some were small, but some were prominent, including an April column by Ruth Sheehan. Parker said she was surprised to learn we'd written so much about it.
So something good has come of all the discussion about the Aiken story: Now his foundation has been mentioned by us in print 22 times.
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