Missed Opportunities: Courier Coverage of Meskwaki Stabbing

Jonathan Youngbear appears in court Tuesday. Photo by Jim Slosiarek.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier left some trails unexplored in its coverage of this week's Meskwaki murder case. Despite a collaborative reporting effort with KCRG-TV9 and The Gazette, questions - both simple and in-depth - remained unanswered. 

The story began Monday when a 911 call was made to report someone had been stabbed in a home located on the Meskwaki Settlement. The Courier tweeted out three updates as authorities arrived on the scene. After a press conference late Monday, it published a story with the following details:

• Fatal stabbing prompted murder investigation
• Victim: 17-year-old Severn Jefferson
• Accused: 20-year-old Jonathan Youngbear
• Stabbing occurred at Youngbear's home
• Youngbear was being held in the Tama County Jail

This first story was fairly routine and covered the needed facts, although more detailed Twitter posts along the way could have gotten info to followers quicker. 

Problems arose with The Courier's next update. Tuesday's article covered Youngbear's initial court appearance and the presence of drugs in his system at the time of the murder.

I see four areas for improvement...

1. Say when soon - In an update, be upfront about timing. The Courier's story doesn't mention when the stabbing occurred until the fourth graph. Readers need to know the quick backstory before diving into updates. 
2. Say why we care soon - Buried at the end of this piece you'll find: "Jefferson's death marks the third homicide on the Meskwaki Settlement this month." That makes a newsworthy stabbing even more relevant. By establishing relevancy early, news value is increased and readers don't have to question why they're reading.
3. String it all together (or at least try) - Bringing up the fact that this is the third homicide on Meskwaki land in the last month raises some questions. Readers will automatically wonder if these cases may be related somehow. Explore that for them. Whether now or in a follow-up piece, seek answers to the questions: Are these all drug related? Have they all been solved? Is the number of homicides up, consistent or down in this area?
4. Tweet it out - Be sure to make a quick mention about Youngbear's meth use and the third homicide in a month stat. Give followers more of the story bullet points through Twitter.