THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702150239
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: THE NEW PILOT
SOURCE: Kay Tucker Addis, editor
Dennis Hartig, managing editor
LENGTH: 74 lines
Hampton Roads is among the safest metropolitan regions in the United States, according to the FBI. But you wouldn't know that by talking to people who live in Hampton Roads. Many of you fear for your safety when you leave home, go to public places at night or walk from your car to the mall.
The gap between the facts and the fear made us wonder about the impact of our stories about criminals and their victims. Almost every day, we write about tragedies that occur to one or two of the 1.3 million of us who reside in Hampton Roads.
How do we report crime without raising unnecessary alarm?
This is the kind of tough question we've asked over the past three years about our coverage of education, government and politics, about our coverage of life in our cities and in Virginia. In meetings and interviews, you gave us plenty of criticism, advice and good ideas. One point came through clearly: You want us to show how the news affects you and your community - and what you can do about it.
On the subject of crime, you suggested that we give you the facts about the risks you face in your home, your neighborhood, where you work and where you have fun. You told us that if we have to share bad news, we should give you information that helps you deal with it.
Beginning the week of March 3, you will have a place you can go every week for facts about crime. The Public Safety page will help you answer these questions:
How safe are you in your home? How safe are your city and this region? Is there anything you can do to make yourself or your community safer?
On the Public Safety page, we will provide city-by-city report cards on crime. Our goal is not to frighten or sensationalize. Our intent is to help you protect yourself and to make more informed judgments about the effectiveness of your police department and criminal justice system and whether enough resources are being invested in public safety.
But public safety is not the only area of community life that you told us is important to you. You also relayed your deep concerns about the education of your children, performance of local government and the leadership of public officials.
So, as companions to our weekly report on public safety, we also will publish special weekly pages that will help you monitor and gauge the performance of schools and governments. These reports will alert you to important decisions that are about to be made, how you can get more information or how you can get involved.
These three special reports - Public Safety, Public Life and Education - will run in our expanded local news section. We've renamed the section Hampton Roads. The name and the content reflect an approach many of you suggested: Cover local news in a way that brings Hampton Roads closer together.
Starting March 3, we'll cover Hampton Roads as one place, a region with unique municipal personalities but strong bonds and a common destiny. In The Pilot, you'll find a daily news report about all the cities in Hampton Roads, including the Peninsula. The Pilot will be a complete daily journal of life in Hampton Roads. Special items will keep you up to date on important projects under way around the region, about people making a difference in their communities and about the rich history of the region.
Hampton Roads also will be the new address for our editorial pages. We're moving them from the national/world news section. We will continue to give you thoughtful opinions on world and national issues, and our regular lineup of national columnists. But our true expertise is in the affairs of Hampton Roads and Virginia and in understanding how world and national events affect us here.
In both our news pages and editorial columns, we will show you the world through a Hampton Roads lens. ILLUSTRATION: NEW
Look for these buttons that will signal new features in The Pilot.