A regular laugh riot, isn’t he?
Anyway, Daily News editor Larry Platt did a bang-up job in his column about the allegations that came out yesterday — first on Deadspin and then via an Inquirer story.
For a long time Tuesday, we struggled with how to best acknowledge this story without knowing the facts or reporting on it ourselves. It is a strange and sad time in the newsroom, and we will do our best to cover this as if it were any other high-profile figure in Philadelphia. But of course it is not just another high-profile figure in Philadelphia.
Conlin has been synonymous with this paper for five decades, and to pretend that we know how to approach a story like this is to insult your intelligence. All I can promise you is that we will attempt to be as thorough and fair as we can possibly be – not just to the facts of the story – but also to you, our readers. And that means being as open and transparent as we can be.
Since this is such uncharted territory, I don’t know precisely what that will look like. I do know this: This is a tragedy. It’s tragic for the victims, for Conlin’s family, for the family of the Daily News, but also for the familial relationship we have with our readers. Like me, you’ve grown up with and trusted Conlin’s bellowing voice. Now that trust is compromised by horrific allegations.
When I spoke with my stunned staff today, I found myself uncharacteristically at a loss for words. But then the reporters and editors among us started speaking up. They wanted to report this story. It was, for me, an oddly inspiring moment.