You were the Editor

While a man sits watching television in his living room in one of the city's more affluent suburbs, a drive-by sniper shoots through the front window and wounds him, but not seriously.

He persuades police not to release his name and address to the news media because he doesn't know whether he was an intended or random target. He'll feel safer if he isn't identified publicly.

One of your reporters manages to come up with the man's name and address. Do you:

A.  Identify the man and give his street address, keeping in mind other residents in the neighborhood may want or need to know, perhaps to protect themselves because the shooting may have been random. A couple of homes a few kilometres away are also targets the same night.

Readers  20%
Editors  76%

B.  Accede to the man's fears and withhold his identification and address, simply giving the general area of the city in which the shooting occurred.

Readers  80%
Editors  24%


Readers comments:

"Give street name but not the house number."

"Don't risk placing this person's life in jeopardy."

"Identifying the man will warn other residents to take precautions in the event the shooting was intended. I am serving the public by publishing his name and address. The man may possibly be involved in criminal activity."