By By Adam Prestridge
This time last week was unnerving to say the least.
For those that may live under a rock and not know what I speak of, a lone gunman walked into the First National Bank &Trust in our quaint town last Tuesday afternoon and demanded money from a teller. The robber’s actions led to a nearly two-day manhunt that spanned nearly 500 miles.
The suspect, Canoe’s Chad Floyd Jeter, was arrested and charged with attempted murder after he stabbed Inglis Police Department officer Tim Swiggett with a Chinese throwing star once in the neck and four times in the back. Jeter was taken into custody following a three-hour manhunt through the marshes in Yankeetown, Fla.
When the story first broke, The Advance was quick to act and was in the middle of the search for Jeter’s getaway pick-up truck through the streets of Atmore and Canoe. We were on the scene as officers surrounded Jeter’s mobile home, gathering information so we could provide it to our readers, not only in a timely manner, but accurately.
Being a reporter requires doing exactly what the root of the word says, giving a “report” of factual information as it is provided. Not making assumptions or writing about hearsay. Repeating rumors simply creates more rumors until finally the story is so far blown out of proportion no one knows what to believe.
The Advance has taken it on the chin in the past for not being the first to have “breaking news” on its Web site, but it was not always because the staff was unaware of the event, most times it was due to timely fact gathering to ensure accuracy before publication. If the information on our site is not correct, it creates confusion when confusion is not needed.
Sure, mistakes are made; no person or newspaper is perfect, but The Advance will make sure stories are written with information provided to its staff even if some sources may be considered dishonest or shady. Those people will be weeded out and revealed for their actions when the time is right, and, of course, accurate reporting has been performed. Until that time, we can only report the information that is provided to us.
The Advance is a newspaper, not a tabloid, therefore, speculations will not be reported, gossip will not be reported and word on the street will not be reported. Those things, however, will be investigated and should there be truth to them, they will be reported. You can’t argue with the truth, and, unfortunately, some people can’t handle the truth.
So if you want the whole story and not just bits and pieces, continue logging onto atmoreadvance.com. Some more changes are in store that we are sure our readers will be pleased with.
Adam Prestridge is publisher of The Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123.