Your Opinions Section

Report was outrageous

Monday, February 12, 2001

Your front-page coverage of Dr. Annelle Blanchard's tragic death was an outrageous abuse of the media's power. Is New Orleans (or the world) so lacking in newsworthy stories that you needed to fill the front page with an article composed of salacious gossip and innuendo?

Many people lead "controversial" lives and many people meet "untimely deaths." However, I cannot recall another incident where The Times-Picayune has reported the untimely death of a controversial private citizen on its front page.

As you note in your article, Dr. Blanchard had a large family. Before that family could even grieve her death -- indeed, before her funeral -- you have tainted and denigrated her memory.

Nancy Scott Degan, New Orleans