Several months ago, I was searching for a photo of Jerry Sandusky for a new post I was writing. There were obviously plenty out there to choose from after all the time he spent in the headlines. I wanted to find a photo of Sandusky where he looked remorseful and just downright defeated. The more I searched, the more frustrated I became. Every photo I came across, Sandusky had that same smug smirk--there were none where he even displayed a shred of anguish. No depressed looks, no frightened expressions where he is pondering what's to come for him, and no expression of regret for the terror he instilled in his victims for so many years. I finally had to settle on a photo where Sandusky appeared to be on the verge of drifting off in an SUV. Unbelievably, it was the closest thing I could find to remorse behind those dead eyes.
This stuck with me during a seemingly endless internal debate working its way through my head for the better part of the weekend before last. The Today Show was set to air a segment of an interview with Sandusky, allowing him to break his silence for the first time since he was handed, in all practical terms, a life sentence.
I absolutely love my role as a managing editor here in our corner of the internet. As an avid reader of Black Shoe Diaries since the Mike Hubbell era, I'm able to use my perspective to help create content for all my Nittany Lion brethren. But for the first time during my tenure at BSD, I had no idea determining how, and if, to cover a story. Unfortunately, Jerry Sandusky is permanently linked to Penn State. We have a responsibility to cover important Penn State news. On the other hand, is Sandusky speaking out from his jail cell really newsworthy?
After careful consideration, we decided last Monday's interview was a non-story. This is why you didn't see anything pertaining to the Today Show interview on our front page. We're not going to drop everything to report each time Sandusky feels the need to make a desperate plea for attention. There are many reasons, other reasons, our readers flock to BSD, and that's where we're going to lay our focus moving forward. When actual news about the Schultz/Curley trials or a major break occurs that totally shakes up the Sandusky scandal, you will certainly find it here. If you're looking for a report every time Sandusky wants to break his silence, you will need to look elsewhere.
Sandusky had his day in court. He had an opportunity to testify and defend himself in his own words, but chose not to exercise that right. He's now exactly where he belongs- locked up in solitary confinement where he can no longer torment children under the guise of Mr. Charitable Hero who gave up his dream job to help underprivileged children.
Actually, Sandusky is not quite where he belongs. A better fit would be on a one-way rocket trip to the sun's surface. I'm sure it could be useful for NASA to know precisely how close a human can get to the sun's surface before becoming a ball of lava. Perhaps the FDA has a new experimental drug that just may have side effects such as liquefying most of your internal organs and migraines that feel like Cael Sanderson is hitting you over the head with every item in his tool shed. Maybe a zoologist needs to research just how quickly an enraged lion can dismember a human being.
Those are fitting places for Sandusky. The headlines aren't when he decides to put himself back in the spotlight. It may cost us some page views in the end, but when you dance with the devil, you sure as hell don't get to lead.
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