To the Editor,
This letter is in response to the article written on April 4th, by John McIntyre. The article, entitled “Man who killed 17-year-old Colonie senior sets his own house on fire,” goes on to describe a fire coming from the chimney and eves of Mr. Thomas McGrath’s home. What should be obvious in this title, and which is further evidenced within the body of the piece itself, is the clear attempt to connect the event of a chimney fire with that of Mr. McGrath’s guilty plea.
While any small fire can result in something much bigger and much worse, what happened at Mr. McGrath’s house – even as described by the article itself – is perhaps a step above leaving metal in a microwave. It did not turn out to be serious. It did not cause damage to the home, nor was the fire anywhere but the chimney.
But for it being the residence of Mr. McGrath, it is arguable whether a minuscule, momentary fire is even newsworthy. How exactly does this article inform the public of anything? It begs the question: what is the actual purpose of the article?
The piece was written with the purpose of plausible deniability. It covers two unrelated events that are only connected through Mr. McGrath. Yet, both events (with, perhaps, the exception of the claim that neighbors evacuated their homes) are described accurately. There’s no denying the accuracy of the article, and if criticized, this is undoubtedly what the author would point to.
However, the accurate facts of this article belie the article’s actual intent. The actual intent is to cause the reader to ask, ‘why did Mr. McGrath set his house on fire?’ and then let their imagination fill in those blanks. Was he inebriated? Was he on drugs? Was he suicidal? Was he all three? The article’s intent, regardless of its factual accuracy, is to do nothing more than cause gossip and embarrassment.
This article represents everything wrong with journalism. It presents facts that can be pointed to as accurate, to plausibly deny the article’s underlying intent. The article does not provide news and would likely not even be a story if it were anyone else. The only thing this piece provides is clickbait. The article is puffery, mean-girl, gossip of the worst kind. It should be taken down.
Mike McGeown-Walker,
Mechanicville
