COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. — It appears that officials at Collierville High School are now ready to act like a large metro public school that believes in transparency. That’s good. Because last Friday night, they acted like a school from a Podunk town. That’s when the school banned members of the news media from attending the first home game of the season. Officials used the ridiculous argument that because of the coronavirus virus pandemic, there was not enough room in the stadium for both the media and spectators who needed to be there.
Naturally, the decision was heavily criticized. And Monday, school leaders switched course and said the media would be welcomed at the next home game this Friday night.
Why the change? Because safety procedures were so successful, that the school can now accommodate the media. That’s what they said. But the skeptic in me says something different. I believe school officials did not want to risk images of people not social distancing or not wearing masks to end up on the local news or news web sites.
But Collierville High is the largest public school in Shelby County – with emphasis on public. Banning the media was outrageous, which is why they have now relented. Everyone wants to stay safe during this pandemic – especially journalists. But the media’s job is to report news of public interest. And Collierville High was wrong to interfere in that effort. And that’s my point of view.