A complaint regarding a report on the death of pilot Jonathan Joshua Fernandes
Dear Sir,
This is with reference to an article carried by the Mid-Day, mentioning the death of 24-year-old pilot Jonathan Joshua Fernandes. The article, titled 'I saw Shaitan with my own eyes', was published on June 26, 2011 and insinuated that Jonathan was drunk.
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Firstly, I did not know Jonathan very well, although we were friends. What I do know is he was a well respected, friendly, homely young man who loved playing the drums. His death was an accident and a very unfortunate one. He was on the cusp of great things.
An article that compares a terrace party to a rave, and likens his death to a movie portraying spoilt youth on a drug-fuelled binge, is uncalled for. The image of him in this article is just wrong and anyone who knew Jonathan will vouch for that.
From what I know of Jonathan, he never drank alcohol. I do not know the facts of his death, nor have I prodded family and friends in this time of grief. What I do know is the article could have been reported much more objectively. Instead, the most sensational quote was picked. The girl did not even know Jonathan; there is no way one can verify what she said. If accounts had to be taken, your reporter could have spoken to people who actually knew him. Not once does the girl even mention his death or how he fell. It just paints a picture of him being an irresponsible drunk who fell to his death. This, apart from the fact that your report got his name and residence wrong.
If this comes across as a rant, I apologize.
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