
Journalist, 12, faces off with police officer who threatened to arrest her - drugme
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/24/hilde-lysak-police-officer-arrest-video
======
apo
I did a double-take on seeing "Journalist, 12" so I checked out her site:

[https://orangestreetnews.com](https://orangestreetnews.com)

Impressive for an independent journalist at any age. To pick a beat and stick
with it takes guts and grit. And she's finding incredible stories, the kind of
stories I'd be interested in reading about my own neighborhood.

Then I found this story:

 _Just to prove my point I am republishing the story I’ve been asked to take
down that was originally Published January 4th. Thank you.

EXCLUSIVE MUST CREDIT THE ORANGE STREET NEWS

Twenty Four days after the Orange Street News turned revealed evidence that
there was a drug dealing, prostituting accomplice to the November car theft
the Selinsgrove Police Department has confirmed that they are investigating._

[https://orangestreetnews.com/2019/01/22/note-to-dealers-
osn-...](https://orangestreetnews.com/2019/01/22/note-to-dealers-osn-will-not-
be-intimidated-drug-investigations-will-continue/)

The video at the bottom of that story shows an interview exposing drug use at
a local high school. A source says that drug sniffing dogs don't enter
classrooms, and kids know that. Therefore, they're taking the drugs to class
to avoid detection.

Every story I read seemed to be covered from a wide variety of angles with
original interviews. It's just amazing.

Still, it's not hard to imagine that original reporting on drug cases,
robberies, and the like will not sit well with those being exposed. This kind
of stuff can get real dark really quickly.

------
jawns
Former magazine and newspaper editor here.

One thing that is worth mentioning is that Hilde's dad is a journalist and
presumably has helped her hone her skills. Which is not to take away anything
from her own accomplishments, but merely to point out that she has access to
advice and guidance that not every kid journalist is going to have, and so I
think she probably knows better than most how to keep out of trouble.

But one thing that is important to note is that while the officer is
absolutely incorrect about it being illegal to publish video of a police
officer's face when it is recorded in public, he is correct that giving false
information to an officer who asks you where you are going -- even if they
don't have a good reason for asking and if it would be within your rights to
refuse to answer -- can be a crime.

Granted, if you tell a police officer you're going to visit a friend, and then
on your way there you notice something worth reporting about and never make it
to your friend's house, you probably have a good defense. At the time you
spoke to the officer, you had ever intention of going to your friend's house,
and so you were speaking truthfully.

But having a good defense doesn't mean that you can't be charged with an
offense. Particularly when it involves a small-town cop who seems to be power
tripping.

~~~
Andre607
> he is correct that giving false information to an officer who asks you where
> you are going -- even if they don't have a good reason for asking and if it
> would be within your rights to refuse to answer -- can be a crime.

Twice in the video, Lysiak appears to begin disputing the officer's claim that
she told him she was going to a friend's house:

"No, I didn't say..."

"I wasn't going to my f..."

And twice he cuts her off.

~~~
jawns
Yes, she disputes what he alleges she said.

But disputing an officer's allegation doesn't mean they can't cause trouble
for you or charge you with a crime.

Obviously, she's 12, so he's unlikely to take it too far, but let's suppose he
had taken her into custody.

Journalists working for mainstream media outlets often have the benefit of the
paper's lawyers going to bat for them.

But when you're a lone reporter, 12 or not, the legal costs related to
defending yourself against even a bogus charge can be considerable.

~~~
Andre607
> But when you're a lone reporter, 12 or not, the legal costs related to
> defending yourself against even a bogus charge can be considerable.

Well, yes. This is true not just for independent journalists but for all
people.

------
Andre607
> But Hilde Lysiak, the editor of the Orange Street News, is the real deal. In
> 2016, when she was just nine years old, she broke the story of a homicide in
> her hometown of Selinsgrove, Arizona

This is incorrect. Lysiak's hometown is Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. There is no
Selinsgrove, Arizona. This incident with the officer took place in Patagonia,
Arizona.

------
Camillo
What's with all the crazy tween stories lately? I understand wanting your
child to do extracurriculars for college admissions, but it's getting
ridiculous.

~~~
atoav
Crazy like kids doing stuff with computers they impossibly can understand at
their age.

Kids should do whatever the hell interests them? Whether she is pushed by her
parents to do this or it is her free will, is hard to judge just from that
article. It is however not impossible.

I knew a guy who has an incredible passion for chess at a young age. So much
so, his parents had to push him to do anything but it. He later studied
electrical engineering and turned oit fine.

I knew a guy who was constantly pushed to be the best in his sports team by
his father who happened to be the trainer. His son had incredible potential,
but his father was terrible, yelling, just blaming everything on the kid. We
lost a lot, because we were often one or two players short and he punched his
son for that in front of us more than once. This son turned into an alcoholic,
and then lived with his father who separated from the mother. He was 20 when
he shot his father (who was also a hunter) with 12 bullets and then shot
himself.

Don’t force your kids. Guide them. If they have genuine fun to do stuff that
is to hard or too grown up for kids, show support, help them understand it.
Dont push them to hard unless it is the little push they need because they are
afraid. Don’t decide what is useful and what isn’t. They need to learn
deciding that for themselves

