By Felicia Knight
There’s no greater name in the bastion of fictional journalists than the fast-talking, slang slinging Hildy Johnson. Whether you’re a fan of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s original (male) Hildy Johnson in their Broadway hit The Front Page, or of director Howard Hawke’s (female) Hildy Johnson, immortalized by Rosalind Russell in the 1940 film, His Girl Friday, you know that Hildy Johnson will get to the bottom of the story.
Russell’s Hildy ran with the big dogs. She beat the boys at their own game, un-raveled a conspiracy at City Hall, got the scoop, and never once attended a tea party.
Social—and some mainstream—media are currently abuzz over another Hilde. A nine-year-old girl named Hilde Lysiak made a name for herself a year or so ago by starting her own neighborhood newspaper, the Orange Street News.
Hilde rides her bike hither and yon gathering all the news that’s fit to print.
Now, Hilde has become the news by reporting on a murder that took place in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and by breaking the story first. According to the Washington Post, Hilde, “hustled over with her pen and camera, as any good reporter would and soon she posted something online, beating all her competitors. Then, working the neighbors and the cops, she nailed down her scoop with a full-length story and this headline: Exclusive: Murder on Ninth Street!”
For the most part, Hilde has been lauded as spunky, enterprising, and even inspiring. Mainstream media have hailed her as a journalist with a capital J. Hilde has her detractors, however, many of whom felt justified in sending her a slew of posts and emails full of words that are not fit to print.
That her parents named her Hilde underscores their regard for her dad’s profession: journalism. That they instill in her confidence and independence is to be applauded.
The one thing that everyone seems to be overlooking here—including her supportive parents—is this: Hilde is 9. True, Hilde appears to be above average in drive, aspiration, and imagination, but at the end of the day, she is a 9-year-old child.
Now, we readily offer kudos to parents to who give their kids the freedom to climb on a bike in the morning and come home for dinner. Helicopter parents breed timid kids afraid to try because they’re afraid to fail. BUT, should a 9-year-old really be given free reign to explore a murder scene? A man reportedly killed his wife with a hammer. Killed his wife with a hammer. Why is it a good or safe thing to put a child at the scene? Hilde’s mother has said, the police were there, so the crime scene was “safe.” That’s not the point. Can a 9-year-old child process what it means for one human being to beat another—a family member—to death with a hammer?
Those who believed that this was not a good idea felt the need to tell Hilde directly with derisive, abusive language. Did they know they were writing to a 9-year old child? It’s bad enough she had to read such comments, but it’s inexcusable that she was encouraged to read them out loud in a video that has since gone viral. Did no one cringe at hearing 9-year-old Hilde dropping f-bombs?
Are we really so inured to violence that we think nothing of sending a child into the thick of homicide investigation? Or so unfazed by swearing that it sounds fine coming from someone who still has most of her baby teeth?
Yes, Hilde should be encouraged to pursue reporting. Yes, she should be able to roll her eyes at those who think she should be restricted to tea parties and dolls. Kids are always in a hurry to grow up and it’s important to let them push boundaries and spread their wings. But the adults in charge should also know when to say, “No, you’re too young.”
We’re former journalists at The Knight Canney Group. We understand the frenzy over a young person who thinks journalism is an exciting profession. We just don’t get the excitement over putting a child in harm’s way, exploiting her notoriety, and turning her into an Internet meme.