It’s interesting how I found this story. On Fark there is a link to an article on Daily Kos about CNN’s lack of coverage of real news. The article’s author takes out all of the “fluff” news from CNN’s homepage and is left with a few links. News sites publish crap and huge ads. Agreed.
One of the “fluff” pieces that was taken out: Social Worker Beaten To Death, Baby Missing. I don’t have a link to the original article because by the time I looked at CNN.com, the article had changed to baby found and linked to another article questioning if social workers are in danger at their jobs. I understand not everyone cares if social workers are in danger. Or if this woman was beaten to death. However, I wouldn’t call the story “fluff”. Fluff is Paris Hilton’s new clothing line, pet or STD. Fluff is an article about the dangers of MySpace that just cites all the other articles about the dangers of MySpace without offering any new information.
So fluff or not, if this story is covered by the local news, I will be getting a panicked call from my mother tomorrow. Even though my job is not remotely dangerous, she worries about my career and my future jobs. My safety is something I consider when choosing jobs. People that knows me know my “My client is a murderer!” story. And that was in an agency setting. A ton of entry level jobs require home visits and transporting clients in your own vehicle. I won’t do either.
Most agencies do not have enough money or staff to send social workers out in pairs or hire escort staff. I went to grad school with lots of DCFS workers. They all had stories about violent parents or children threatening them, pulling weapons, locking them inside.
I’m afraid of becoming a fluff piece.