The Citizen's front page has delivered some upsetting news this month.

We've covered two tragic automobile accidents in which teenagers lost their lives. We've written about disturbing home-invasion crimes in which victims were assaulted. We've written about the ongoing asbestos problem in Cayuga County buildings.

All of these stories are tough to read because they stir unpleasant emotions, including sadness, anger and fear. So why do we put them in the paper?

Plenty of people believe that newspapers - and TV and radio stations - are only interested in bad news. We often put the biggest headlines or lead the newscast with tragedy and scandal, and typically cover them with extra thoroughness.

Some people see this and decide to avoid the news media completely. Their chief complaint is that there's never or rarely any positive news reported.

I understand how people can make this observation, but I firmly believe that it's a fallacy. The problem is that the negative stories are the ones most of us remember the next day or week or month.

Take a thorough look at The Citizen just about any day. From the first page to the last, you'll find most of the stories are what can be considered positive. In the front section, we're often covering community events, from fundraisers to festivals, that exhibit what makes Cayuga County such a great place. You'll see profiles of successful people, features on residents helping one another and stories about new businesses.

In sports, though it seems like we're often printing stories about high-profile athletes getting into trouble, the overwhelming percentage of copy is purely about achievement.

And the Lake Life section, including the Good Works page that appears every Saturday, is a daily celebration of life in this region. From the section-front stories to the question-and-answer feature on page C3, the content almost always makes you smile, laugh or feel inspired.

All of this content, however, can quickly be overshadowed by one of those disturbing stories, and that's one reason why we need to publish them. Readers want to know when there's trouble in their community, in part because many of them want to help find solutions.

The stories on the automobile accidents have all of us pondering what we can do to prevent similar tragedies. The crime stories have stirred debate about public safety policy. The asbestos coverage has residents demanding accountability from their elected officials.

So while they all certainly fit the definition of negative news, it's possible that something positive will come from publishing them.

Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's

column appears Saturdays in The Citizen, and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net