Election 2008: What’s At Stake?

Long Island-based Newsday has been following the Marcelo Lucero murder in great detail, even sending a reporter to Ecuador to interview his friends and family. But some see coverage of this case, which involves a group of American youths who allegedly attacked and killed an immigrant, as too positive about immigration.

One Newsday reporter was thrown out of a parents’ meeting at the school the teenagers attended, after some parents screamed at her to leave. Six school board members were also present, but none did anything to prevent the reporter’s expulsion.

More recently, Newsday reports, a dozen protesters, including several who identified themselves as Minutemen, picketed the newspaper’s headquarters, holding signs that said “What about Americans killed by illegal aliens?” and “Newsday Anti-American.” The protested said that Newsday had devoted too much coverage to the murder and that it was sympathetic to illegal immigrants.

The protesters were quick to say they felt sorry for Lucero’s family, but they objected to Newsday’s following the story, especially the coverage of Lucero’s funeral in Ecuador.

A few days after the killing, Newsday reported, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said it would have been a “one-day story” anywhere else. But Newsday says its coverage will continue. Meanwhile, a far larger crowd gathered for a vigil in Patchogue to protest the hate crime and call for peace.