Newspaper struggles with covering immigration aspect of an otherwise routine, feel-good story

On the Web site of The Sentinel-News in Shelbyville, Ky., one story remained a lightning rod for comments for more than a month after its publication. It was a short article about a family moving into a Habitat for Humanity home, at left.

That is usually an innocuous, feel-good event, but the story and its subject remained controversial because of one short sentence that raised the issue of illegal immigration in America, and especially in Shelby County. That made it more than a standard story about a Habitat move-in, and how the twice-a-week, 9,000-circulation paper handled it provides an interesting case study of the coverage of immigration and a popular charity.

Reporter Nathan McBroom described the application process for a Habitat home, as well as the group’s Christian philosophy, as outlined by local affiliate Secretary Travis Davis. McBroom made an oblique reference to the family’s residency status, writing, “Davis said that Habitat International does not allow local branches to require U.S. citizenship as a requirement for application.” (Read more)