The Mysterious Mr. Debutts
Stay out of your own stories is a commandment many editors give their reporters. But Sean Robinson of the Tacoma News Tribune puts himself smack dab in the middle of his own series, "A Case of Identity," to great effect. When a good friend of his starts getting suspicious charges on his credit card bill, Robinson jumps in to help and leads us on a detective chase through the world of identify theft. In the end we learn that the friend's roommate, known as Michael Dorley, is really a man named Kenneth Debutts who has defrauded people around the country. By being in the middle of the story and knowing the sources, Robinson adds personal touches such as this one:
Mike teased Dave, which was another plus. Dave cuts his pasta sauce with water chestnuts, prefers microwaved eggs and guzzles tiny bottles of convenience-store ginseng – he needs a lot of teasing.
In addition to the writing, I love how this story's Web package lists the cast of characters on the right rail and offers resources people can use if their own identity is stolen. Thank you Lena Tibbelin for the recommendation. www.thenewstribune.com/news/projects/idtheft/