On covering funerals

The funeral of York City Councilwoman Joanne Borders was Monday morning.
And we had planned to cover it.
We checked in with a family spokesman, to make sure it was OK to attend, something we generally do before such services.
He had previously welcomed people to come, but, when we checked in on Sunday, he had changed his mind. He told reporter Tim Stonesifer that he wanted to bury his mother in peace and that he didn’t want us to cover her funeral.
Editors, reporters and photographers discussed it, and we decided to heed his request and not attend the funeral.
However, we also decided that Joanne Borders was too important to the York community to ignore the services, so we sent reporter Mike Argento and photographer Paul Kuehnel to cover the services from the outside.
Mike talked to mourners outside, and Paul captured moments without entering the church.
Here’s our story, including photos and video: Friends remember York City Councilwoman Joanne Borders