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What Would YOU Have Done?

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Mickey Richaud

Mickey Richaud

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Yesterday afternoon, at a house three doors down from us, there was a shooting. Apparently, a guy was caught in the middle of a break-in when the owners returned home. The wife was shot in the chest by the assailant/robber. She was life-flighted to Vanderbilt; haven't heard her condition.

We're in a quiet neighborhood close to the downtown area. Not exactly what anyone would expect, but then isn't that usually the case?

Anyway, this morning, my doorbell rang. I went to answer it, and there were a couple of guys, one with a video camera. First guy introduces himself as a reporter from one of the Nashville TV stations. Asked me for an interview, and I told him I'd rather not. He pressed me with another question, and then I asked for an ID. The cameraman didn't say anything, but it was clear that he didn't appreciate my request. The reporter said they were from Channel (-) and showed me the number of the channel on the camera. I said I really didn't want to comment, so they moved on.

They may well have been legit, but c'mon... Why should they be ticked if I ask for ID? And, by the way, I never did see any!

SHEESH!
 
Nothing wrong with asking for ID whenever anyone comes to the door. These days who knows what lurks out there.
 
Can't say as I blame you, Mickey. They obviously aren't used to someone who isn't bothered about his "Fifteen minutes of fame" and refuses to take someone who purports to be from the media at face value.

As a retired cop, I would say that you did the right thing.
 
Whether they were really reporters or not- I say don't talk to them. They are morbid vultures.

It's one thing to report the facts of what happened, but what is this with interviewing people who were not directly involved about their feelings at something happening close to them? Where is the new value.

I live in the Chicago media market- so we have no end of violent "local" news. It never ceases to amaze me that the goal of the reporters is to just get some video somewhat related to real news. Interviewing neighbors "I didn't see anything," "they seemed so normal," Interviewing grief stricken family members as if we all don't know they are shocked and in dismay- it's immoral.
 
News crews shoot what people want to see. If they don't shoot what people want to watch, then the station gets poor ratings and people lose jobs.

Whether or not you want to talk to them is a personal choice. They don't have the right to give you crap for not wanting to be on camera any more than a door to door salesman has the right to be upset that you don't want to buy his shaving cream. Their reaction was probably for the same reason as the salesman who keeps getting turned down.

Personally I don't want to be on the news either, so I would have done the same as you.
 
ya know guys ... one of the things that *really* gripes me is the camera held in the face of the recently-stricken family members, asking "so what was it like when he held your mother to the floor?" or "so what was it like when you returned to see your entire home burned to ashes?", etc.

Then they wait in silence and hold the camera still, just waiting to see someone cry.

c'mon - does this make anything better at all? to see other people's personal misery - especially when we have no idea who they are?

always amazed and disgusted to turn on local TV at 6pm and see a steady stream of "live coverage" of murders, arson, stabbings, robbery, rape and pillaging. And of course not one situation involves anyone I know.

Mickey - thanks for holding your ground and not buckling under just cuz the cam was pointed at you. Here's hoping that some day, local news will cover what's important to the community, not what's important to ratings.

oy.
Tom
 
I find it no excuse that people will watch sensationalism.
 
Steve said:
Can't say as I blame you, Mickey. They obviously aren't used to someone who isn't bothered about his "Fifteen minutes of fame" and refuses to take someone who purports to be from the media at face value.
Click to expand...

That's exactly it.

We used to have a wannabe photo-journalist who did freelance work for the local rag hang around our store way back when. One night he came in and started asking us questions and tried to take pictures when I asked him to leave. He got downright irate and said "don't you want to see your picture in the newspaper!?!?!?" - I said "no!" He genuinely seemed shocked.

He was a nutcase anyway. He "saved" a 5 year old boy that fell into the mall water fountain one night. He immediately wrote about his heroism, and the fact that nobody else lept into the fountain. He neglected to mention it was all of 6" deep and turned off at the time.


A few years ago a small twin engine Piper was flying over our airport when it hit a buzzard. The bird destroyed the windshield and made a mess of the inside of the airplane (you know what they eat, put two and two together). They landed the airplane and called someone to come drive them away while the airplane was fixed. The local newspaper shows up with cameras, same deal. They were asking everyone all kinds of idiotic questions like "will you think twice about flying after this accident" (accident? Lady, they hit a bird - do you interview everyone in the area whenever anyone hits a deer?). Same deal: we told her to get lost and she, the photographer, and a third person got pretty nasty - as if we'd broken our civil obligation to make some kind of meaningful statement about the situation.
 
A .45 gets ID flashed real quick!
 
NutmegCT, I agree COMPLETELY with everything you said.

Lawguy, you and I may not like it, but the majority of the world's population lives to see stuff like that. It's sad, but true.
 
I doubt I'd have talked to them either. At the same time, I'd recognize they are just doing their job and probably would have tried to get them to leave without going Midevil on them.
 
.
 
I doubt I'd have talked to them either. At the same time, I'd recognize they are just doing their job and probably would have tried to get them to leave without going Midevil on them.
 
In this day and age, I would ask for an ID, but I don't think I'd give an interview. You did all right. If they didn't want to show their ID, then who knows if they were legit or not.
 
Basil said:
I doubt I'd have talked to them either. At the same time, I'd recognize they are just doing their job and probably would have tried to get them to leave without going Midevil on them.
Click to expand...

But I've heard the same thing said about telemarketers too. I don't care what their chosen profession (or current occupation) is. That's their problem, and my attitude just comes with the territory /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
I don't classify news reporters in the same category as telemarketers. A reporter seeks out a specific individual who is relevant to their story. A telemarketer runs an auto-dial machine and tries to suck as much money from as many strangers as possible. They have little to no regard for how many people they are annoying and serve no useful function in society.

I don't want reporters knocking on my door, but at least if they do, I know it's an isolated event.
 
Mickey

Other than the fact your just too polite ( are you Canadian?),
I would have done the same, just more abruptly!

Dave
 
aerog said:
Steve said:
...A few years ago a small twin engine Piper was flying over our airport when it hit a buzzard. The bird destroyed the windshield and made a mess of the inside of the airplane (you know what they eat, put two and two together). They landed the airplane and called someone to come drive them away while the airplane was fixed. The local newspaper shows up with cameras, same deal. They were asking everyone all kinds of idiotic questions like "will you think twice about flying after this accident" (accident? Lady, they hit a bird - do you interview everyone in the area whenever anyone hits a deer?). Same deal: we told her to get lost and she, the photographer, and a third person got pretty nasty - as if we'd broken our civil obligation to make some kind of meaningful statement about the situation.
Click to expand...

Did they try and get the buzzard's side of the story? Where I live, here in liberal land, the whole story would have been about the poor bird, and how we need to protect their eco-space and keep airplanes out.
Click to expand...
 
Steve_S said:
I don't classify news reporters in the same category as telemarketers....I don't want reporters knocking on my door, but at least if they do, I know it's an isolated event.
Click to expand...

That wasn't my point at all. My point is if they ask me a question and I tell them to [blank] off they shouldn't be shocked by it, it comes with the territory.
 
With the way that TV news is structured now, they believe that they are in the entertainment industry and not the information industry.

The BBC news always been a benchmark in TV news, with quality in-depth coverage. CNN used the BBC as a template in its early days. BBC America have launched a news program for the USA now, hosted by Matt Frei, a journalist who I have found to be very insightful and balanced.

You might not always agree with the BBC's point of view but compared to the media over here it is still head and shoulders above whatever comes close.
 
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