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Mourning family attacks TV photog and reporter

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by spikechiquet, Feb 22, 2011.

  1. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Yes, I am sure the reporter and camera woman were planning on cashing in big-time on this major TMZ scoop-o-rama. ::)

    No offense, but have you ever worked in journalism? I ask because I don't know your background. But sometimes the job makes you do some things you might find uncomfortable for the greater public good.
     
  2. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Where the hell were the police through all of this? It looked like a somewhat busy district. No biggie when there are near riots on the streets of Sacramento, I take it, in broad daylight, that last several minutes?
     
  3. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    What good comes from doing stories like these in the first place? Because it's been done before countless time and news directors expect this type of coverage? Because some consultant said it gives good ratings? Not good enough of an answer. Lazy, just lazy.

    The same shots could have been taken from across the street (like someone else did, since they got the video of the other crew) for B-roll of the area. If the family wants to talk...fine. If not, talk to IHOP, the cops...there are other sources to go with to get the info.

    Couldn't the reporter have walked up...no mic, no cameraperson...and asked the family if they wanted to talk first? No, he just walks up, mic in hand, camera in tow and starts asking questions (it appears). Yeah, that won't provoke anyone...oh, but it makes for more "compelling" video.

    I did TV news as a cameraperson for years in a bigger, sometimes violent, city and never stooped this low "for ratings." We still got the story.

    Again, the family over reacted as well and should be charged for assault...but they were provoked in my mind.
     
  4. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    No way were they "provoked."

    If a family is mourning in public like that, en masse, the public probably wants to know what was going on. Especially if the murder has already been in the news.

    The news crew probably expected that the family would want to talk about their deceased relative. They may have thought they would make a plea for people to find the killer. There are no shortage of useful pieces of information that potentially could be culled from the interaction.

    Journalism is more than games and press conferences.
     
  5. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    What good comes from it? It shows the community the real results of the crimes that are going on within it. I'd say that's a pretty pressing community interest.
     
  6. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    Funny how you guys are reacting...and I am assuming most of you are newspaper people, like I am now.

    Here are the words coming from the TV side of things (via my buddy in the TV biz still, a reporter in SA)
    "You know, its interesting...the reporter and photogs actions in this video are very questionable. Even though they were on public property, it appears the family made it quote clear they didn't want to be bothered. Yet, the reporter and photog seemed to continue approaching the upset family in a confrontational manner. It apears the crew egged the family on...rather than just walk away and continue coverage from a respectable distance."

    A comment from someone else on his post: "It's all about being respectful amd decent. No one has ever gotten physical with me on a story, and the verbal assaults are few and far between. Yes, we're trying to get the story, but not at the cost of integrity and decency.

    What is it that people on the board always say? Oh, yeah..."Find a different way."
     
  7. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    The reporter could have approached them without the camera, but it didn't even look like they were filming at the beginning. The reporter certainly wasn't doing any kind of interview at that point. It's hard to hear what's being said, so maybe the reporter (doing what he should in trying to convince the family to talk) said the wrong thing and all hell broke loose. Or maybe the family really is just a bunch of nutjobs or fears retribution.

    On another note, that is a really manly looking camera woman.
     
  8. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    The reporter and cameraman(woman) could hardly have approached the family in a less confrontational manner. They had about the meekest body language possible.
     
  9. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    So you were a news "cameraperson" and never "stooped so low" as to go to a crime scene, and speak to mourners you found at that crime scene? Really? Because I happen to work in TV news, and I used to be a photog, and that's an absolutely everyday occurrence. It's a basic part of the job in any market bigger than Mayberry. There is no photog in any market bigger than Sacramento, where this occurred, who hasn't shot something like this at least once a week.

    The difference is that usually the people don't lose their shit and attack.

    The crew didn't do themselves any favors -- they should have approached the people in a better way, and the photog in particular did little to calm the situation once it got ugly. But having said that, it is beyond ignorant to suggest this is a ratings ploy and they should cover news from across the street.
     
  10. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    Walking up to someone with a mic in hand and with a person in tow with a camera on their shoulder...looks like an interview to me.
    This was a bigger market, the guy had to had done this before and understood "the game", if you walk up to someone with a camera person, they assume they are going to be on TV...I don't know how many times I would be walking around as a one-man band...tripod on one shoulder, camera bag in the other...and people would ask me if I am filming them at that moment.
    People, we all know, all generally stupid when it comes to our jobs (TV/newspapers/radio), so they assume you are always "on the job", even when you aren't.
    Again, I thing both sides are wrong. The people over reacted and should be charged for assault, but think of how they saw it also.
    Hate to do it, but I will: "Two white news people walking up to a group of black and other ethic-skinned people to do a story after a murder."
    Yeah, there may be some emotions.
     
  11. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Sure, it looks like an interview. I said they weren't confrontational. They didn't stride up with their chests out and demand answers. They kind of edged in there and tried to see if people would talk.

    I don't quite understand why the race matters. What the shooter a white TV reporter?
     
  12. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    They set up a public memorial on the sidewalk outside the IHOP. It's fair to assume they would want to talk about their loved one.
     
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