Beat down
It seems a rolling camera doesn't stop some people from trying to kick the crap out of a reporter. Here's your latest proof of the phenomenon, where a business owner attacks a Canadian journalist. But unlike another well-known attack on a reporter, this one ends up with a FREAKING SWAT TEAM.
Reporters and photographers in this market have had their fair share of shoves, pushes, and thrown microphones. But sometimes, things have gotten very physical, such as when a WNEP photographer was attacked while covering a story three years ago.
Reporters and photographers in this market have had their fair share of shoves, pushes, and thrown microphones. But sometimes, things have gotten very physical, such as when a WNEP photographer was attacked while covering a story three years ago.
posted by Howard Beale at 5:46 AM
9 Comments:
I remember watching a perp swat a mic out of Bob Reynolds' hand at a district judge's office a few years back.
But sometimes, things have gotten very physical, such as when a WNEP photographer was attacked while covering a story three years ago.
We've been down this particular path before, but for the sake of the newbies here, a reminder that there's more to the story than this.
The attacker was a parent whose son had just drowned and was grief-stricken. He went for the first, in his opinion, vulture he saw of all the news people hanging around their unthinkable disaster.
When it happens to us, we will understand. Right now, we apprise the situation in cold, clear, legal logic.
Karma.
If someone wants to keep out of the public eye and off the news, they shouldn't do anything to create interest getting them there. And the occasional innocent person who is accused and in focus would do better to say either "no comment" or "I'm innocent" rather than lashing out at reporters and photographers who are only doing their job. I could understand if they were physically attacked by someone, but since reporters are asking and photographers are taking video, the accused aren't facing harm and have no excuse to try to hurt them. Those of us in the viewing public who are not in this line of work should appreciate what these people do to give us our news. Out in cold/sleet/freezing rain/boiling hot weather, facing accused and/or convicted criminals, etc. They are sometimes endangered. As a viewer, my thanks to all who work at this and don't get hurt for our sakes. Most of the public wouldn't appreciate it anyway.
Tom, you're half-way there.
It was actually a father and brother of a drowned man. Both launched at the photog. To be honest, both of them were whitetrash and were plain angry with the circumstances. BUT, there are better ways of handling such situations. Like alcohol, being angry doesn't justify poor decisions or emotional outbursts, unless you judge by the logic of a toddler.
If someone nailed me while I was shooting, I'd take the camera off my shoulder, raise it above my head and whack the bastards. But that's me.
.....and don't forget the "shove" from a few years back.
16's Bob Reynolds attempted to ask County Commissioner Frank Crossin a question about his drunk driving episode and while just about EVERYBODY'S cameras were rolling---Crossin, red faced shoved Reynolds into the chairs...
Reynolds ended up in the hospital for a check up---Crossin was cited for harassment, paid a 300 dollar fine, and later decided not to run for reelection.
Word is Reynolds wanted Crossin charged with simple assault but that idea was scuttled when Crossin plead guilty to harassment. Double jeopardy kicked in ;-(
Dear 7:53 anon... To be honest, both of them were whitetrash and were plain angry with the circumstances.
Maybe you know them better than I do. But 3/4 of the family lives within fifty feet of the college and are very nice people, hard working and reliable -- maybe not the fanciest dressers in the city. The members you are speaking of, who I also know, are ordinary and nice people, very reliable.
Being angry doesn't justify poor decisions or emotional outbursts, unless you judge by the logic of a toddler.
Gotta keep in mind that it's the loss of a family member ... as in, suddenly dead. Yes, emotional outbursts are part of personal tragedy and we don't appreciate it until it happens to us. Hopefully it never will and I don't wish it on anyone. But I do run into it in my professional day job (outside of my radio work).
When Frank Crossin hip-checked Bob Reynolds into the boards it produced the most memorable front-page headline in Times-Leader history: "Take This Bob and Shove It."
Crossin was a bully and a coward. Reynolds--who could be an infuriating nuisance--was doing his job. He took one for the team.
Correction to 7:53 and all--
It dawned on me, around 2:00am, that we may be speaking of different events. As I lay there going to sleep, I didn't remember my friends taking a swipe at a photog; I just remember them being numb. Yes, media were at their tragedy also, but I think they were too devastated to notice.
In any event, same final note: Remember that it's news for us, but it's unspeakable tragedy for them. We have our legal rights, but they have some unwritten rights as well.
If I remember correctly, Reynolds was trying to get answers from Crossin about an early morning traffic accident. Specifically, why the light pole jumped in front of his car in the Toys 'R Us parking lot--whether he had been drinking adult beverages at the time--and how it came to pass that the cops played taxi driver and drove him home, no questions asked.
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