The reality of news is the bigger or more tragic the story, the greater the potential for increased ratings. A fine line exists between responsible journalism and sensationalism. Editors and producers need to decide how to present the story but sadly the focus becomes more about them and their own notorioty.
When Mrs. Thompson went on TV yesterday afternoon to say thank you to the community for all their efforts, the TV media seemed to go into a feeding frenzy. Perhaps I didn't hear it so I hope I'm wrong but I don't recall hearing anyone express sympathy to her. It was more about who asked the most questions to earn high marks. Almost every question was about how they as a family felt. I don't know. I guess crying generates numbers but I was very disapointed in how this was handled. Someone should have escorted that poor woman back to her home after she made her statement and answered a few questions.
Yesterday, I believe WOKV really earned journalism high marks. Even in the limited amount of time I listened, it seemed to me their focus was where it should have been. Roxy Tyler spoke about the greatness and compassion of our community drawing parallels to the Maddy Clifton case. I can't do justice to how well that story was illustrated to a radio audience who weren't seeing pictures.
I guess it's the nature of a tragic story that remind many of us of WOKV's continued journalism excellence.
When Mrs. Thompson went on TV yesterday afternoon to say thank you to the community for all their efforts, the TV media seemed to go into a feeding frenzy. Perhaps I didn't hear it so I hope I'm wrong but I don't recall hearing anyone express sympathy to her. It was more about who asked the most questions to earn high marks. Almost every question was about how they as a family felt. I don't know. I guess crying generates numbers but I was very disapointed in how this was handled. Someone should have escorted that poor woman back to her home after she made her statement and answered a few questions.
Yesterday, I believe WOKV really earned journalism high marks. Even in the limited amount of time I listened, it seemed to me their focus was where it should have been. Roxy Tyler spoke about the greatness and compassion of our community drawing parallels to the Maddy Clifton case. I can't do justice to how well that story was illustrated to a radio audience who weren't seeing pictures.
I guess it's the nature of a tragic story that remind many of us of WOKV's continued journalism excellence.