Monday, July 30, 2007

Cianci’s Return

Paul Giacobbe

    The two hour Cianci special of last Thursday night, and the frenzied coverage— “he had lunch on the Hill” and “Omigod, he’s not wearing his toupee” – has passed with not nearly as much NBC10 viewer reaction (read that, “backlash”)  as expected.  Two emails came into the Viewers’ Voice email:

    I cannot agree with the decision to give this ex-con who disgraced and dishonored the office of mayor and the public trust another platform (Channel 10) on which to glorify and justify himself.
    Is this responsible journalism?  Or is it journalism for sensationalism and the profit alone?

and . . .

    I am tired of listening about “Citizen Cianci” and his freedom.  The man was convicted of a federal crime yet you feel the need to sensationalize his freedom and follow him around and report his every move.  The man did do good things in the city, but that was in the past.  Do you plan to report the freedom and future of all convicted federal criminals?

  The newsroom said it received three calls Thursday night, two of which were supportive of the decision to run the special and one that was not.

  I expected a more active response to the station’s decision to air the special and to the coverage of the former mayor’s release from penal oversight, but I was not bothered by the lack of reaction.  Cianci is an important part of this state’s history.  His return after an extended absence – whatever the reason for that absence – is certainly worth noting.

  The first emailer above asks whether the coverage “is journalism for sensationalism and the profit alone.”  Many people, whether they are supporters or not, are interested in the mayor. Running a two hour special, or limited reporting on the mayor’s movements in his first few days of freedom, is naturally based on a profit motivated decision that viewers are interested and, therefore, will watch.  That’s not wrong, that’s the basis of commercial television.

  Cianci, his return to Providence, public life and his expected return to talk radio, are potentially compelling stories. Hopefully, future coverage will be based not on his luncheon plans or hairstyle but rather on the impact, if any, of his return to Providence and Rhode Island politics.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

A Tough Start

by Paul Giacobbe

    Last Friday the station broadcast an ombudsman report that was critical—or, at least, I thought it was critical—of the decision of NBC10 and other news organizations to identify a Narragansett man who was charged with raping a woman 32 years ago, when both were age 16.  The charge was brought by a woman who said she had repressed the memory of the attack for those 32 years. After the man was indicted, the attorney general said he did not believe he could successfully prosecute, and dropped the charges. (The ombudsman report can be viewed on the Viewer’s Voice page on this website.)

  That report generated this email:

    I just watched your lame excuse for an apology to the man who was accused of something he may not even have done and it made me sick. Not only do you cast the blame on everyone else involved with this case but you seem to hide behind others. No shame on the attorney generals office for doing what the law tells him but SHAME ON PEOPLE LIKE YOU who should have just admitted it was wrong to give this mans name. Unfortunately you are like most other news people, report to be “the first” to break a big story and blame it on everyone else if you’re wrong. I am not a perfect person, far from it but I can go to sleep without having to worry about smearing someones name. You on the other hand are scum. I hope you are wrongly accused of something that you haven’t done and it ruins your already pitiful career. Channel 10 went way over the line in this case and instead of just apologizing, you choose to hide. I will no longer watch the trash you and your station promote.

    Other than an email address, the email was unsigned.  Either I wasn’t clear in the ombudsman report or the writer of the email just didn’t get it.  Not only wasn’t NBC10 “blaming” someone else, they were paying

me to blame them

and giving me the air time to do it.  Anyway, welcome to the Viewer’s Voice blog.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Welcome to the Viewer’s Voice Blog

by Paul Giacobbe

The Viewer’s Voice, almost 10 years old now,  enters the 21st century with the introduction of this blog. I’ll still review complaints about fairness, accuracy and balance in news reports and, when appropriate, reply directly or, if the issue warrants, respond with an on-air report.  In the past there have been some issues that have been important to viewers but which I didn’t see as significant enough to warrant an on-air response.  For those issues, there is now the blog.  It’s not exactly wide open—I’ll review submissions before they’re posted because the thought of some of the stuff I’ve gotten in the past going directly on the blog freaks me out a bit.  But almost anything will generally be OK.  This could be both entertaining and fun or it could be NBC10’s worst nightmare. Let’s see.