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.