Oscar the Cat
Paul Giacobbe
(Revised from a Previous Post)
An email regarding the recent story about Oscar, the Steere House cat who is purportedly able to predict imminent death:
I find it very reprehensible that a professional person as Gene Valicenti would use the term,“grim reaper” as a nomen for the cat at the Steere House who has the innate ability to sense when a dementia patient is in the dying process. The dying process is a natural process of life and not one to be mocked at with an off handed,crude remark from a so-called professional reporter/anchor person.
This is not the first time Gene has been glib and insensitive about real life issues of death and dying as well as other human frailties that affect us.I have no idea why he was voted as a ‘best anchor man’. He does not deserve that acclaim for his continued insensitivity and brashness.
Sincerely,
Father John J.Rainone
Director
Department of Pastoral Care
St. Joseph Health Care Services
As, I suspect, I will frequently point out in this blog, the Viewers’ Voice is designed to address viewer concerns of fairness, accuracy and balance in news stories. In that role I have tried to avoid issues which are outside my “fairness, accuracy and balance” responsibilities. However, I can’t imagine that the station officials expected the folks who participate in this blog to not dip into other areas, including issues such as this. On the other hand, while NBC10 provides this space,
Gene has a particular style which viewers either like, or they don’t. It is a choppy, sometimes witty, conversational style that is sometimes offensive to viewers. The term “grim reaper” seems to be universally defined as “the personification of death,“ a cloaked figure carrying a scythe. The story suggested that Oscar sensed impending death, not that he caused death or even that he brought death with him.
The style, however, works for Gene. When it spills over to others, however, it sometimes doesn’t work. In a recent introduction to a story about former Mayor Cianci being released from prison, I winced when I heard Patrice say that Cianci was getting “out of the pen.“ My first thought was that she had inadvertently read Gene’s copy. It was disconcerting, almost like hearing Patrice say a dirty word. It didn’t fit what we’ve all come to know as Patrice’s style. Not only was it an outdated term—I haven’t heard “pen” since the old Cagney movies—but it was inaccurate. “Pen” is short for penitentiary, and Cianci was not in a federal penitentiary, a particular class of facilities.
