Friday, January 23, 2004
I'M IN CHARGE...NO, YOU'RE IN CHARGE...
Nothing really about politics today, folks. The following is a rant about some inside baseball for a lot of you.
We had a situation this morning with a major news event...train derailment of a military shipment and explosive cargo. You'd think that this would merit some attention and communication between authorities who have the need to dispense and the media who have the means to dispense...but no...no one could speak unless they were in an "official" capacity...so the story went haywire. Why is it I get the sense that people "in the know" are a bunch of hot-dogs who don't like their bread being buttered by anyone but themselves? I mean, we had a potentially serious event on our hands and we had to waste a lot of time running around to try and find the "official" who was the one pegged with the duty to inform the public. Here's how my morning went:
1. Listener informs us there's something happening on a train track.
2. We make calls to ALL police departments, ALL fire, EMT, and everyone we could think of to find out the info...everyone says they can't say anything about it. Some even say they had no idea about anything.
3. Finally, I go out there to the site only to be turned away by a cop, but he's kind enough to give me the chief's phone number.
4. I call the chief and about the only thing he has to say to me is a bunch of questions of how I got his number.
Truth here -- everyone likes to know something somebody else doesn't (including me)...we get a charge out of keeping it to ourselves until we can't take it anymore...we like to feel like a big-shot. But when you have a rail car full of live explosives, it's time to put away childish things.
The media needs to quit being instantly suspect of police (part of a larger issue) and police have to trust the media a little more. I know you guys (cops) have really taken it on the chin from the media in the past (Rodney King, Cincinnati, etc), but here's one media guy who wants to give you some slack...take it.
Done with rant...go on with your lives...everything is okay.
Nothing really about politics today, folks. The following is a rant about some inside baseball for a lot of you.
We had a situation this morning with a major news event...train derailment of a military shipment and explosive cargo. You'd think that this would merit some attention and communication between authorities who have the need to dispense and the media who have the means to dispense...but no...no one could speak unless they were in an "official" capacity...so the story went haywire. Why is it I get the sense that people "in the know" are a bunch of hot-dogs who don't like their bread being buttered by anyone but themselves? I mean, we had a potentially serious event on our hands and we had to waste a lot of time running around to try and find the "official" who was the one pegged with the duty to inform the public. Here's how my morning went:
1. Listener informs us there's something happening on a train track.
2. We make calls to ALL police departments, ALL fire, EMT, and everyone we could think of to find out the info...everyone says they can't say anything about it. Some even say they had no idea about anything.
3. Finally, I go out there to the site only to be turned away by a cop, but he's kind enough to give me the chief's phone number.
4. I call the chief and about the only thing he has to say to me is a bunch of questions of how I got his number.
Truth here -- everyone likes to know something somebody else doesn't (including me)...we get a charge out of keeping it to ourselves until we can't take it anymore...we like to feel like a big-shot. But when you have a rail car full of live explosives, it's time to put away childish things.
The media needs to quit being instantly suspect of police (part of a larger issue) and police have to trust the media a little more. I know you guys (cops) have really taken it on the chin from the media in the past (Rodney King, Cincinnati, etc), but here's one media guy who wants to give you some slack...take it.
Done with rant...go on with your lives...everything is okay.
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