Monday, October 1, 2007

TV Coverage Lacking in Credibility!

To: Blaise Labbe, News Director, Channel 9 TV - OKC

I am appalled at your channel's handling of the Oklahoma Republican House
Victory campaign story. I am not a journalist, but it's common knowledge to
everyone that you must cite your sources in order to have any credibility.
And certainly where there is an ongoing Ethics Commission investigation, you
all are being grossly unfair to Lance Cargill by only naming him when you
know that as a respondent, he cannot break the confidentiality that is in
place with this or any ethics matter!

How in the world can you claim to be any kind of credible media organization when you continue to cite, "unnamed sources" and conceal the identity of the person you interview? You are acting more like a partisan blog than a TV news station!

As for concealing the identity of the man you interviewed last night, what possible reason do you have to justify concealing his identity?
How could this silhouetted person call on Lance Cargill to "come clean" when he himself is hiding behind the curtain of anonymity? Clearly, there is no physical threat to him - this isn't some New York City mafia scenario. We are dealing with public servants, not Sammy the Bull or John Gotti.

Channel 9 has lost all credibility now and I urge you to respect the ethics laws and the standards of journalism before you sink even lower.
Bobby Cleveland, Norman

No comments: