It seems ironic. Most (appropriately, I think) said don't jump to conclusion about Mark Morse. Yet so many are jumping to conclusions about KTVQ; and some even seem suspicious about TOTV admins' explanations of KTVQ's request.
As a former journalist, I too am appalled by the lack of journalistic standards applied by much of the mainstream media (yes, even including the mainstream network that claims not to be, and that points an accusatory finger at the hen house). I've said often that I cannot even imagine what they teach in journalism school anymore.
And yet, I don't have enough information to jump to conclusion about KTVQ's motives.
- I am not familiar with KTVQ and have no evidence of skullduggery on its part.
- Requests for comment from people whose lives are impacted by newsmakers is common, and not by itself evidence of an impending hatchet job. As Bare stated well in an earlier post, KTVQ could just be looking for group sentiment from people who live in Morse's development. Or not. But jumping to conclusion and rushing to judgment is part of what we have come to distrust about the media, isn't it? Why emulate them?
- KTVQ quite legally could have just pulled comments off of this public board without seeking our permission. Instead the news director appears to have taken the high road in asking.
I'm not defending KTVQ, just appealing to the same sense of fair play we use to depend upon from news media. That doesn't mean offering comments for KTVQ. To me, it does mean not blasting them in a public forum for something they haven't done. As for dissing the TOTV admins, I don't get it. What have they done to deserve our distrust?