[Larryandlinda]

Originally Posted by chuckster

Until the last sentence I was in agreement with you.

imho, sounds like a judgement was just passed by bare ............

We're seeing it the same way as TH and many more, Chuck......
you're very own posting is a 'judgement' that may have been a tad unwarranted?

Smelly...
could apply to
The alleged infractions by the hunting party members,
The Station's protocol in their investigative reporting, or the actions of a number of TOTV posters. For that matter, smelly could be some of the 'fast judgements' by others of others' judgements and comments.

TH and others have decades in the media on the other side of the mic and lens.

Sometimes come of the sensationalism and gossip can help sell papers and air.
It can even help boost the hits on TOTV, and we even admit ourselves that Tony's posting might have been 'good for the ratings' Instead of calling that out ourselves in a knee jerk manner, we waited to see that it appears to be news of note - and we can make the decision to complain, moan, or address it as most have done

Television and radio have an off knob, your keyboard has a delete.
One thing good, we can stroll the town squares and be assured that WVLG will be airing pleasing oldies instead of chatter,

L and L

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by Rag ******

Show us the request. If it's real.

Why would a viewer in Billings give a hang about our comments? Seems like a cooked up request with another agenda. JMO I have no facts.

If TA doesn't care for my comments just remove me from the site.

I guess you're saying that we are lying about the request. I have no idea what makes you think that, but I respect your right to think what you want.

However, it's a huge insult to the administrators of this board.

[tony]

I would never show Rag ****** nor anyone else private email from KTVQ. It was a sincere request from the news department.

It started as my asking permission to republish the article to save our members from having to go to a link which may or may not stay up in the future. Remember? We all need permission to republish another's work. I mention it constantly.

The station's new director asked that in return we seek members who would comment for its news. That is a quite common request during many news stories. You have seen it a thousand times whether you know it or not.

Now what are we showing to Billings and most of Montana? Rag ****** is an uncivil poster. I don't think I ever saw anyone here accuse anyone else of lying. It is completely uncivil. It could have been handled entirely differently or it could have been questioned in Private Messages. If Rag ****** publicly accused another member of lying I would ban him in a second. We have asked in the past for members to keep it civil in all sections of the forum. My guess is that Rag ****** will get his request.

I will wait until he has a chance to read this before I escort him to the door.

[blaZen]

Poaching is a way of life in the Deep South.

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by blaZen

Poaching is a way of life in the Deep South.

It isn't in Montana. Elk hunting is a cherished commodity. Licenses are issued on a lottery basis and the winners pay over $10,000 for the privilege of winning. The wild game herd there is cherished and protected like very few other states.

I have friends who apply each year, but are selected only occasionally. I think maybe 2 or 3 times in the past 15 years. So, when anybody circumvents the law, it's taken reallllllllly seriously.

JLK

[jjdees]

TH, the media has crafted it's own reputation of having an agenda, thus very many people look upon the media as diggers of dirt rather than news. A good example is Dan Rather who created his own dirt with false records on GWB and the AP who sent dozens of investigators to Alaska to dig up dirt on Palin. That's not what we look to our news sources to provide.

As far as the Morse story, why did the authorities wait 4 years to bring charges? It's not like a long trail of intrigue that required a lot of research. If they had the info on the transgressions in 2006, 2007, 2008, why the wait to press charges? If they didn't have the info where did they get it?

How did they know that Morse possessed a mule deer in '06? If they found out back then, why the wait? The same goes for how they gained knowledge of a switched tag, wounding an animal with an arrow, possession of other animals, illegal hunts, etc. It sounds like there was a whistle blower in the background or maybe with the hunting party. If so, I would hope it's a valid charge, not one that's driven by some other agenda against a high profile person.

[redwitch]

Tony and Jan -- Maybe you could contact KTVQ and get permission to post the email or at least portions of it. I will admit I was pretty curious as to how a Montana television station had heard of TOTV. It's nice to know it was innocent rather than an active search to get Florida viewpoints and help hang the Morses in Montana. It sounds like a lot of the problem is you Admins had a few more facts than we readers did and understood this was a very reasonable request. We reacted on our knowledge and viewpoint of today's newscasters with a lot of suspicion and resentment at the idea they would use our comments to increase their ratings -- especially since we believed they would only use the comments that furthered their agenda.

So, here's a suggestion -- how about seeing if you can post KTVQ's request in a new thread and let us decide if we want to respond to what is probably a much more innocent question than we had initially assumed?

[jtdraig]

To the Media...here's my comment:

We shouldn't be making comments, period.

[Pturner]

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?

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by blaZen

Poaching is a way of life in the Deep South.

You base this slur on what?

[redwitch]

pt -- You're right. We really did jump to some pretty nasty conclusions about KTVQ and some of us about the admins. My apologies to the TV station, but I'm still leery and still wonder what possible interest Montana could have in any Floridian's opinion on this issue.

[Barefoot]

Quote from Pturner "As for dissing the TOTV admins, I don't get it. What have they done to deserve our distrust?[/QUOTE]

Good question. In my opinion, the Admins have done absolutely nothing to deserve our animosity.

[islandgal]

Bare, I am with you.
It seems to me that those of us who were on board TOTV in the beginning still remain civil, informative and pleasant.
As the number of members has grown, so unfortunately has the animosity in some instances.

[Ajack]

I don't think it is the general public's fault for the media distrust expressed everywhere. From television to magazines to newspapers, etc. we are bombarded with slanted news daily. Now a days, people question all news and all sources. TOTV is just a victim of the times. Even though this forum is privately funded, people regard it as a cousin of the media?

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by Ajack

I don't think it is the general public's fault for the media distrust expressed everywhere. From television to magazines to newspapers, etc. we are bombarded with slanted news daily. Now a days, people question all news and all sources. TOTV is just a victim of the times. Even though this forum is privately funded, people regard it as a cousin of the media?

Once again, we have never given you anything but a free hand to post here. TOTV is an exact reflection of its members. You are the ones who frame it. You post here, you make the comments, you make the news, you report the news, you give the opinions. We simply own the software and try to keep the peace.