It’s not just the WSJ that makes things up. With the WSJ, they can’t seem to get basic facts straight. Other times, I think news directors are just desperate to have some news. Or want to make some point and are just looking for someone to say what they want them to say. Yesterday’s Channel 3 report about crime struck me as odd.
Here’s what happened from my perspective. Rick Blum calls me and asks me if I’ve seen the new FBI crime stats for Madison. He tells me that all the crime numbers have gone down. I laugh. He offers to send me the link and asks if I have time to talk about it. I say, well, sure. I spend about a half hour looking at crime information and trends to prepare and then do the interview.
During the interview, I explained that this is just a snap shot of 6 months, that is isn’t during the time period when the meetings were held last fall. I say that these are not the crimes that people were talking about because most people were talking about quality of life and the police non-responsiveness to lesser crimes. I say that we’ve always lived in a relatively safe city. etc. etc. Then I’m asked, should we revisit the 30 officers. I explain that it would be premature and that we don’t have enough information to do that at this point and we should get that report from the police department that is due in February. They push me further. I say the quote that they have in the news story and VOILA! there’s a story. Council members are calling for a review. Even though I even told them it was unlikely that we would do it due to lack of political will.
Interestingly enough, I asked the reporter, who else they had interviewed. She tells me Judy Compton. I ask what she said. The reporter tells me. However, if Judy Compton was interviewed before me, how could she have responded to what appears to be my suggestion that we revisit the hiring of 30 officers? Perhaps this line “But now some critics of that move are suggesting that the item should perhaps be revisited in light of some the new numbers from the report.” isn’t referring to me, but the way the story was presented, it sure appears to.
I suppose, if the council isn’t doing anything this year, we’ll have more of this as news directors attempt to fill the space they need to fill. I’m just kind of disappointed. I expect things like this from channel 27/47 or 15, but not channel 3.
