Sources tell The Turner Report that despite the fact that the word was already out Tuesday morning that Missouri Southern State University football coach John Ware had died, KOAM and KSNF agreed to a request from university officials not to release the information during their noon news reports.
This, of course, was not a problem at KODE which shows "All My Children" at noon.
University officials also asked the television stations not to come to the campus to conduct interviews until late in the afternoon. While this was obviously a traumatic situation for everyone at MSSU, and you can understand the request, giving in so quickly to the request and allowing the university to dictate the content of news programs is less understandable.
Since my understanding is that family had already been notified, there seems no legitimate reason why the stations could not have at least run a brief bulletin on Coach Ware's death.
7 comments:
Randy - I would believe it to be out of respect for the students. Although his immediate family had been notified, not all of his extended family had been notified. For the students that were under him on the field or in the classroom, if they would have first seen the news on the local news, it would be like one of us learning about a family members death through someone we didn't know.
Respect was given to his ENTIRE family (i.e. MSSU), not just his immedeiate family.
Believe me, I do understand the reasoning behind the decision, I simply disagree with it. Once the immediate family has been notified, and the basic facts have been determined, it is generally better to get the information out, if for no other reason than to nip unsubstantiated rumors before they can be started. If the news is reported in a tasteful way, while it is still stunning, it provides a much-needed public service.
Randy,
How can you criticize the work of news gathering organizations, when you yourself are not a real reporter and don't make your living that way.
Randy,
When you die KSN & KODE will be sure to release your death before your family knows. That way we'll avoid rumors that you're really not dead. RIP RANDY. :)
A thought from KOAM News Director- Kristi Spencer. Not airing the information at noon doesn't show that our stations are allowing the college to dictate our coverage, rather our attention to ethics and sensitivity that were the deciding factor. I have to question sources who claim the "word was out". I can't speak for the folks at KSNF, but, at noon we were not made aware as to how many people had been told, but we did know that a player's meeting had not been held. While the players may not technically be family, many of them feel as though they are. I think it's important to be respectful of that. In addition, there was no request from MSSU as to when KOAM crews went to the campus, that decision was based on our internal standards and desire not to make a very stressful situation worse. In the future, if you'd rather not rely on sources inside newsrooms for information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email, kspencer@koamtv.com.
you must have struck a nerve randy. the boss is writing you. i understand both sides of the dilemna but having grown up in a bigger city i know the news stations would not have been as courteous there.
If everyone agreed with everything I wrote, it would take a lot of the fun out of doing this blog. I like to bring up these newsroom issues for discussion and apparently there are people out there who are ready to discuss them.
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