Yellow Journalism from the Shella Show
Much as been blogged in the aftermath of the Indianapolis 'Revolt at theStatehouse' Rally held on March 25th. As several heads of Taxpayerdelegations from various portions of Indiana gave their troubledexperiences with their local government that doesn't seem to beresponsive to them, Jim Shella, political reporter for channel Wish-TVarrived with microphone for interviews. The channel 8 film clipinterview that played Wednesday evening followed by Friday's airing'Indiana Week in Review' with the same clip and remarks by Shella weresome of the worst yellow broadcast journalism I can remember.
Billed as a politically non partisan speaker event, there werenevertheless tables of information by various groups and politicalparties intent on proselytizing converts to their respective parties, including the Republican Libertarian Caucus, Libertarian Party, and the Campaign for Liberty group.
Mr. Shella seized upon this floor area for quick interviews, later edited and aired to show those unflatteringtable representatives' halted and impromptu comments as the meat of hisbroadcast, rather than the subject matter of multiple speakers who eachspoke of grievances with their government. Missing the overarchingtheme of accountability and transparency in government well documentedin advance, Mr. Shella violated fundamental values of objectivereporting through focus of what can be only described as majoring in theminor, tantamount to criticizing tribes of Indians while ignoring news of a Boston Tea Party in progress.
Admittedly, there is bias in all of us. We all see through coloredglasses. But this exceeded elementary reporting 101 with commentarythat demeaned citizens who spoke and who attended. The basics of who,what, when, where, and why were trashed in favor of discrediting thoseon the floor who had other agendas. With a broad brush, he and most ofhis panelists piled on and treated the story as a rally that went bad.
Further, the Friday program was saturated in an elite smugness that was suffocating. I'll not watch this tabloid again. WISH-TV and IndianaWeek in Review's backers should be ashamed of being represented this way.
Paul Wheeler
Marion County
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Patriot Paul writes to WFYI regarding Jim Shella & Indiana Week in Review
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4 comments:
I walked by Shella several times, before and after I spoke. Not once did he ask for an interview. He wouldn't even smile at me, which made it apparent to me that he wasn't there to report real news.
Did you happen to hear, like several others reported hearing, Shella name calling the taxpayers?
Appalling for the selective slant you would expect from an editorial page, the particularly surly nature of the depiction of the Libertarian volunteer, and the general attitude of, "Yuck. I have to cover these unwashed and bothersome idiot protesters." Oops, channel 8 news coming on shortly. Burning my channel 20 fundriver request and buying groceries from Kroger instead of Marsh is not quite enough yet. Mr. Shella and Channel 8 owe an apology.
Add Toyota, Tire Barn, and Logan's Roadhouse, along with Marsh, to the list of merchants whom I will boycott because of their sponsorship of WISH-TV Channel 8 News, the employer of Jim Shella. When a bunch of sincere, peacable non media-savy taxpayers took time to express their disdain on a bunch of issues at the Indiana Statehouse, all Jim Shella could provide in his report was ridicule. Watch it yourself if you don't believe me.
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