jueves, 24 de junio de 2010

Waxahachie Daily Light Hit on House Fire Article

The Waxahachie Daily Light is notorious for their ads leaving out information, their articles being so warped with cover-ups of crooked politicians, misspellings beyond belief and other wayward things. Here's an example of a reader who takes issue with a recent story from reporter Paul Gauntt:
I don't even know where to start.. My house caught fire 6/9.more specifically my bedroom. As i'm watching the fire dept do there job, I see a chubby middle aged man stroll onto the scene..he was wearing a reflective vest with "press" written on the back.. Now i'm a ballsy feminist..no man can intimidate me..i knew exactly what this guy was doing.. So I calmly walked over to him and told him to leave. He looked at me and walked over to the fire chief. Then he disappeared. The next day a friend texts me and asks me if ive seen the paper. I get on wdl.com..and I hit the roof. First of all. He (paul gauntt) published our address. Were unlisted because my mom is a manager for a fortune 500 company. for our own safety. Second, he used our last name. I'm a type b personality, i'm a very private person. I felt exposed. Thirdly, he didn't have any facts in the case so he made things up. He said an overloaded surge protector caused the fire. a faulty tower fan was the cause. Then he said i was at home when the fire started. I wasn't. I came home to it. Lastly he said there was $8,000-10,000 in damages. How does he know that? There was over $40,000 in damages! The day after the article came out, I sent him an email clearly expressing my anger. Ive gotten no response. I can forward you the email if u want. I have a firm grasp on the first amendment right to freedom of the press. he put my business out there like he had every right to..don't I have a right to privacy? I lost everything I owned and this is a total kick in the teeth. What i'm asking you is, who do I have to light a fire under to make sure this doesn't happen to another family going through this tragedy? Your thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Maggi R. Archdeacon
My response was that media/press people typically publish the names and addresses of incidents. It's routine. Hell, the New England newspapers I read had published the exact addresses for people who got arrested. However, the media/press don't have automatic entitlements to enter onto private property regardless of the incident. I for sure have done the same thing, but if I were asked to leave, I'd definitely leave...

And you folks can kiss my butt if you think I'm going to wear a wimpy-looking press vest. I know that's a requirement or some crap for wrecks on the side of the highway, but I refuse. I will show my press pass in my car and in my wallet, and that's it.

Do not attempt to restrict freedom of the press...

2 comentarios:

  1. I suppose no one ever imagined that "Freedom of the Press" would amount to "Invasion of Privacy" to the citizens.

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  2. Its not so much the privacy thats the issue, its a major SAFETY issue for my family. Ive seen similar articles written and theyve been able to keep It somewhat anonymous. Had paul gauntt had any shred of decency, he couldve left my family's name out of the entire article. Then, I would have no issue with him publishing our add ress. If he had told the TRUTH.. He trespassed onto private property. Hes profiting on my circumstances.. I hope sleeps well at night.

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