a thread for local TV news insanity

this story has been making the rounds on my facebook feed and i want to talk about it

http://www.abc6.com/story/22504408/abc-6-crew-attacked-while-tracking-arrest

An ABC6 crew was on assignment in Providence when they were assaulted in broad daylight. It started with a question that led to a violent response. The crew was on Public Street in Providence, attempting to get reaction from the mother of the teenage girl who was shot at a graduation party over the weekend.

Instead of declining to speak on-camera, Melissa Lawrence replied "OK, that's good," and then suddenly hurled a rock at ABC6 photographer Marc Jackson. The rock just missed the photographer's head. The crew then started to leave, but Lawrence came out wielding a baseball bat. She then told her two dogs to attack.

You can hear the screams as Lawrence's dogs chase ABC6 reporter Abbey Niezgoda into a backyard a few houses down. Lawrence yells commands to the dogs. Finally, Lawrence calls her dog back while yelling curse words at the crew.

After seeking medical attention, the ABC6 crew filed a police report. Niezgoda was a treated for a dog bite on her forearm. They were never on the woman's property and were attacked right on the street. Police are in the process of putting together a warrant for Lawrence's arrest.

Meanwhile, Lawrence's daughter has been released from the hospital and is currently recovering from a gunshot wound to her lower back.

UPDATE: The woman who attacked the ABC6 crew has been arrested and charged with two counts of felony assault with a dangerous weapon. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Providence District Court Wednesday afternoon.

that woman was entirely justified IMO

reporters should have some fucking humility and respect

i love how the anchor says "abby need to get a tetanus shot" as if it's shocking

woman's daughter was just killed and you stick a mic in her face, fuck you

you are so right. tv news is going... to the dogs. aouah!

yeah you can't just roll up on a grieving parent like that, tv cameras wig people out at the best of times

not so much grieving as distraught I mean

first of all, i don't understand the value of this type of reaction reporting. i understand that the news crew is supposed to cover all angles of the story, but i don't know if there is anything of journalistic value to be gained from pursuing the victim's mother for a reaction that a suspect is in custody. i'm sure that all they were looking for was a few seconds of video to include in the evening newscast, but wow they got more than that.

a lot of the reactions have caused several friends and acquaintances to react with really ignorant racist comments, and i think the way the story is framed puts a unsavory spin on it that really fucking unfortunate and feeds into a culture of racism -- "violent black woman assaults innocent white reporter"

The daughter wasn't killed by the way

either way

she was shot

i don't know if there is anything of journalistic value to be gained from pursuing the victim's mother for a reaction that a suspect is in custody.

There is ZERO journalistic value, but these fools have to fill so much time now because there are 30 minutes newscasts 8 times a day now instead of 3. It's made everyone in news into complete morons.

i know this is pretty terrible of me but i couldn't help but LOL at the reporter being pursued by dogs

I know they went in hot in order to capture any type of footage but it seems to me that what should have happened is that the reporter should have asked if it was okay for them to interview Lawrence before turning on the camera; this woman hadn't committed a crime (until the rocks and the dogs) and there really wasn't any need to run up and ambush her.

Also Lawrence should absolutely be charged, there's no question that there is an assault caught on videotape here. However, I've watched this video twice and giggled at the reporter running away from the dogs both times. I know that is terrible but it is really tickling my funny bone. xp: SOLIDARITY IN AWFULNESS

obviously if this happened to my sister-in-law I'd be baying for blood, which makes my giggling worse

lol, yes, i feel like yakety sax should start playing when the dogs come out

this is deceptively edited too, I really wonder what happened in the cuts and how long they were

^ yea

so idk, i obviously can't condone what she did but we certainly don't have the full story here

one reaction here:

http://victorpaulalvarez.tumblr.com/post/52225781878/thats-not-news-thats-entertainment

i privately loled at her running away too! hooray I am not alone in my terrible person-ness

i was not in the mood to watch a dog bites ppl video but for the record i am active member in my community and everyone could tell you that i am a honest, hard working good man! i swear! please don't think less of me for laughing at that video, i mean, situation ;_;

also i didn't really laughed.

you're locked in now, no takebacks

i laughed and i don't feel bad about it. maybe this event punctured (bad choice of words i know) this reporter's self-image as some kind of Crusader and made her realize the invasiveness of what she was up to

probs not though, she probably thinks she's a martyr to Investigative Journalism or something

there are a few local "news" "reporters" around these parts that i would spit on if i saw them in public. wouldn't sic dogs on 'em though, i suppose.

those dogs looked like puppies too, kinda hardcore training them to do that, made me a little sad

I think they were just small dogs.

The invective towards reporters in general saddens me since my awesome award-winning sister-in-law is one.

A lot of the decline in television news from the national and cable level down to the local level has to do with news directors and producers who aim for ratings rather than journalism. Reporters get caught in the crossfire, though some are quite happy to play along.

yeah but that happened years ago and most the youngish 'reporters' on local news just grew up with infotainment and that's what they aspire to

I think they were just small dogs.

The invective towards reporters in general saddens me since my awesome award-winning sister-in-law is one.

― they are either militarists (ugh) or kangaroos (?) (DJP), Wednesday, June 5, 2013 5:17 PM (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

local TV news people are typically not "reporters" in any meaningful sense of the term

this is deceptively edited too, I really wonder what happened in the cuts and how long they were

― they are either militarists (ugh) or kangaroos (?) (DJP), Wednesday, June 5, 2013 5:30 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Absolutely.

Another guilty lol-er here, and I got the distinct feeling that the cameraperson was stifling laughter at the reporter, too.

amateurist OTM xp

There is ZERO journalistic value, but these fools have to fill so much time now because there are 30 minutes newscasts 8 times a day now instead of 3. It's made everyone in news into complete morons.

i thought it was mostly youtube clips nowadays anyway, plus sports and weather

a lot of it is anchors participating in various charity events

and pet news

basically local news condenses everything i hate about the modern world into 25 minutes

ok i like pet news, at least when it's about dogs

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/files/2011/10/susan-siman.jpg

this is the best-known local anchorwoman. she is awful.

another one is named "amber noggle"

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uNioRSpl5-E/USzlrNt-q7I/AAAAAAABws4/g--7YZBFJbM/s1600/Amber+Noggle+2.jpg

The two news reporters I know (my sister-in-law in DC and a Boston weekend anchor who went to college with a friend of mine) are great. The woman in this story... is not.

FYI I showed this to my SIL and her instant reaction was "ROOKIE MISTAKE lolololol you CANNOT roll up on ppl like that"

<3

Double <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esZBgb6Ypfk

not local TV news, precisely, but i just wanted to report that at 6:30 PM on Saturday evening the CBS affiliate is showing an hourlong infomercial for cosmetics w/ deborah norville (lol) and chili of TLC.

sometimes i think i live in the most podunk television market in the united states but i'm sure some of you could prove me wrong

#BREAKING: Corduroy restaurant in #Kitsilano has been hit with a "closure order" — but it's still open with diners still inside.

More on @GlobalBC News at 11. pic.twitter.com/uXagCEZdIo

— Jordan Armstrong (@jarmstrongbc) April 4, 2021

This is sooooooo OTM.

POV: your flatmate is a Scottish news reporter pic.twitter.com/mVuHGnFCno

— Zara Gladman (@zanyzaz) October 17, 2023

lol vg

Going to be a challenge, not to use that cadence, for the rest of the week...

ha, good work.