NewsChannel 5

My goodness!  While those of us who were on Legislative Plaza today to enjoy Occupy Nashville's celebration of community were reveling this evening in our good memories and looking at fun photos taken during the event, NewsChannel 5, Nashville's CBS affiliate, posted an article to their website about two women on the edge of the encampment getting into a fight at the end of the day.  This article is a piece of crap journalism and is the sort of thing that the media sometimes does to Occupy in general, including Occupy Nashville.  Channel 5 has given ON good, fair coverage in the past.  They did not today.

Below is the email I just sent to Sandy Boonstra, News Director at NewsChannel 5 expressing my opinion on this. 

The article titled Occupy Protesters Fight on Christmas Day, posted to the NewsChannel 5 website Christmas night is a gross misrepresentation of events on Legislative Plaza during the afternoon of the 25th.  The problem is unfortunately and pointedly made clear in the statement that "the angle of the story suddenly changed."  Oh, really?  The fight happened when the day's celebratory event was just about ending, that is, after close to three hours during which scores of people enjoyed food, dancing, and music.  Families.  Occupiers.  Supporters.  And because two women got into a cat fight, the "angle suddenly changed?"  This represents a serious error in journalistic judgment on the part of whomever is responsible for "changing the angle."  Suddenly, indeed.

Please let NewsChannel 5 know they didn't do a good job here.

UPDATE:  Email is getting an auto response:  "Sandy Boonstra is out of the office until Tuesday, January 3rd.  If you have an immediate need please contact our assignment desk at 615-248-5281"