HERE'S THE ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD EDITORIAL PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT, MISCONSTRUING WHAT JOHN MICA DID ON VIDEOTAPE AT RNC

Editorial: Fine line between responsible and irresponsible journalism
Publication Date: 09/10/08


U.S. Rep. John Mica got a taste of the fine line between responsible and irresponsible journalists during last week's Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Mica, his wife, Pat, and Rusty Roberts, his chief of staff, encountered two journalists Mica said were unprofessional.

As Mica and his party were leaving an event, they were behind a loud group of young adults. They saw a bright white light shining on them. They heard someone yelling but not what the person was asking. "My immediate action was, 'Who was this guy with the bright light?'" he said. "He had no credentials hanging around his neck."

That made Mica skeptical. The U.S. Capitol Police had warned convention attendees to watch for protesters masquerading as reporters. A friend of Mica's had been hit by bleach by protesters during the convention.

Mica did go over to the producer and camera person to find out what they wanted. He leaned in to talk to the producer and the camera hit him. He believes the person holding the camera may have tripped. He didn't believe the incident was intentional.

But ABC investigative correspondent Brian Ross said Mica head-butted the producer. Ross also told The Record last week that the producer and the camera person had identified themselves but it is not on the video. The video is on www.youtube.com and www.abcnews.com. Ross told The Record the reporting team was working on a story about the power of lobbyists at the convention. The producer, he said, was trying to get comments from Mica about Tom DeLay's re-entry into the Republican Party spotlight. He is a former House majority leader who was indicted in 2005 in a campaign finance case in Texas.

"I love talking to the press," Mica told The Record. We know. He always responds to our calls and interviews.

He said he'd been interviewed by TV reporters during the convention week in daylight and they were all credentialed. "If you act professionally, it is not a problem," Mica said. "They [the ones who encountered Mica] were not professional. Maybe it's just 'gotcha' journalism and we have to live with it."

We don't blame Mica for his response. No journalist should get a pass for irresponsible behavior, even when covering a story. Mica believed that the incident was unintentional. But that's not the point. The point is irresponsible journalists give the rest of us a bad name.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/091008/opinions_091008_038.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

This editorial is errant nonsense. These Republicans will say and do anything.
Chain Gang Journalism is alive and living at the St. Augustine Wreckord.
Friends don't let friends vote Republican -- or write editorials thataway.
Repent now, St. Augustine Wreckord -- your credibility is in tatters. You owe your readers an apology.
Ed Slavin