When it became apparent that the LAPD got the wrong guy in the Brian Stow beating incident, you'd have thought at least one Bay Area reporter--TV, radio, newspaper, net--would have immediately headed for LA to ask police why the suspect, Giovanni Ramirez, (now exonerated), was still considered the prime suspect.
Not the case.
This is no Monday-morning quarterbacking. I've said from day one that I had wondered why there was hardly any SF media coverage of the activity days after Ramirez was still being held, (on a probation violation), but not charged with the Stow beating.
Now comes word, LAPD have their guys. Apparently--we'll wait and see and look at the evidence, but that's really not the story here.
Where was all the investigative reporters? Did our esteemed local news contingent fall asleep at the wheel, again? Sure, we had, and have had, endless stories about Stow's condition and his prognosis, which is perfectly fine and legitimate, after all, the true horrendous nature of the crime and the endless images of Stow and his kids brings out tons of emotion.
But the lack of real dogged reporting regarding the validity of the first suspect, the obvious conclusion that he was held so may days without being charged begged for an honest analysis and some observance, but we were too busy fearing the beard and looking at the panda.
Where was "I-Team?" Yo, Matier and Ross? KGO, KCBS, KTVU, KPIX? Anybody home? Knibber, you don't count because you couldn't do an investigative piece if your life depended on it, (the flagship station, my ass). And while we're lambasting the Giants' media partners, where the hell was Comcast Sports bay Area? They would have you believe that they "report" on issues outside the chalk lines, but they were no where to be found. Maybe they spent too much money on Jaymee Sire's make-up and didn't have any money to send a team down to LA.
Once again, welcome to the new modern world of Bay Area media. "Investigative reporting" a mere afterthought to bright new shiny pictures on SFGate; TV people shouting sweet nothings and radio "anchors" telling the gullible mutts to be sure to log on to Facebook and "friend us."
Shame on all of you.
Once again, you prove to the max how thoroughly ineffective and irrelevant you all have become and most of the public knows it. That's why they have such little faith in you. All of you.
Go back to your smart phone and text that!
*Follow me on Twitter
I'm waiting for 9-12 man to admit he was wrong to accuse "illegals" who have "crossed the border back to their country". He didn't mean Canada.
ReplyDeleteRich,
ReplyDeleteI get your point on a broad scale, but let me tell you what happened when I went to LA shortly after Ramirez was arrested.
I was there 3 days. Not a lot of time.
I called LAPD non stop. They wouldn't give me any new information on Ramirez. I even drove to the Northeast Station, where the detectives were working on the case, walked into their back office and couldn't get anyone to talk about it. No return calls. Nothing.
I went to Ramirez's apartment and his mother's house several times. Nothing. No one would talk.
I finally tracked down an attorney in Van Nuys representing Ramirez's family and got an interview where he disputed the evidence and said Ramirez had an alibi. I tried to get LAPD to respond. Again, nothing.
My last day there Chief Beck held a news conference where he again asserted they had the right man. I asked him if they had any other evidence besides eyewitnesses who claim they saw him there. He said they did. I said "What"? He wouldn't answer.
It was an incredibly frustrating experience. I even told the Chief we came down from San Francisco "for nothing".
Keep in mind I have no contacts inside LAPD I could call on for background or direction.
This is also a big story in LA and the Times and other stations didn't seem to be having much luck in digging up more information either.
If Ramirez hadn't been kept on the parole violation, he no doubt would have been cut loose within 48 hours of his arrest and LAPD would have had a lot of explaining to do. But they apparently thought by letting him sweat it out in jail they'd find something more to pin on him or hope he'd cop to the crime to get a plea deal. Who knows.
In any event, you can bemoan the lack of investigative reporting in this market and others. But I can tell you it wasn't from a lack of trying, at least on my part.
Ken Wayne/KTVU
Again, you show how out of touch you are. Do you think the reporters decide to go or not go to cover a story? Why don't you call management at the stations?
ReplyDeletenumbers i hear are that illegal aliens account for about 30% of prison inmates in this state and what's Calif population? 30-40 million or so? either they are commiting crimes way out of proportion to their numbers or there would have to be about 9-12 million illegals in the state and as there are supposedly only 12 million illegals in the country, that seems unlikely. and what percentage of hispanics in this country got here legally? i bet its less than 20%, so if you supposedly have hispanic suspects(maybe incorrect), to guess that they were illegal aliens isn't really a stretch.
ReplyDelete10:10..Get here? Like yesterday? How about since the Missions? And I never once heard the suspects desribed as white...and one was. How long has he been here? since the Mayflower?..or did he cross over from Canada?
ReplyDeleteAnd I suspect Ken Wayne as being the masked S...yeah,makes no sense to you but makes me laugh.
ReplyDeleteIt's an important story but ultimately it's an "LA Story." Bay area media would have been playing catch-up and looking bad had they tried to scoop LA Times, etc. Should they have made the effort? Yes. But investigative reporting has gone the way of the Model T and the full-house backfield--it's expensive and takes commitment. No one other than maybe Vic Lee or Channel 2 should even attempt it. The Chronicle seems to have a smaller staff than the Head Royce student paper--so they couldn't do it justice either.
ReplyDelete