Media Harassment at I-40 Bridge Collapse

Sierra Times ^ | Thursday, May 30, 2002 | staff

[backhoe]

 

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From: "Sierra Times.com" <citizen@mindspring.com>

To: "SierraTimes.com" <sierratimesalert@involved.com>

Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 3:23 PM

Subject: Media Harassment at I-40 Bridge Collapse

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A Sierra Times Daily News Alert Post
 
Media Harassment at I-40 Bridge Collapse
Report by J.J. Johnson
Published 05. 30. 02 at 13:09 Sierra Time
http://www.sierratimes.com/02/05/31/arok053102.htm
(sent to wide distribution in hopes of reaching someone in the area)

Attention Eastern Oklahoma: Sorry if it seems like we're wearing tin foil hats over this bridge collapse in eastern
Oklahoma, but something is going on that may require the eyes and ears of Real Americans. Since this area is densely
populated with those types, we figured you'd want to be in on this. The authorities seem to have a problem with media
covering what's probably the biggest story in this rural part of flyover country in decades.

The I-40 bridge collapse last Sunday has taken a reported 14 souls, and is predicted to have a devastating affect on
cross country 18 wheel transport traffic. According to one trucking outfit, it may even raise shipping costs. It may
even put the local economy of that rural area in jeopardy. Thus, we can conclude this would be a big story.

As with most big stories, the media has made its own little 'city' in one part of Webbers Falls. Satellite crews, still
cameramen, etc. But the word on the street is "Media not Welcome", and it's being enforced. All this according to The
Oklahoman - the news rag of record in Oklahoma City.

On Tuesday, Brett Shipp -- a reporter for a Dallas television station -- completed an interview with Mayor Jewel Horne
and accompanied her across the street to the police station. His cameraman kept the tape rolling.

"As soon as we finished with her," Shipp said, "they moved in."

"They" were a group of National Guardsmen and a representative of the medical examiner's office in Tulsa. The men
ordered Shipp to leave. The newsman can be heard on tape arguing it was unconstitutional to order him removed from a
public street.

"I will go to jail if I have to," he says on tape.

The reply came from the medical examiner.

"You will probably have to," he said.

He didn't.

Shipp said they went down to the park to shoot the river, and they were thrown out of there, too.

If it were just one reporter this wouldn't be a story. But get this: The Oklahoman's state correspondent, reporter
Sheila Stogsdill, was handcuffed by Webbers Falls police and detained

Stogsdill, who was walking in a public area away from a portion of city hall set aside for families of the victims,
refused to leave the park after John Hnath of the Tulsa medical examiner's office ordered local police to arrest her.
She said she was never told what crime she was suspected of committing. She was released later.

But according to the Oklahoman, a Tulsa television station may have earned the most threats. Three times Sunday,
Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers attempted to evict them from private property upon which they had set up cameras with
the landowners' permission. On Monday, they were nearly arrested a fourth time while shooting footage on a public road
in Gore.

Patrol Lt. Chris West said he doubted troopers actually threatened to arrest reporters.

"Unless I have a name and badge number, then I don't believe it," West said.

Ok, Oklahoma: Is this the standard welcoming treatment from the Bible Belt, or is something more going on here? Our
antennas at the news ranch went up when we first heard about a virtual news blackout during the early moments of the
story, and a barge operator that says 'he just blacked out'. Still, a barge hit that bridge and we're sticking to that
story. And we figure the Oklahoma City media, having experienced covering the Murrah Building bombing, would know enough
to be sensitive to the issue and even report the 'party line' if needed. So, why the cold shoulder to the media?

Perhaps someone in the area may look into this and let us know. But this is very, VERY strange. This is a big story in
that area and someone or something DOESN'T want the media around.

Dorothy A. Seese contributed to this report.







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[r9etb]

Hm. Same media outfit that had the Tennessee National Guard mobilizing to suppress the income tax protestors.

And, interestingly, the egregious harrassment of all these reporters hasn't yet made it into the national media, which would no doubt love to trumpet it far and wide.

I'm skeptical.

[LaBradford22]

Of course, the media is never overly obtrusive in getting the "scoop" in stories like this, particularly when there is destruction and death involved.

(SARCASM)

[sinkspur]

The Sierra Times, as usual, whipping its black-helicopter readership into a frenzy at some imagined boogeyman.

Ground Zero was off limits to nosey newsies, too. Did Sierra Times whine because the media couldn't film body parts being removed from the rubble?

Odd, Brett Shipp works for WFAA here in Dallas, and there hasn't been a peep out of that station about mistreatment of its reporter.

I suspect the Sierra Times wants to make something more out of this accident than it is.

[backhoe]

Well, we'll see, won't we?

[TightSqueeze]

Perhaps someone in the area may look into this and let us know. But this is very, VERY strange. This is a big story in that area and someone or something DOESN'T want the media around.

Sounds to me like them good old boys are just trying to keep prying eyes off of their stills. A man has to protect his whiskey now, damn TV crew’s are a heap worse then those Baptists.

[moyden]

Yep. I'd want to hear the medical examiner's side of the story before passing judgement. All you are hearing here is the hysterical press.

[sinkspur]

Well, we'll see, won't we?

We'll see what? A barge hit a bridge; the operator says he blacked out, though I believe he was either just not paying attention or hit it by accident and doesn't want to admit it.

There's NO evidence of anything else.

But that won't stop conspiracy pinheads from speculating.

[ProudEagle]

You know, I'll probably get flamed right along with you. But keep us out here on the left coast posted. From the minute "officials" reported it, I had a hard time swallowing the "blacked out" story myself.

Either the barge captain is in CYA mode, or there is something more to it. The only other plausible explanation was the weather. Wasn't it heavy rain and mist at the time? Reduced visibility would explain loss of sight of the banks and the bridge. I'd buy that before "blacking out". Especially since they indicate toxicology came up negative and he had no known history of episodes before. The way government officials are acting (according to this report) on would think there might be something more to this. What are the odds he would "black out" right at the bridge?

[thinktwice]

Some arrogant media people probably mouthed off to local authorities, and mid-west justice rules went into effect.

[sinkspur]

All you are hearing here is the hysterical press.

You're hearing one member of the hysterical press: The Sierra Times.

Does it not surprise you, as it does me, that nobody else seems to be complaining?

[strela]

(From the story) Sorry if it seems like we're wearing tin foil hats

Considering the source of this "story," I agree.

[FreePaul]

Don't you just hate it when "The Media" gets treated like normal people? These hicks in Oklahoma don't realize that they are dealing with royalty.

[Frapster]

We'll see what? A barge hit a bridge; the operator says he blacked out, though I believe he was either just not paying attention or hit it by accident and doesn't want to admit it.

Exactly! I think he stepped away to take a leak and the stick he had propping up the controls fell. Reminds me of a story I once heard about a guy with a giant snow-blower in Alaska during WWII. He was out clearing the runways for those really large airplanes and he had to take a leak. He stepped out of the cab of the plow (which was still moving and blowing snow), stepped towards the back of the plow and slipped off. The snow plow was going fast enough that he could not catch it and it "plowed" into all the aircraft lined up around the hangar. The guy who told this story had me rolling... I was nearly in tears.

The story of the barge captain is not even remotely funny.

[thatsnotnice]

The newsman can be heard on tape arguing it was unconstitutional to order him removed from a public street.

That may not be the case. It could be another instance of a misinformed reporter arguing something that is incorrect.

For instance in Texas if there was a flood warning or a hurricane was imminent the LEOs would often try to demand that you evacuate. There was, at least at one time, some minutiae in TX law that referred to the fact that the LEOs could request that you leave for your own safety, but they had no legal authority to remove you. Most people just go along with the program and leave when requested, or demanded, despite the fact that they (supposedly) didn’t have to.

However, the governor could declare various states of emergency and LEOs could limit travel, detain, arrest, and generally screw around with your doing something that would otherwise be legal. So you could legally refuse to leave your property when requested, but if a state of emergency existed and you were found to be walking down a public highway later, you could be detained/arrested/removed because of the state of emergency and the fact that you were no longer on your private property – It became some public safety issue at that point, or so I’m told.

I have no idea what OK law is, but I’d bet there are similarities. If someone has declared some state of emergency-type condition it may be perfectly ILLEGAL for the reporter to refuse to move along when requested. Or it could be the local LEOs expressing their contempt for reporters. I have a pretty low opinion of them in general myself…

[backhoe]

Appreciate that information!

[Diddle E. Squat]

Oh give it up. "Blacked-out" will likely turn out to be "fell asleep". 7:45am, early morning can be a very difficult time to stay awake if one has been up all night(a VERY common problem for many modes of transportation). Add in a narrow channel and an unprotected bridge pier and you have an accident waiting to happen. And it finally did. Who knows how long he had been asleep, witnesses noted that the barge was well out of the main channel.

[Diddle E. Squat]

If it was a medical emergency 'black-out', then why did the skipper's lawyer and doctors refuse to allow the authorities to interview him until Wednesday? Perhaps to get their lies, I mean alibi, coordinated? Luckily a blood test was administered at the accident site.

[discostu]

More importantly freedom of the press involves output, not input. The government can't stop the press from reporting about X, that doesn't give the press any right at all to film it just the right to blather on about it endlessly. Freedom of the press is a grossly abused term these days.

[Howie]

"Exactly! I think he stepped away to take a leak and the stick he had propping up the controls fell"

It is not uncommon for the pilot/captain to turn the controls over to a deckhand and run downstairs to take a leak, but NEVER while approaching a bridge.