Friday, March 19, 2010
Media / Woods 'Don't Get Rough With Me, Sir:' Phil Williams Acts Like Baby in Latest Faux Investigation
Posted by Jeff Woods on Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 8:01 AM
So county clerk John Arriola has apologized and he has suspended deputy clerk Joey Workman and told him to apologize for shoving Channel 5's Phil Williams. That's the upshot of Channel 5's latest investigative report.
Slot machines were present in the clerk's office break room! That's what all the hubbub was about. But it turns out that no one did anything illegal, as Channel 5 acknowledged in its second report on this big story last night. A few workers were having some fun playing the slots on their breaks on St. Patrick's Day, that's all.
We hope it helped Channel 5's ratings. This kind of reporting is becoming the station's M.O. Who could forget that fabulous series on all those perfectly peaceful terrorists at Islamville? You do a sensationalized opening-night report, then follow up with the punch line: Hah! There's nothing to this at all! The joke's on the viewers.
Arriola says he suspended Workman and another employee because they "created the appearance of inappropriate activity." But Channel 5 was the one that actually created this appearance by sticking its hype needle into this silly story. At least this time, we all could laugh at Phil Williams acting like a baby as he mugged for the camera. We thought investigative reporters were supposed to be tough guys.
Workman: "Let's go."Williams: "Don't get rough with me, sir."
Workman: "Let's go."
Williams: "This is public property."
Workman: "Get out."
Williams: "Please, do not touch me."
Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
"We thought investigative reporters were supposed to be tough guys."
You can tell from his whiney voice that Williams is a weenie. Would have been great TV if someone had held his face underwater in a toilet bowl for a ten-count.
like
dislike
Maybe Phil should follow Jeff's lead. Become a blogger, and you'll never have to worry about getting roughed up while checking out a story. It's pretty safe to sit at a computer and be snarky!
Maybe Phil should follow Jeff's lead. Become a blogger, and you'll never have to worry about getting roughed up while checking out a story.
Maybe you should spend an hour at Brandon's, and then tell me about Jeff's lack of nerve.
It's pretty safe to sit at a computer and be snarky!
How's it working for you?
Newz2Me, this is the second time Channel 5's "One night we tell you about a terrible problem!!!! The next night we admit there isn't a problem" strategy has resulting in bullshit. At least this time, no one's house of worship has been defaced, but a couple of people had to take some unpaid time off.
For doing anything wrong? No. Just for kind of seemingly something might be being done wrong.
If there's anyone who needs to do some looking in the mirror, it's not Woods.
Look, I don't think there was a big story here either. But give Phil a break. He got a tip, pursued it, got pushed around and then - at least on camera - got a bunch of BS from Arriola when he tried to find out what was going on. He asked the guy repeatedly if there was gambling going on. The dudes' reactions - both of them - that was a story. I didn't see the second report - but isn't it possible it took that long for Phil to get a straight answer?
Seriously, what happens if a Scene reporter heads over there to check out a tip, maybe a real one this time, and gets that treatment? I'm glad they aired the pushing around stuff, so you know what goes on when a reporter pokes around.
You've got a point, Andy. It didn't become a story until they started pushing Williams on camera -- which of course would have set off every alarm bell a reporter has. If they hadn't overreacted, Williams might've left empty-handed.
Getting manhandled during the course of newsgathering doesn't happen on every story, but it happens often enough that I developed a policy in the TV newsrooms I ran during the 80's and 90's: if one of our reporters or photographers gets shoved around, roll tape the entire time. Then we show the entire tape on the air that night.
Fighting back is a bad idea for journalists, even if they're being pummeled (which I was, on camera, by UT Safety and Security Police. P.S. - nightsticks hurt a lot more than being shoved). Putting the footage on the air is the only defense journalists have against assaults.
Did Phil Williams try to make a story out of a non-story in this instance? Yes, he did. But Joey Workman helped Williams turn it into a story by shoving him. The fact that Williams was wrong did not make Workman right.
Maybe Phil went a little overboard here, but what he reported was accurate. Can't always say that about Woods.
A subject and object of interest who had his chance to tell his side of the story saw me in an Atlanta restaurant one time, pointed his finger at my face, and said, "If you were a man, I'd drag you outside."
My sister, who dressed kind of like a guy and had a droll sense of humor, was sitting beside me and said, "Don't go by looks."
Why the fuck are they doing shit like that on my dime? Is this some sort of team building experience? This is standard operating procedure in my city government?
Hey Aunt B you are grasping at straws to defend a fellow blogger. Lots of stories play out over time and the information gets reported as you go along.
Yes I think the WTVF made big mistakes in the Islamville stories, but this is entirely different and you know it.
As I see it, Phil raised ethical, moral questions about this going on in a public building, questions that would not be answered by Arriola that day.
The next day, AFTER, the report, the pd went over to investigate and said they didn't find anything illegal to prosecute. But voters may very well find that there is ethical or questionable activity in the long run.
IF WTVF reports on the start of a criminal trial are you going to bring up Islamville on verdict day if the person is acquitted on day 2? Give me a break.
This was a legitimate story whether or not you liked the manner in which it was done.
