itcouldbepic

Another Citizen Speaks Up

I am glad to learn that I am not the only citizen of beloved Nashville that was concerned/disappointed in the story presented on “Islamville” by News Channel 5.  Here includes the correspondence between that person and News Channel 5:

Hi there,

I wanted to drop you a note regarding the Islamville segment you aired on Sunday night and Monday. As a regular viewer and reader, I was pretty disappointed at how you handled the subject matter. You guys have done some great investigative pieces over the years and have played a valuable role in the community as a watchdog, especially with stories such as the convention center PR disaster, and I do appreciate your willingness to go out on a limb and cover controversial things that other folks won’t touch. However, with the Islamville piece I felt that your coverage took a turn towards sensationalism—specifically in the way that it was broken up into a two-part series for the sake of creating a cliffhanger for your viewers. Though your reporters and camera crew found nothing, the way you framed the story nonetheless established a connection (or strengthened an existing one) for your viewers between this peaceful Muslim community and terrorism. The imagery of the story’s splash/title screen, the language used in the tagline, and the cliffhanger all played off of the fears that many folks already have with regards to Islam and the people who practice it.

One of the frustrations I face is the culture of fear and animosity in the community toward Muslims, which I feel is largely due to a lack of understanding and a constant exposure to stories like this. We saw the results of this fear and hatred in the vandalism of the Al-Farooq Mosque yesterday (which, by the way, is something I’d like to see you cover considering it has appeared on every other major news outlet). These are tangible consequences that affect real people, and I really hope you’ll consider that and be more sensitive with your coverage in the future. As a trusted news source, you have the ability to sway the opinions of many by what you choose to cover and how you cover it. Please take that into consideration the next time you want to air something like this.

Best

And the 1st response from NC5:

There are certain topics that promise to create controversy… abortion, the death penalty, political correctness, tolerance of race/religion/sexual orientation, etc.   The stories we did on the Muslim community in Dover were certainly ones that challenged religious tolerance.   We did the stories because of the videotape that was circulating about so-called terrorist camps…one of which was said to be in Middle Tennessee.  This video was getting wide distribution among several churches in our area.  We wanted to see why this group of people were being targeted in the video and whether there was anything to substantiate it.  So, we asked to go inside.  We did not find anything that seemed to indicate there was something “sinister” going on.  I stand behind the reports.  I do not believe we put anyone in danger because of our stories.  The community has been there for more than 20 years.  People know where they are.  The local authorities know where they are.  The FBI knows where they are.  I also do not believe that a two part report from NewsChannel 5 is going to incite violence in people because they just woke up after seeing our stories and suddenly decided they are anti-Muslim.  I would hope that any opinion someone may have on a topic would be based on something much deeper.  I believe our reports were fair and informative.  And everyone we talked to in our stories from the Muslim community felt the same way.  I am sorry you were disappointed.

Sincerely,

Sandy Boonstra

Now if that response seemed familiar, perhaps you should check back to my post in “News Channel 5 Responds”…You’d think a news station would have writing skills much more capable of giving more than one blanket response to each person that writes in. What a shame….but good thing Nashville talks to each other. This was the follow up letter to that response:

Hi Sandy,

Since this is the same response some of my other friends have gotten, I’d actually like you to take the time to read through my letter and respond in a relevant way rather than in a canned reply. I know you’re probably slammed, but it’s important to me as a viewer to know that you’ve taken my concerns into consideration.

Thanks

And the immediate (within 15 minutes) follow up response received from NC5:

Sorry if it was the same response.  I appreciate your e-mail and your comments.  I don’t know if there is anything specifically I can say to you that is going to make a difference in how you feel.  We try very hard to be fair and sensitive in all our stories.  So again, if we disappointed you I am sorry.

You’re kidding me right? A news station and this is the best they’ve got?

Thanks for your response, Sandy. As I mentioned in my first email, I would like to know why there hasn’t been any coverage of the Al-Farooq Mosque vandalism on your network since it’s appeared on WSMV, WKRN, the City Paper, the Tennessean, and the Nashville Scene. It seems that it’s especially relevant to your viewers in light of the interest generated by the Islamville piece.

Thanks

And to bring you up to speed, this is where it currently remains…I will update you with anything new as I get it.

we aired the story in several newscasts.

Sandy

Please let me know what you guys think about all of this. Are we incorrect as citizens to request a legitimate, non-blanket response from people in charge of information entering the homes of Nashville residents? And if the story has aired, why is it not available on their website?

Response To A Response…NC5

Wow, this is turning out to be a rather busy day…here is the response to the letter from Sandy. I will again be very surprised to hear back from her, but it’s worth a try because I feel that this information is inherently valuable.

Sandy,

First of all, I am surprised that you took the time to respond. I wanted to thank you for that up front.

I suppose it is only reasonable that you would stand behind your employer and back the story on “Islamville” that you guys shamefully allowed.  It is incredible that you believe people should be willing to accept that the story was done innocently and naively. Do you suggest that you had no part in the vandalism that occurred at the Al-Farooq Mosque right after? Or was that a coincidence? In my opinion, along with the opinions of other viewers who were also disgraced by your story, I believe you owe that Mosque compensation for what they are going through. Maybe this is just another opportunity you can use to get more drama, instead of going in with a helpful hand, you will go in with a camera and get another “story”. The Mosque is not only a building but a holy place to the people. Bad things happen in our community when good people don’t use their brains and consider possible effects of their actions. Sure, you got people’s attention, you got a “story”, but you’ve also generated a lot of negativity that this community does not need. Your goal should be to love this city and to keep Nashville safe for our people, children and guests. However, I severely doubt you even considered those things. I still would not mind if you wanted to answer my questions from the previous email directly, but would understand if you felt uncomfortable doing so because the truthful answers are so obvious that I suppose it was only fair to assume that you believed they were rhetorical. You said that everyone you talked to in your stories from the Muslim communities felt the same way… Did you talk to them prior to the story actually airing, or after? This matters because yes, they know you said there was nothing going on, but you left the story as a vital cliffhanger with people enraged and unsure, and that is hugely important. Had they known the manipulation you were gonna mix in with the truth, they probably would not have felt the same way.

You also said this was an investigation about a video that was getting distribution amongst churches…I am the member of a church and have never seen of or heard of such a thing in all my life. But, my concern here is not about the churches really as much as it is about the news channel deciding to come up with a story based on a video that’s mere propaganda for hate that some nut job probably made. Does this mean we can count on you to investigate other stories just like this? What about the 9/11 conspiracy theory, what about the people who think Jesus is raining down jewels from Heaven in Puerto Rico, what about  the videos claiming Elvis is alive!? Do you see where I’m going with this? Just because there is a video does not mean it is news worthy. I will eagerly await your response as I am extremely curious to learn more from your perspective. Please help me understand, that is all that I ask.

-Nicole Phillips

News Channel 5 Responds….

Earlier this week I sent a letter to News Channel 5 regarding a segment they did on a place called “Islamville”…You can read the letter in my previous post. This is the response I received a few hours ago. I find it interesting that they did not directly answer any of my questions really, however I am very surprised that they took the time to respond.

“Nicole,

There are certain topics that promise to create controversy… abortion, the death penalty, political correctness, tolerance of race/religion/sexual orientation, etc.   The stories we did on the Muslim community in Dover were certainly ones that challenged religious tolerance.   We did the stories because of the videotape that was circulating about so-called terrorist camps…one of which was said to be in Middle Tennessee.  This video was getting wide distribution among several churches in our area.  We wanted to see why this group of people were being targeted in the video and whether there was anything to substantiate it.  So, we asked to go inside.  We did not find anything that seemed to indicate there was something “sinister” going on.  I stand behind the reports.  I do not believe we put anyone in danger because of our stories.  The community has been there for more than 20 years.  People know where they are.  The local authorities know where they are.  The FBI knows where they are.  I also do not believe that a two part report from NewsChannel 5 is going to incite violence in people because they just woke up after seeing our stories and suddenly decided they are anti-Muslim.  I would hope that any opinion someone may have on a topic would be based on something much deeper.  I believe our reports were fair and informative.  And everyone we talked to in our stories from the Muslim community felt the same way.  I am sorry you were disappointed.

Sincerely,

Sandy Boonstra”

News Director

NewsChannel 5 Nashville, TN

(615) 248-5277 (o)

(615) 244-9883 (f)

www.newschannel5.com

Letter to News Channel 5

I haven’t written on tumblr in a while, but I thought I’d put my letter to News Channel 5 up for people to follow. I’ll be surprised if I get a response from them, but will keep you posted.

For those that may not know, News Channel 5 did a very misleading segment about a community called “Islamville”. You can find more info about their sneakiness by visiting: Nashville Scene

And now onto my letter:

Dear Ms. Boonstra, Mr. Bates, Mr. Binda, Ms. Turner and whomever else that should have known better…