Friday, April 09, 2004
Kids Safety Program and family self defense
I just wanted to let any interested parties know that the self defense and the childrens programs are booked untill may 15th. Please feel free to contact me for any additional information. Drew Robertson 610-356-4989 or mojoarisin@aol.com Thanks again
Monday, March 29, 2004
NEIGHBOR OFFERS SELF-DEFENSE FOR FAMILIES
Hello,
This is Drew Robertson here. I spoke at the meeting and with the attorneys about a course designed to teach your children what to do if ever confronted with a situation such as a kidnapper, pedophile, fire etc.... Some parents showed some interest in this program.
We also offer a self defense course for families and for senior citizens. I am looking for some feedback as to how many would be interested. Please feel free to contact me personally or check out the CDT website at www.cdt-training.com. My number is 610-356-4989, my email address is mojoarisin@aol.com( please specify the subject of email) . Thank you, Drew Robertson.
This is Drew Robertson here. I spoke at the meeting and with the attorneys about a course designed to teach your children what to do if ever confronted with a situation such as a kidnapper, pedophile, fire etc.... Some parents showed some interest in this program.
We also offer a self defense course for families and for senior citizens. I am looking for some feedback as to how many would be interested. Please feel free to contact me personally or check out the CDT website at www.cdt-training.com. My number is 610-356-4989, my email address is mojoarisin@aol.com( please specify the subject of email) . Thank you, Drew Robertson.
LET'S PICKET !!!!
target: NBC10 FIT Fest
http://www.networkevents.tv/NBC10PA/NBC10FitFestPA.html
This is a weekend event (April 3 and 4), so more people will be able to make it!
If you are interested, please email:
themcdevitts@comcast.net
thanks!!
http://www.networkevents.tv/NBC10PA/NBC10FitFestPA.html
This is a weekend event (April 3 and 4), so more people will be able to make it!
If you are interested, please email:
themcdevitts@comcast.net
thanks!!
Law enforcement officials leery of sex stings by media
By JASON STRAZIUSO
Associated Press
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- The TV news report is hard to ignore: An unsuspecting man goes to a house where he allegedly thinks a teenage girl is waiting to have sex with him, but instead he is met by a TV reporter with a camera and microphone.
TV news directors say the ratings week reports, which have been done in several cities around the nation, raise awareness about the growing problem of Internet-based exploitation of children. They say viewer response is overwhelming and almost entirely positive.
But federal and local law enforcement officials say the reports and the groups that help facilitate them do more harm than good because the "stings" don't lead to convictions and may put people in danger.
"Even well-intended grass-roots undercover investigators can create more harm than good, and we firmly believe that law enforcement investigations should be left to trained law enforcement officials," said Michelle Collins, director of the exploited child unit for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Earlier this month, NBC affiliate WCAU-TV of Philadelphia lured three men allegedly seeking sex with teenagers to a rented house less than a half-mile from an elementary school in the small Philadelphia suburb of Newtown Square. Police were not notified of the station's plans.
The local district attorney is investigating whether the station broke any laws.
WCAU defended its report.
"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, and NBC 10 helped raise public awareness of this issue," WCAU vice president of news, Chris Blackman, said in a statement. "In covering this story, NBC 10 believes that no one was put in danger and the station conducted itself responsibly."
About a half-dozen other stations around the country have teamed with the vigilante group Perverted Justice to run similar "stings." Volunteers go into Internet chat rooms and pose as young teens. When men contact the "teens," the group's Web site posts their sexually explicit conversation and often the men's pictures and phone numbers.
FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi said the stings don't help law enforcement because evidence isn't collected in a legal way. Other law enforcement officials have said the "stings" can compromise real investigations.
"To lure them to some place and post their picture somewhere doesn't stop what they're doing. You're not going to embarrass these guys into stopping," Vizi said.
Several people have been arrested after tips from Perverted Justice or from the TV news reports, but Vizi said arrests don't necessarily translate into convictions.
Vizi also said the TV crews may not be prepared if the lured men turn violent.
Tom Bivins, a media ethics professor at the University of Oregon, said the stations' tactics are questionable.
"Is it necessary to entrap these people to get the story or could you simply report the story?" Bivins said. "Once you get involved, you become part of the story instead of reporting the story."
Regent Ducas, news director of KCTV in Kansas City, which did a series in February, said his station held lengthy discussions about the value and risks of such a story. Two former police officers were hired for security at the house rented for the sting, he said.
Sixteen men showed up, Ducas said. He said the report drew the station's highest ratings in a decade and showed that police are overwhelmed by the problem.
"We were hoping that our story would start the conversation, should police officers start reallocating resources? Is it time to start treating this problem much more seriously than in the past?" Ducas said.
At least one arrest was made because of a series last month by WDIV in Detroit.
"The idea behind it was protecting kids and the awareness of parents," said WDIV assistant news director Bob Ellis.
"The story is so outrageous, it's one of those things that's hard to believe until you see it happen. It's scary when you see it as a parent."
Associated Press
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- The TV news report is hard to ignore: An unsuspecting man goes to a house where he allegedly thinks a teenage girl is waiting to have sex with him, but instead he is met by a TV reporter with a camera and microphone.
TV news directors say the ratings week reports, which have been done in several cities around the nation, raise awareness about the growing problem of Internet-based exploitation of children. They say viewer response is overwhelming and almost entirely positive.
But federal and local law enforcement officials say the reports and the groups that help facilitate them do more harm than good because the "stings" don't lead to convictions and may put people in danger.
"Even well-intended grass-roots undercover investigators can create more harm than good, and we firmly believe that law enforcement investigations should be left to trained law enforcement officials," said Michelle Collins, director of the exploited child unit for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Earlier this month, NBC affiliate WCAU-TV of Philadelphia lured three men allegedly seeking sex with teenagers to a rented house less than a half-mile from an elementary school in the small Philadelphia suburb of Newtown Square. Police were not notified of the station's plans.
The local district attorney is investigating whether the station broke any laws.
WCAU defended its report.
"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, and NBC 10 helped raise public awareness of this issue," WCAU vice president of news, Chris Blackman, said in a statement. "In covering this story, NBC 10 believes that no one was put in danger and the station conducted itself responsibly."
About a half-dozen other stations around the country have teamed with the vigilante group Perverted Justice to run similar "stings." Volunteers go into Internet chat rooms and pose as young teens. When men contact the "teens," the group's Web site posts their sexually explicit conversation and often the men's pictures and phone numbers.
FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi said the stings don't help law enforcement because evidence isn't collected in a legal way. Other law enforcement officials have said the "stings" can compromise real investigations.
"To lure them to some place and post their picture somewhere doesn't stop what they're doing. You're not going to embarrass these guys into stopping," Vizi said.
Several people have been arrested after tips from Perverted Justice or from the TV news reports, but Vizi said arrests don't necessarily translate into convictions.
Vizi also said the TV crews may not be prepared if the lured men turn violent.
Tom Bivins, a media ethics professor at the University of Oregon, said the stations' tactics are questionable.
"Is it necessary to entrap these people to get the story or could you simply report the story?" Bivins said. "Once you get involved, you become part of the story instead of reporting the story."
Regent Ducas, news director of KCTV in Kansas City, which did a series in February, said his station held lengthy discussions about the value and risks of such a story. Two former police officers were hired for security at the house rented for the sting, he said.
Sixteen men showed up, Ducas said. He said the report drew the station's highest ratings in a decade and showed that police are overwhelmed by the problem.
"We were hoping that our story would start the conversation, should police officers start reallocating resources? Is it time to start treating this problem much more seriously than in the past?" Ducas said.
At least one arrest was made because of a series last month by WDIV in Detroit.
"The idea behind it was protecting kids and the awareness of parents," said WDIV assistant news director Bob Ellis.
"The story is so outrageous, it's one of those things that's hard to believe until you see it happen. It's scary when you see it as a parent."
Friday, March 26, 2004
OK, everyone, let's play nice
Let's try to keep our composure. Public image means a lot for our cause. I think unless there was a sign out there, we all should have expected it to be a PUBLIC meeting, which includes the press.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11170249&BRD=1725&PAG=461&dept_id
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11170249&BRD=1725&PAG=461&dept_id
OK, everyone, let's play nice
As we react to NBC10, let's remember to keep our composure. We don't want to get painted in a bad light. The media who helped us get the word out about NBC10 could just as easily turn on us.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11170249&BRD=1725&PAG=461&dept_id
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11170249&BRD=1725&PAG=461&dept_id
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Transcript from "Fox News Watch"; March 20, 2004
ERIC BURNS, HOST: This week, FOX NEWS WATCH Segment 2: sexual predators in your neighborhood and the media brought them there.
BURNS: How would you feel if you knew that there were grown men in
your neighborhood looking for a 14-year-old girl to have sex with? How
would you feel if your local TV news station invited them?
Here to cover the coverage of that extraordinary story and more, are
Jim Pinkerton of "Newsday," syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, Jane Hall, of
the American University, and media writer Neal Gabler.
I'm Eric Burns. FOX NEWS WATCH is coming right up.
ANNOUNCER (voice-over): WCAU-TV in Philadelphia says that what they did was a community service. Others say it was a community outrage. What
did they do?
Stay tuned for more FOX NEWS WATCH.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNS: The folks in the newsroom at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia had
this idea for a story. They would put an ad on the Internet, pretending to be a 14-year-old girl looking for sex and try to lure sexual predators to the
Philadelphia suburb of Newtown. A pedophile sting operation. It worked.
Several men showed up at the appointed place in Newtown and at least one was arrested. As a result, a lot of people in the neighborhood think
the folks in the WCAU newsroom should be arrested.
Says Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green, "This was
irresponsible and indicated the complete lack of good judgment on the part
of WCAU."
PINKERTON: The first rule of journalism is that you're supposed to
cover the news, not make the news. This TV station, in a pandering, craven
search for ratings, going well beyond the usual news fabricators we talk
about all the time on the show, like Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass, outright into way beyond reality shows to like the movie "The Truman Show,"
with Jim Carey from five or six years ago, where they absolutely fabricate
an environment, and it's just wrong.
Pedophiles ought to be in jail, but TV networks ought not to be fabricating and manufacturing news.
BURNS: And Cal, you know what -- or Neal, since you were in there
first. Let me mention something to you that I want to you get your
reaction to.
You know how journalists are about sources, never wanting to hand
them over. WCAU is not willing to apologize, but they are willing to handover all their information to authorities, which to me means they know they went way over the line.
GABLER: But I think it's more complex than Jim frames it.
You know, obviously their motives were mercenary. They wanted
ratings. I think the execution of this was atrocious, but it is a
legitimate journalistic mission to alert parents to the dangers of internet
pedophiles and even to outing some of those pedophiles.
BURNS: But how about inning them. They inned them. They brought
them into this neighborhood.
(CROSSTALK)
GABLER: We applaud undercover journalist generally, and I think the
principle ought to be that there is a line that has to be drawn between
investigative journalism and vigilantism.
(CROSSTALK)
BURN: Which side was WCAU on? The right side or the wrong side?
GABLER: I think they're straddling the line. And this is a very
difficult call. I think more difficult than Jim gives it credit for.
HALL: Neal, I couldn't disagree with you more. I just think this
is one where you think of yourself as a parent, and you think this is near an
elementary school, this is across the street from a church. They lured
people there and then they said well, we understand that these pedophiles
won't ever try to strike somebody just because we happened to lure them
here and alert them to the children in the neighborhood.
I mean, there is no justification for this journalistically as far
as I'm concerned.
GABLER: I think there's some malarkey in that, in saying, my gosh,
they brought people into our neighborhood where there are teenagers. There are teenage girls everywhere in America.
HALL: They almost abetted a crime. I mean, they come that close to
abetting a crime.
THOMAS: Let me tell you how we did it when I was a reporter in
Houston. There was an excellent police reporter with the NBC affiliate
there who had good relations with the vice squad, and the vice squad would
tell him, "We're about to go on a raid to shut down some massage parlors."
The television station covered the raid that the police had planned.
That is a legitimate, informative way of telling the public what's going on
and demonstrating the responsibility of the police.
For journalists, for a television station, to do something like this is creating the news, no matter what the noble purpose may be, ratings or warning parents. Certainly parents know about the Internet by now. Journalists should not be involved in making the news.
BURNS: And one of the reasons, Jim, they shouldn't be involved in
this case is because of the fear of more pedophiles going into this
neighborhood. Extra police patrols have been put on. The police in
Newtown say those patrols will remain in force for at least a month. So
among other things, this is costing taxpayers money.
PINKERTON: But it could be worse than that.
Let's just focus on this issue of what Jane was touching on. If you invite pedophiles to a neighborhood and they're knocking on doors, looking
for things and so on -- looking for directions -- I mean, how would WCAU
feel if somebody's child was, not in the fantasy of TV news but in the
reality of the streets, was molested or murdered? I mean, that would just
be an incalculable crime that the TV networks brought on themselves.
GABLER: Again, I think there's a little silliness in saying that it
took this sting operation to bring these people into the neighborhood,
where they're going to go cruising the neighborhood for teenage girls. I
mean, let's get a little realistic.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNS: But wait a minute, Neal. If this sting operation even
brought one or two people into the neighborhood looking for 14-year-old girls, what right does WCAU have to bring those one or two pedophiles?
GABLER: I'm not defending WCAU but what I'm saying is, if you're
going to condemn them, then condemn every local news station that has one of their consumer reporters go into a store and pretend to be a consumer.
(CROSSTALK)
PINKERTON: That's not the same thing.
GABLER: How is that not the same thing?
(CROSSTALK)
BURNS: But in this case, by pretending they brought potential for
danger into a neighborhood. If you go into a store.
GABLER: Again, I think that's an exaggerated threat. I'm the
father of two teenage daughters and I think that's an exaggerated threat.
PINKERTON: There's a difference between undercover and entrapment,
and this is not only -- entrapment by the government is bad enough. Entrapment by a TV network is just absurd.
GABLER: That's why I say there's a line that has to be drawn.
BURNS: And we draw it right before what you said.
BURNS: How would you feel if you knew that there were grown men in
your neighborhood looking for a 14-year-old girl to have sex with? How
would you feel if your local TV news station invited them?
Here to cover the coverage of that extraordinary story and more, are
Jim Pinkerton of "Newsday," syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, Jane Hall, of
the American University, and media writer Neal Gabler.
I'm Eric Burns. FOX NEWS WATCH is coming right up.
ANNOUNCER (voice-over): WCAU-TV in Philadelphia says that what they did was a community service. Others say it was a community outrage. What
did they do?
Stay tuned for more FOX NEWS WATCH.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNS: The folks in the newsroom at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia had
this idea for a story. They would put an ad on the Internet, pretending to be a 14-year-old girl looking for sex and try to lure sexual predators to the
Philadelphia suburb of Newtown. A pedophile sting operation. It worked.
Several men showed up at the appointed place in Newtown and at least one was arrested. As a result, a lot of people in the neighborhood think
the folks in the WCAU newsroom should be arrested.
Says Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green, "This was
irresponsible and indicated the complete lack of good judgment on the part
of WCAU."
PINKERTON: The first rule of journalism is that you're supposed to
cover the news, not make the news. This TV station, in a pandering, craven
search for ratings, going well beyond the usual news fabricators we talk
about all the time on the show, like Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass, outright into way beyond reality shows to like the movie "The Truman Show,"
with Jim Carey from five or six years ago, where they absolutely fabricate
an environment, and it's just wrong.
Pedophiles ought to be in jail, but TV networks ought not to be fabricating and manufacturing news.
BURNS: And Cal, you know what -- or Neal, since you were in there
first. Let me mention something to you that I want to you get your
reaction to.
You know how journalists are about sources, never wanting to hand
them over. WCAU is not willing to apologize, but they are willing to handover all their information to authorities, which to me means they know they went way over the line.
GABLER: But I think it's more complex than Jim frames it.
You know, obviously their motives were mercenary. They wanted
ratings. I think the execution of this was atrocious, but it is a
legitimate journalistic mission to alert parents to the dangers of internet
pedophiles and even to outing some of those pedophiles.
BURNS: But how about inning them. They inned them. They brought
them into this neighborhood.
(CROSSTALK)
GABLER: We applaud undercover journalist generally, and I think the
principle ought to be that there is a line that has to be drawn between
investigative journalism and vigilantism.
(CROSSTALK)
BURN: Which side was WCAU on? The right side or the wrong side?
GABLER: I think they're straddling the line. And this is a very
difficult call. I think more difficult than Jim gives it credit for.
HALL: Neal, I couldn't disagree with you more. I just think this
is one where you think of yourself as a parent, and you think this is near an
elementary school, this is across the street from a church. They lured
people there and then they said well, we understand that these pedophiles
won't ever try to strike somebody just because we happened to lure them
here and alert them to the children in the neighborhood.
I mean, there is no justification for this journalistically as far
as I'm concerned.
GABLER: I think there's some malarkey in that, in saying, my gosh,
they brought people into our neighborhood where there are teenagers. There are teenage girls everywhere in America.
HALL: They almost abetted a crime. I mean, they come that close to
abetting a crime.
THOMAS: Let me tell you how we did it when I was a reporter in
Houston. There was an excellent police reporter with the NBC affiliate
there who had good relations with the vice squad, and the vice squad would
tell him, "We're about to go on a raid to shut down some massage parlors."
The television station covered the raid that the police had planned.
That is a legitimate, informative way of telling the public what's going on
and demonstrating the responsibility of the police.
For journalists, for a television station, to do something like this is creating the news, no matter what the noble purpose may be, ratings or warning parents. Certainly parents know about the Internet by now. Journalists should not be involved in making the news.
BURNS: And one of the reasons, Jim, they shouldn't be involved in
this case is because of the fear of more pedophiles going into this
neighborhood. Extra police patrols have been put on. The police in
Newtown say those patrols will remain in force for at least a month. So
among other things, this is costing taxpayers money.
PINKERTON: But it could be worse than that.
Let's just focus on this issue of what Jane was touching on. If you invite pedophiles to a neighborhood and they're knocking on doors, looking
for things and so on -- looking for directions -- I mean, how would WCAU
feel if somebody's child was, not in the fantasy of TV news but in the
reality of the streets, was molested or murdered? I mean, that would just
be an incalculable crime that the TV networks brought on themselves.
GABLER: Again, I think there's a little silliness in saying that it
took this sting operation to bring these people into the neighborhood,
where they're going to go cruising the neighborhood for teenage girls. I
mean, let's get a little realistic.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNS: But wait a minute, Neal. If this sting operation even
brought one or two people into the neighborhood looking for 14-year-old girls, what right does WCAU have to bring those one or two pedophiles?
GABLER: I'm not defending WCAU but what I'm saying is, if you're
going to condemn them, then condemn every local news station that has one of their consumer reporters go into a store and pretend to be a consumer.
(CROSSTALK)
PINKERTON: That's not the same thing.
GABLER: How is that not the same thing?
(CROSSTALK)
BURNS: But in this case, by pretending they brought potential for
danger into a neighborhood. If you go into a store.
GABLER: Again, I think that's an exaggerated threat. I'm the
father of two teenage daughters and I think that's an exaggerated threat.
PINKERTON: There's a difference between undercover and entrapment,
and this is not only -- entrapment by the government is bad enough. Entrapment by a TV network is just absurd.
GABLER: That's why I say there's a line that has to be drawn.
BURNS: And we draw it right before what you said.
Bill Rebuts: Next time involve the police
Xavier ,
I thank you for your response. Once again, I have no problem with your website trying to bring these perverts out into the open. I hope they all get caught. I have a 17 yr old and an 11 year old. I'm as leery of these people as you are.
>>the fact that we got a reserve deputy off the streets
Our problem is that NBC10 did this with NO security plan. How was NBC10 planning on getting these guys "off the streets"? They did this with no plan to arrest these sickos. All they wanted was a splashy story to put on during sweeps week. If it weren't for the outrage of the community, NBC10 would not have given their information to the police to arrest these people. Our DA had to make a deal with them to get the information three hours before the second community meeting. And one of the men is still at large.
Television stations often do reports with no regard for the innocent. THIS is what we are concerned about. Next time make sure you have police there. Next time don't do it in a residential neighborhood. I would have had no problem with this story if the police were on hand and the meeting was done at our local convenience store. NBC10 rushed to get this story so they would get ratings, period. Do you think they really care about your work?
>>We did not "attract" a massive amount of pedophiles to your neighborhood
No one said you have attracted massive amounts of people here. But you did attract three and that is three too many if there is no way to arrest them. There were others that didn't show up. You cite the fact that you have never had a problem with an abduction. Of course the guys that showed up didn't abduct anyone. They got caught. Do you know if any of the others changed their minds on the way and decided to go somewhere else? I know that you don't. I know you probably know these kind of people better than I do, but it would only take one.
Our DA's Internet Task Force (which was in place before NBC10's 'story') has stated that they have very specific guidelines on how to contact "travelers" as they called them.
They don't use neighborhoods, they use public places
They make sure there is sufficient support to capture the suspect.
They make sure they get the evidence necessary to arrest these people.
They have security to protect the innocent!
That is how to make sure these people stay off the street.
>>Stuff your pretty "America" speech, grandstander.
Last I heard, if we want criminals to be incarcerated we need the police to arrest them with enough evidence to convict. The police need to be informed if they are to make arrests. NBC10 didn't do that. It's not grandstanding. It's American law, not vigilante justice.
>>Do you think because you are affluent that you are immune?
I would suspect that affluent neighborhoods are a bigger target for these people because of the presence of more computers. That has nothing to do with NBC10 not having security and not telling police. We are NOT against your work. We applaud it, but you need to do it with the safety of innocent people first and foremost in your mind.
>>What if your "delaware county taskforce" had made it so we would not have been inundated by requests from older males in YOUR local chat-rooms. What if the police put enough funding into this problem that our website would not be able to list dozens upon dozens of children who have been enticed and groomed out of local internet chat-rooms? What if we didn't go into Pennslyvania and do the work we did with the media there? What if you were still as ignorant today as you were before that report?
>>You and your "uncomfort" at knowing the extent of the problem garners no sympathy from me.
We knew the problem existed long before this "expose". We drum it into our kids' heads all the time. Our community's issue is not with exposing that there are dangers on the Internet. Our concern is the appalling lack of preparation NBC10 showed when 'creating' this story. There was NO security! There were NO police! Why? Because they wanted to make sure that this story was done in time to make sweeps.
Apparently you have issues with how the Task Force does their job. Is that what you were really trying to do? Embarrass law enforcement?
Our county has an active Internet Task Force. But they have to operate UNDER THE LAW. How do you know that your "expose" did not affect an ongoing investigation in that room? Did you contact them to let them know what you were planning? According to all the local authorities, no one from NBC10 or your organization contacted anyone in our local law enforcement about this 'story'. They were informed about it when concerned citizens called the police when NBC10 was filming. We watch out for our neighbors.
>>I see nothing constructive coming from your township
Have you been to our community? Do you know what we do? Have you looked at how our police and DA work? We are a safe community BECAUSE we have people that are active and concerned with what happens here. We make sure there are activities for our children. We make sure we have a proactive government trying to protect us. We are safer BECAUSE people are willing to speak out and participate. Perhaps the other communities that you have gone to were happy just to see someone else working on the problems. We're not.
>>We already have had other offers to do group media in Pennslyvania. We have garnered information first agreements with police all over the state. We have cooperated with every law enforcement request made of us by Pennslyvania police.
That's great! I'm glad that you are working with law enforcement. Why wasn't this done on the NBC10 story? Because NBC10 didn't care about getting criminals off the street. They cared about getting sweeps ratings.
>>What have you done?
What I do is work with the Cub Scouts, giving kids other things to do than hang out in chat rooms. Once a year our Pack conducts a child safety Pack meeting with the kids and their parents, warning them of the dangers that are out there both on the Internet and off. I coach my son's soccer teams to give him and the other guys things to do. I work with my daughter's high school band to give them something else to do other than the Internet. I watch where my children go on the Internet by checking log files. In other words, I am a concerned parent.
We all work in different ways to protect our kids. Once again, I admire your efforts to keep kids safe. What I don't admire is when a television station throws caution to the wind for ratings and risks a catastrophe. Next time you work with a TV station on one of these stories, we ask that you take our DA's suggestions to heart. Have police there to arrest the criminals! Get enough on them to send them to jail, not send them back into the community "embarrassed".
Sincerely,
Bill Reinersmann
P.S. Slurring people that have constructive criticism is not the way to have a dialogue. We want to help get rid these guys, but let's do it safely.
I thank you for your response. Once again, I have no problem with your website trying to bring these perverts out into the open. I hope they all get caught. I have a 17 yr old and an 11 year old. I'm as leery of these people as you are.
>>the fact that we got a reserve deputy off the streets
Our problem is that NBC10 did this with NO security plan. How was NBC10 planning on getting these guys "off the streets"? They did this with no plan to arrest these sickos. All they wanted was a splashy story to put on during sweeps week. If it weren't for the outrage of the community, NBC10 would not have given their information to the police to arrest these people. Our DA had to make a deal with them to get the information three hours before the second community meeting. And one of the men is still at large.
Television stations often do reports with no regard for the innocent. THIS is what we are concerned about. Next time make sure you have police there. Next time don't do it in a residential neighborhood. I would have had no problem with this story if the police were on hand and the meeting was done at our local convenience store. NBC10 rushed to get this story so they would get ratings, period. Do you think they really care about your work?
>>We did not "attract" a massive amount of pedophiles to your neighborhood
No one said you have attracted massive amounts of people here. But you did attract three and that is three too many if there is no way to arrest them. There were others that didn't show up. You cite the fact that you have never had a problem with an abduction. Of course the guys that showed up didn't abduct anyone. They got caught. Do you know if any of the others changed their minds on the way and decided to go somewhere else? I know that you don't. I know you probably know these kind of people better than I do, but it would only take one.
Our DA's Internet Task Force (which was in place before NBC10's 'story') has stated that they have very specific guidelines on how to contact "travelers" as they called them.
They don't use neighborhoods, they use public places
They make sure there is sufficient support to capture the suspect.
They make sure they get the evidence necessary to arrest these people.
They have security to protect the innocent!
That is how to make sure these people stay off the street.
>>Stuff your pretty "America" speech, grandstander.
Last I heard, if we want criminals to be incarcerated we need the police to arrest them with enough evidence to convict. The police need to be informed if they are to make arrests. NBC10 didn't do that. It's not grandstanding. It's American law, not vigilante justice.
>>Do you think because you are affluent that you are immune?
I would suspect that affluent neighborhoods are a bigger target for these people because of the presence of more computers. That has nothing to do with NBC10 not having security and not telling police. We are NOT against your work. We applaud it, but you need to do it with the safety of innocent people first and foremost in your mind.
>>What if your "delaware county taskforce" had made it so we would not have been inundated by requests from older males in YOUR local chat-rooms. What if the police put enough funding into this problem that our website would not be able to list dozens upon dozens of children who have been enticed and groomed out of local internet chat-rooms? What if we didn't go into Pennslyvania and do the work we did with the media there? What if you were still as ignorant today as you were before that report?
>>You and your "uncomfort" at knowing the extent of the problem garners no sympathy from me.
We knew the problem existed long before this "expose". We drum it into our kids' heads all the time. Our community's issue is not with exposing that there are dangers on the Internet. Our concern is the appalling lack of preparation NBC10 showed when 'creating' this story. There was NO security! There were NO police! Why? Because they wanted to make sure that this story was done in time to make sweeps.
Apparently you have issues with how the Task Force does their job. Is that what you were really trying to do? Embarrass law enforcement?
Our county has an active Internet Task Force. But they have to operate UNDER THE LAW. How do you know that your "expose" did not affect an ongoing investigation in that room? Did you contact them to let them know what you were planning? According to all the local authorities, no one from NBC10 or your organization contacted anyone in our local law enforcement about this 'story'. They were informed about it when concerned citizens called the police when NBC10 was filming. We watch out for our neighbors.
>>I see nothing constructive coming from your township
Have you been to our community? Do you know what we do? Have you looked at how our police and DA work? We are a safe community BECAUSE we have people that are active and concerned with what happens here. We make sure there are activities for our children. We make sure we have a proactive government trying to protect us. We are safer BECAUSE people are willing to speak out and participate. Perhaps the other communities that you have gone to were happy just to see someone else working on the problems. We're not.
>>We already have had other offers to do group media in Pennslyvania. We have garnered information first agreements with police all over the state. We have cooperated with every law enforcement request made of us by Pennslyvania police.
That's great! I'm glad that you are working with law enforcement. Why wasn't this done on the NBC10 story? Because NBC10 didn't care about getting criminals off the street. They cared about getting sweeps ratings.
>>What have you done?
What I do is work with the Cub Scouts, giving kids other things to do than hang out in chat rooms. Once a year our Pack conducts a child safety Pack meeting with the kids and their parents, warning them of the dangers that are out there both on the Internet and off. I coach my son's soccer teams to give him and the other guys things to do. I work with my daughter's high school band to give them something else to do other than the Internet. I watch where my children go on the Internet by checking log files. In other words, I am a concerned parent.
We all work in different ways to protect our kids. Once again, I admire your efforts to keep kids safe. What I don't admire is when a television station throws caution to the wind for ratings and risks a catastrophe. Next time you work with a TV station on one of these stories, we ask that you take our DA's suggestions to heart. Have police there to arrest the criminals! Get enough on them to send them to jail, not send them back into the community "embarrassed".
Sincerely,
Bill Reinersmann
P.S. Slurring people that have constructive criticism is not the way to have a dialogue. We want to help get rid these guys, but let's do it safely.
Perverted Justice responds with rage, says affluent neighbors' reaction is illogical
Hello Bill,
I have never, in all my life, seen a larger and more illogical reaction than the reaction of your community to the story which aired. Never in my life. It is devoid of reason, devoid of logic, devoid of common sense and devoid of practical experience.
I myself have sat in a house where 12 individuals showed up in a 24 hour period, here in Portland. The communities reaction here? They were glad for the awareness the story raised, the fact that we got a reserve deputy off the streets and the new focus that is placed by our city on this problem. Twelve people in twenty-four hours. Not three in a few hours. Because of our work in Portland, the Portland Police Bureau is now attempting to obtain a detective to work chat-rooms. They didn't have one.
In Kansas City, we had 16 individuals show up in a 3 day span. No violence. No abductions. Why? Because the 16 individuals who showed up at that house are looking for a specific underage kid, not a random one. They are going to a specific house, not a random one. They are not abductors, they are molestors. Anyone with a common understanding of the different types of pedophiles understands the difference between the two.
In Detroit, we had 18 people show up in a 3 day period. No violence. No abductions.
In Denver, we had 7 people show up. No violence. No abductions.
In Milwaukee, we had 5 people show up. Then, a second report had another 4 show up. No violence, no abductions.
In Atlanta, we had 5 people show up. No violence, no abductions.
Post-Philadelphia, we did another group media bust which has not aired. 19 individuals. From all walks of life. Not one violent, no abductions.
You do the math.
Did NBC10 use bad judgement? Nope. Not at all. The only bad judgement they have used in the aftermath of the "anger" in Newtown Square is even giving air to your arguments. They are irrational. We did not "attract" a massive amount of pedophiles to your neighborhood. The groomers we spoke with were already there. We do not work adult chatrooms. We work regional chatrooms. These people were already looking to come into your neighborhood and have sex with your child after the child agreed to meet online. These were not "foreigners" from a "strange land", they were businessmen and regular human beings who wished to do harm to 14 year olds. One of which was a respected wrestling promoter who travelled all over the state.
Do you know that 10-15 year old boys regularly went to his wrestling shows? Do you know what kind of power he could have exerted over them? He won't now.
Stuff your pretty "America" speech, grandstander. What we want is for people to be aware of the problem of internet pedophiles. We want America to be aware of the dark subculture that has affected so many children already. Do you think because you are affluent that you are immune? I could point out so many children from middle to upper-class neighborhoods who have left their homes and run off with older men after meeting online. Are you so vapid? Are you so foolish to think it couldn't happen there because your town is affluent? What hubris! What gall!
Here is your reality of "America", Bill. You read these, you self-righteous egotist:
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=34
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=33
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=32
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=30
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=28
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=22
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=21
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=3
And perhaps most importantly, you read about Cynthia Lee Lamb: http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=1
A sixteen year old who was abducted after meeting someone on the internet. Her family was a family not too much unlike yours. They couldn't be there all the time, Bill. She went missing from a regional room here in Oregon. The same types of regional rooms we work and try to create a chilling effect in. These kids weren't abducted by random individuals on random streets, they were groomed and abducted by internet males. The same kinds of males who tried to groom and molest the teenagers my contributors went into Pennslyvania rooms as. Yes, the specific teenagers. Had they wanted to "walk a street and pluck a child", they could have done that.
Pedophiles today are smarter than you think. They groom. They sit. They build bridges with children online. It happens every day, every week and every month. It happens in every state in our nation. That is America. That is our reality.
Yes, you can sit there in "the safest community in the universe!" and say "It can't happen here" but it can. It happens all over the nation, day by day. You and your "uncomfort" at knowing the extent of the problem garners no sympathy from me. I view you as someone who had their head in a hole if you thought there was no cause for education and awareness. That there is no cause to be protective. Which would you prefer, Bill? Be to wrenched out of a lilly-white fencepost world you currently live in because of our efforts, or to be wrenched out of that world by an actual kid being abducted? Take your pick, because the risk is there in every neighborhood across this nation.
What if, you ask. It's a cute question. I could ask many "What if's?" in return. What if your "delaware county taskforce" had made it so we would not have been inundated by requests from older males in YOUR local chat-rooms. What if the police put enough funding into this problem that our website would not be able to list dozens upon dozens of children who have been enticed and groomed out of local internet chat-rooms? What if we didn't go into Pennslyvania and do the work we did with the media there? What if you were still as ignorant today as you were before that report?
We already have had other offers to do group media in Pennslyvania. We have garnered information first agreements with police all over the state. We have cooperated with every law enforcement request made of us by Pennslyvania police. What have you done?
I see a lot of text, a lot of complaining, but I see nothing constructive coming from your township. All I see are indignant individuals who are now aware that yes, it can happen there too. We didn't see this sort of anger out of the other states, which makes me question: is the only reason you're really angry due to a unrealistic "concern" that these people would randomly pluck a child after being exposed... or due to affluent misplaced pride that your clean streets can't be walked by those on a mission to meet a specific child at a specific house?
Since the reaction of your affluent Township is the only negative reaction we've ever seen after doing one of these, I already know the answer to my question.
Xavier Von Erck
Director: Perverted-Justice.com
Since July of 2002, we have worked to help clean up the quasi-epidemic of "wannabe pedophiles" in regional chat rooms - http://www.perverted-justice.com
I have never, in all my life, seen a larger and more illogical reaction than the reaction of your community to the story which aired. Never in my life. It is devoid of reason, devoid of logic, devoid of common sense and devoid of practical experience.
I myself have sat in a house where 12 individuals showed up in a 24 hour period, here in Portland. The communities reaction here? They were glad for the awareness the story raised, the fact that we got a reserve deputy off the streets and the new focus that is placed by our city on this problem. Twelve people in twenty-four hours. Not three in a few hours. Because of our work in Portland, the Portland Police Bureau is now attempting to obtain a detective to work chat-rooms. They didn't have one.
In Kansas City, we had 16 individuals show up in a 3 day span. No violence. No abductions. Why? Because the 16 individuals who showed up at that house are looking for a specific underage kid, not a random one. They are going to a specific house, not a random one. They are not abductors, they are molestors. Anyone with a common understanding of the different types of pedophiles understands the difference between the two.
In Detroit, we had 18 people show up in a 3 day period. No violence. No abductions.
In Denver, we had 7 people show up. No violence. No abductions.
In Milwaukee, we had 5 people show up. Then, a second report had another 4 show up. No violence, no abductions.
In Atlanta, we had 5 people show up. No violence, no abductions.
Post-Philadelphia, we did another group media bust which has not aired. 19 individuals. From all walks of life. Not one violent, no abductions.
You do the math.
Did NBC10 use bad judgement? Nope. Not at all. The only bad judgement they have used in the aftermath of the "anger" in Newtown Square is even giving air to your arguments. They are irrational. We did not "attract" a massive amount of pedophiles to your neighborhood. The groomers we spoke with were already there. We do not work adult chatrooms. We work regional chatrooms. These people were already looking to come into your neighborhood and have sex with your child after the child agreed to meet online. These were not "foreigners" from a "strange land", they were businessmen and regular human beings who wished to do harm to 14 year olds. One of which was a respected wrestling promoter who travelled all over the state.
Do you know that 10-15 year old boys regularly went to his wrestling shows? Do you know what kind of power he could have exerted over them? He won't now.
Stuff your pretty "America" speech, grandstander. What we want is for people to be aware of the problem of internet pedophiles. We want America to be aware of the dark subculture that has affected so many children already. Do you think because you are affluent that you are immune? I could point out so many children from middle to upper-class neighborhoods who have left their homes and run off with older men after meeting online. Are you so vapid? Are you so foolish to think it couldn't happen there because your town is affluent? What hubris! What gall!
Here is your reality of "America", Bill. You read these, you self-righteous egotist:
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=34
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=33
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=32
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=30
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=28
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=22
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=21
http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=3
And perhaps most importantly, you read about Cynthia Lee Lamb: http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?missing=1
A sixteen year old who was abducted after meeting someone on the internet. Her family was a family not too much unlike yours. They couldn't be there all the time, Bill. She went missing from a regional room here in Oregon. The same types of regional rooms we work and try to create a chilling effect in. These kids weren't abducted by random individuals on random streets, they were groomed and abducted by internet males. The same kinds of males who tried to groom and molest the teenagers my contributors went into Pennslyvania rooms as. Yes, the specific teenagers. Had they wanted to "walk a street and pluck a child", they could have done that.
Pedophiles today are smarter than you think. They groom. They sit. They build bridges with children online. It happens every day, every week and every month. It happens in every state in our nation. That is America. That is our reality.
Yes, you can sit there in "the safest community in the universe!" and say "It can't happen here" but it can. It happens all over the nation, day by day. You and your "uncomfort" at knowing the extent of the problem garners no sympathy from me. I view you as someone who had their head in a hole if you thought there was no cause for education and awareness. That there is no cause to be protective. Which would you prefer, Bill? Be to wrenched out of a lilly-white fencepost world you currently live in because of our efforts, or to be wrenched out of that world by an actual kid being abducted? Take your pick, because the risk is there in every neighborhood across this nation.
What if, you ask. It's a cute question. I could ask many "What if's?" in return. What if your "delaware county taskforce" had made it so we would not have been inundated by requests from older males in YOUR local chat-rooms. What if the police put enough funding into this problem that our website would not be able to list dozens upon dozens of children who have been enticed and groomed out of local internet chat-rooms? What if we didn't go into Pennslyvania and do the work we did with the media there? What if you were still as ignorant today as you were before that report?
We already have had other offers to do group media in Pennslyvania. We have garnered information first agreements with police all over the state. We have cooperated with every law enforcement request made of us by Pennslyvania police. What have you done?
I see a lot of text, a lot of complaining, but I see nothing constructive coming from your township. All I see are indignant individuals who are now aware that yes, it can happen there too. We didn't see this sort of anger out of the other states, which makes me question: is the only reason you're really angry due to a unrealistic "concern" that these people would randomly pluck a child after being exposed... or due to affluent misplaced pride that your clean streets can't be walked by those on a mission to meet a specific child at a specific house?
Since the reaction of your affluent Township is the only negative reaction we've ever seen after doing one of these, I already know the answer to my question.
Xavier Von Erck
Director: Perverted-Justice.com
Since July of 2002, we have worked to help clean up the quasi-epidemic of "wannabe pedophiles" in regional chat rooms - http://www.perverted-justice.com
Dear Perverted Justice: Embarrassment and regret won't stop them, arrest will!
Sir:
I am a resident of Marple Township, Pennsylvania, and we live about four blocks from where Channel 10 in Philadelphia created their pedophile "sting" report on February 29. The issue we have with NBC10 and pervertedjustice.com is not about pedophiles and their crimes. The issue is putting people in harm's way to CREATE a story to boost ratings.
NBC10 used bad judgment in approving the initial report, and they continue to twist the facts of the situation.
The District Attorney of Delaware County, the Police, the representatives of our area, the School Board and the FBI all agree that NBC10 was wrong in how it went about this story.
NBC10's reporting and your website's cooperation with them affected INNOCENT people. Is that what you want America to be? A place where a few innocents get sacrificed in the name of your crusade? Children are scared to go out on their own street in the safest township in Philadelphia's suburbs because of your actions. Maybe you want them to be scared. That, however, is not our vision of America.
Although the problem or peodphiles may be "enormous", whatever that means, it does not justify risking a catastrophe for the sake of "warranting our attention" to the problem. That is Al-Qaeda's reasoning and the abortion clinic bomber's reasoning as well. What's next, shoot some innocent people to show the "enormous" dangers of guns? That would get ratings too.
NBC10 talks about other stations that have run similar reports and that no one got hurt. 10 or 20 people does not make a good statistical analysis. All it takes is one violent person that does not meet the expected criteria, and you have a problem. What if just one of these men was violent?
There were people on that street as NBC10's crew were chasing the men. There were CHILDREN on that street. What if one of the people came running over to see what was going on as your "suspect" sped away and was hit by the car?
"Embarrassment and regret" is a common tactic of news stations and of course your website, whether it be this story or any of the other "exposes" that so conveniently occur during sweeps. If these men (or any of your other sting victims) are committing criminal acts, they should be arrested, not embarrassed. Why weren't the police informed beforehand? Or was your team trying to embarrass the police too? Delaware County has an in-place Internet Crime Task Force that knows how to get these people and arrest them. They are the ones that should be doing this job, not Channel 10 and not you.
In an anonymous letter sent to the Rockwood Road group by a Channel 10 employee, several severe accusations were made about NBC10's in-house management. (http://www.rockwoodroad.blogspot.com). Although we cannot know for sure whether this letter actually stemmed from someone inside the station, if they are true, the station's management should be "exposed and embarrassed".
What we are against is fabricated "stories" that put innocent people at risk. We don't want this kind of danger to affect another community again.
Law enforcement is NOT the purview of the media or of your website. That falls to the police and the other governmental organizations. Channel 10 had NO security plan in place. They did not tell the authorities of their plan. They had no way to capture these lawbreakers. If anything, these men may now have the ability to fight back in court. NBC10 had to be forced by community pressure to release the information about these criminals. How does that "help us"? They rented a house without informing the owner what they planned to do. They brought these men into the neighborhood at the same time kids were playing on the street.
NBC10 used the theme of "Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem" to SELL ADVERTISING, period!!! They could care less about your crusade to stop pedophiles. We know there are some sickos out there. There are bad people out there. We do know that they don't live on Rockwood Road in Newtown Square. You had to find one of these sickos in Maryland, almost 100 miles away, and another in Bucks County, more than 30 miles away, and bring them to our town and jeopardize our community.
Tell parents to inform their children that they exist. Tell law enforcement agencies to fight them. But don't get bad people to come to a house in someone's neighborhood and then let them WALK AWAY just to sell more advertising.
I hope the work your website is trying to do does get some of these guys off the Internet and off the street, but most of these men are recidivists. Embarrassment and regret won't stop them. Arrest will.
Sincerely,
Bill Reinersmann
I am a resident of Marple Township, Pennsylvania, and we live about four blocks from where Channel 10 in Philadelphia created their pedophile "sting" report on February 29. The issue we have with NBC10 and pervertedjustice.com is not about pedophiles and their crimes. The issue is putting people in harm's way to CREATE a story to boost ratings.
NBC10 used bad judgment in approving the initial report, and they continue to twist the facts of the situation.
The District Attorney of Delaware County, the Police, the representatives of our area, the School Board and the FBI all agree that NBC10 was wrong in how it went about this story.
NBC10's reporting and your website's cooperation with them affected INNOCENT people. Is that what you want America to be? A place where a few innocents get sacrificed in the name of your crusade? Children are scared to go out on their own street in the safest township in Philadelphia's suburbs because of your actions. Maybe you want them to be scared. That, however, is not our vision of America.
Although the problem or peodphiles may be "enormous", whatever that means, it does not justify risking a catastrophe for the sake of "warranting our attention" to the problem. That is Al-Qaeda's reasoning and the abortion clinic bomber's reasoning as well. What's next, shoot some innocent people to show the "enormous" dangers of guns? That would get ratings too.
NBC10 talks about other stations that have run similar reports and that no one got hurt. 10 or 20 people does not make a good statistical analysis. All it takes is one violent person that does not meet the expected criteria, and you have a problem. What if just one of these men was violent?
There were people on that street as NBC10's crew were chasing the men. There were CHILDREN on that street. What if one of the people came running over to see what was going on as your "suspect" sped away and was hit by the car?
"Embarrassment and regret" is a common tactic of news stations and of course your website, whether it be this story or any of the other "exposes" that so conveniently occur during sweeps. If these men (or any of your other sting victims) are committing criminal acts, they should be arrested, not embarrassed. Why weren't the police informed beforehand? Or was your team trying to embarrass the police too? Delaware County has an in-place Internet Crime Task Force that knows how to get these people and arrest them. They are the ones that should be doing this job, not Channel 10 and not you.
In an anonymous letter sent to the Rockwood Road group by a Channel 10 employee, several severe accusations were made about NBC10's in-house management. (http://www.rockwoodroad.blogspot.com). Although we cannot know for sure whether this letter actually stemmed from someone inside the station, if they are true, the station's management should be "exposed and embarrassed".
What we are against is fabricated "stories" that put innocent people at risk. We don't want this kind of danger to affect another community again.
Law enforcement is NOT the purview of the media or of your website. That falls to the police and the other governmental organizations. Channel 10 had NO security plan in place. They did not tell the authorities of their plan. They had no way to capture these lawbreakers. If anything, these men may now have the ability to fight back in court. NBC10 had to be forced by community pressure to release the information about these criminals. How does that "help us"? They rented a house without informing the owner what they planned to do. They brought these men into the neighborhood at the same time kids were playing on the street.
NBC10 used the theme of "Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem" to SELL ADVERTISING, period!!! They could care less about your crusade to stop pedophiles. We know there are some sickos out there. There are bad people out there. We do know that they don't live on Rockwood Road in Newtown Square. You had to find one of these sickos in Maryland, almost 100 miles away, and another in Bucks County, more than 30 miles away, and bring them to our town and jeopardize our community.
Tell parents to inform their children that they exist. Tell law enforcement agencies to fight them. But don't get bad people to come to a house in someone's neighborhood and then let them WALK AWAY just to sell more advertising.
I hope the work your website is trying to do does get some of these guys off the Internet and off the street, but most of these men are recidivists. Embarrassment and regret won't stop them. Arrest will.
Sincerely,
Bill Reinersmann
Critic says outrage is misplaced
Yes sir it was. It breaks my heart to see someone put the energy you have into "punishing" someone or some organization that are not the "bad guys". Your outrage should be directed to those individuals who were drawn to your neighborhood looking for a child to rape. LOOKING FOR A CHILD TO RAPE!!
Good luck with your frivilous lawsuit. It will be dismissed. It just saddens me to see this kind of misplaced outrage. The posters on Perverted-Justice have keenly identified you and your buddies.
Take care.
Good luck with your frivilous lawsuit. It will be dismissed. It just saddens me to see this kind of misplaced outrage. The posters on Perverted-Justice have keenly identified you and your buddies.
Take care.
Monday, March 22, 2004
REMEMBER THE MARCH 22 MEETING (READ BELOW)
Response from NBC HQ
> Dear Mr. Reinersmann:
>
> My name is Steve Schwaid, I'm Senior Vice President of News and
Programming
> for the NBC Owned and Operated Stations Group. Part of my job is working
> with our news departments across the country. I report directly to Jay
> Ireland and work with Dennis Bianchi.
>
> I'm writing in response to your email dated March 17, 2004. In it, you
take
> issue with many of the points in Dennis Bianchi's letter, now posted at
> www.rockwoodroad.blogspot.com. Mr.
> Bianchi has provided a thorough and honest response to the concerns voiced
> by members of your community, many of which echo in your email. In view
of
> that, I do not think that it would be constructive at this point to try to
> refute your email point by point. I do, however, believe it is worthwhile
> to state once again on behalf of NBC and NBC10 that NBC10 did not intend
to
> cause any harm to your community, did not place anyone in danger, and is
> sorry that the way it went about the internet predator report has caused
the
> community so much concern.
>
> Going forward, as Mr. Bianchi said in his letter, we hope to continue the
> dialogue that is already underway with members of your community and to
play
> a positive role in the efforts of your community and others in the
Delaware
> Valley as they work through the very difficult issues posed by internet
> predators.
>
> Thank you very much for taking the time to write to us.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Steve Schwaid
> SVP of News & Programming NBC Owned Stations
> 212 664 5581
>
> My name is Steve Schwaid, I'm Senior Vice President of News and
Programming
> for the NBC Owned and Operated Stations Group. Part of my job is working
> with our news departments across the country. I report directly to Jay
> Ireland and work with Dennis Bianchi.
>
> I'm writing in response to your email dated March 17, 2004. In it, you
take
> issue with many of the points in Dennis Bianchi's letter, now posted at
> www.rockwoodroad.blogspot.com
> Bianchi has provided a thorough and honest response to the concerns voiced
> by members of your community, many of which echo in your email. In view
of
> that, I do not think that it would be constructive at this point to try to
> refute your email point by point. I do, however, believe it is worthwhile
> to state once again on behalf of NBC and NBC10 that NBC10 did not intend
to
> cause any harm to your community, did not place anyone in danger, and is
> sorry that the way it went about the internet predator report has caused
the
> community so much concern.
>
> Going forward, as Mr. Bianchi said in his letter, we hope to continue the
> dialogue that is already underway with members of your community and to
play
> a positive role in the efforts of your community and others in the
Delaware
> Valley as they work through the very difficult issues posed by internet
> predators.
>
> Thank you very much for taking the time to write to us.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Steve Schwaid
> SVP of News & Programming NBC Owned Stations
> 212 664 5581
Sunday, March 21, 2004
Dawn Stensland of Fox29 responds to BILL's Letter to NBC10 boss
Dear Bill & Kathy,
Just a note to let you know I received your email.
This whole thing is just such a shame... especially
since children are involved. It's also a lesson to all
journalists & police about the sensitive nature of
these sting operations.. and the importance of working
together to keep predators OUT of our communities.
Take care :) Dawn
Just a note to let you know I received your email.
This whole thing is just such a shame... especially
since children are involved. It's also a lesson to all
journalists & police about the sensitive nature of
these sting operations.. and the importance of working
together to keep predators OUT of our communities.
Take care :) Dawn
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Rebuttal to Editorial in the County Press
To the Editor:
This is in response to the Editorial in the March 17th issue of the County Press
titled “Praise for NBC10”. Do you think the people of this community have lived
with blinders on our whole lives? Do you think that we are that naïve to think
that pedophiles, sex offenders, potential rapist and other dangerous individuals
do not live or pass through our neighborhood? We are very aware of the
potential risks out there in our society today but we as parents and responsible
adults try to reduce these risks. We wouldn’t walk down a dark alley alone in
the middle of the night in a known bad area with money hanging out of our
pockets and neither would you. We all have a list of rules for our children
(and ourselves) before they walk out the door out of view of our watchful eyes.
Don’t talk to strangers. come straight home, call me when you get there, look
both ways before crossing the street, don’t run with a lollipop in your mouth,
the list is endless. Our kids roll their eyes and we cross our fingers in hopes
they return to our arms safely. We would never purposely invite danger to our
doorstep. I am sure you gasped in amazement at the sight of Michael Jackson
dangling his baby over a balcony and were utterly in shock when the Crocodile
Hunter dangled his baby over a crocodile’s mouth, thinking how can anyone/parent
be so extremely irresponsible and stupid to put their child in jeopardy for the
sake of a camera let alone anything else! Well, we not just believe but we know
that NBC10 dangled our children without our knowledge in front of potential
danger for the sake of ratings!
Did you know if NBC10 had a thorough background check of these individuals they
invited to our community as to their mental and emotional state? No you did not
and no they didn’t either! Did you know that at least one of the potential
pedophiles went to the wrong house? No you did not (or maybe you did, you just
chose not to mention that)! You said our children “were safer from that threat
on March 1 with hidden TV crews watching the street than they would be on most
days”. Were the TV crews and cameras watching the whole street and neighborhood?
No they were not! Was your 14 year old daughter in the neighborhood on that
street, walking in front of that house while coming home from school when one
these “pedophiles” were being questioned by NBC10? I doubt it but mine was!
Was there only one (which is bad enough) of these persons invited to that house
that day? No, 3 were put on camera, but more were invited. Could you have
guaranteed me that every person in that internet chatroom that day or any other
day merely wanted to “be” with a 14 year old, nothing more? No you couldn’t‘
and neither could NBC10! Did NBC10 have any safety measures in place for even
the smallest chance of something going terribly wrong the way law enforcement
and the Internet Crimes Against Children unit does? No they did not! How many
times must we stress that our issue is not with the story itself. NBC10’s story
idea was very good. We understand the value of undercover reporting. However,
the issue we have is HOW NBC10 went about proceeding with their undercover
operation!! In an effort to beat out their competition in the ratings, NBC10
purposely worked in haste without ensuring the safety of anyone including their
own employees . Our intent here is to try to push for legislation that will put
proper guidelines/penalties on the media to make certain that public safety is
first behind any public awareness, human interest or other types of media
coverage so that no individual, you included, will be put at risk again! Oh, one
other thing, my name is Debi Schroedel, not Debbie Schroeder (this is in
reference to the actual news article in the County Press on the same day and
other news reports including NBC10‘s) and I said “ …they could have RAN one of
our children over” not “dragged one of our children over”. I am not above
saying stupid things but I assure you that was not one of them.
Debi Schroedel
Newtown Square
This is in response to the Editorial in the March 17th issue of the County Press
titled “Praise for NBC10”. Do you think the people of this community have lived
with blinders on our whole lives? Do you think that we are that naïve to think
that pedophiles, sex offenders, potential rapist and other dangerous individuals
do not live or pass through our neighborhood? We are very aware of the
potential risks out there in our society today but we as parents and responsible
adults try to reduce these risks. We wouldn’t walk down a dark alley alone in
the middle of the night in a known bad area with money hanging out of our
pockets and neither would you. We all have a list of rules for our children
(and ourselves) before they walk out the door out of view of our watchful eyes.
Don’t talk to strangers. come straight home, call me when you get there, look
both ways before crossing the street, don’t run with a lollipop in your mouth,
the list is endless. Our kids roll their eyes and we cross our fingers in hopes
they return to our arms safely. We would never purposely invite danger to our
doorstep. I am sure you gasped in amazement at the sight of Michael Jackson
dangling his baby over a balcony and were utterly in shock when the Crocodile
Hunter dangled his baby over a crocodile’s mouth, thinking how can anyone/parent
be so extremely irresponsible and stupid to put their child in jeopardy for the
sake of a camera let alone anything else! Well, we not just believe but we know
that NBC10 dangled our children without our knowledge in front of potential
danger for the sake of ratings!
Did you know if NBC10 had a thorough background check of these individuals they
invited to our community as to their mental and emotional state? No you did not
and no they didn’t either! Did you know that at least one of the potential
pedophiles went to the wrong house? No you did not (or maybe you did, you just
chose not to mention that)! You said our children “were safer from that threat
on March 1 with hidden TV crews watching the street than they would be on most
days”. Were the TV crews and cameras watching the whole street and neighborhood?
No they were not! Was your 14 year old daughter in the neighborhood on that
street, walking in front of that house while coming home from school when one
these “pedophiles” were being questioned by NBC10? I doubt it but mine was!
Was there only one (which is bad enough) of these persons invited to that house
that day? No, 3 were put on camera, but more were invited. Could you have
guaranteed me that every person in that internet chatroom that day or any other
day merely wanted to “be” with a 14 year old, nothing more? No you couldn’t‘
and neither could NBC10! Did NBC10 have any safety measures in place for even
the smallest chance of something going terribly wrong the way law enforcement
and the Internet Crimes Against Children unit does? No they did not! How many
times must we stress that our issue is not with the story itself. NBC10’s story
idea was very good. We understand the value of undercover reporting. However,
the issue we have is HOW NBC10 went about proceeding with their undercover
operation!! In an effort to beat out their competition in the ratings, NBC10
purposely worked in haste without ensuring the safety of anyone including their
own employees . Our intent here is to try to push for legislation that will put
proper guidelines/penalties on the media to make certain that public safety is
first behind any public awareness, human interest or other types of media
coverage so that no individual, you included, will be put at risk again! Oh, one
other thing, my name is Debi Schroedel, not Debbie Schroeder (this is in
reference to the actual news article in the County Press on the same day and
other news reports including NBC10‘s) and I said “ …they could have RAN one of
our children over” not “dragged one of our children over”. I am not above
saying stupid things but I assure you that was not one of them.
Debi Schroedel
Newtown Square
MEETING CLARIFICATION
Monday's meeting between residents and lawyers is limited to residents in the community who wish to consult with counsel.
thank you
thank you
LETTER: The issue is putting people in harm's way to CREATE a story to boost ratings
Mr. Ireland,
I am a resident of Marple Township, Pennsylvania, and we live about four blocks from where Channel 10 in Philadelphia created their pedophile "sting" report on February 29. I am appalled at the way your company continues to obfuscate the issues involved in this episode. The issue is not about pedophiles and their crimes. The issue is putting people in harm's way to CREATE a story to boost ratings.
Not only did your management use bad judgment in approving the initial report, but they now continue to twist the facts of the situation.
In Mr. Bianchi's letter to the citizens of the Rockwood Road area he says that the station "apologized to Township residents". I was there. Your PR person did no such thing. There was no apology. There were attempts to justify your company's actions. When will someone just come out and agree with the District Attorney of Delaware County, the Police, the representatives of our area, the School Board and the FBI? YOU WERE WRONG! I'm sure your attorneys are screaming in your ear not to apologize or admit wrongdoing, but it's the right thing to do. Your station's reporting affected innocent people. Children are scared to go out on their own street in the safest township in Philadelphia's suburbs.
Mr. Bianchi again tells us that the problem is "enormous". It may be, but that does not justify risking a catastrophe for the sake of "warranting our attention". That is Al-Qaeda's reasoning as well. What's next, shoot some innocent people to show the "enormous" dangers of guns? That would get ratings too.
I am even MORE appalled that you would take our citizen's outrage and twist it to make claims on your station that this is "one of the most talked about" stories your station had done. It isn't the story that is causing people to speak out, it's the arrogance of a once respected organization to step on people's lives in search of ratings.
Mr. Bianchi talks about other stations that have run similar reports and that no one got hurt. 10 or 20 people does not make a good statistical analysis. All it takes is one violent person that does not meet the expected criteria, and you have a problem.
There were people on that street as your people were chasing the men. What if one of the people came running over to see what was going on as your "suspect" sped away and was hit by the car?
"Embarrassment and regret" is a common tactic of your news station (and others), whether it be this story or any of the other "exposes" that so conveniently occur during sweeps. If these men (or any of your other sting victims) are committing criminal acts, they should be arrested, not embarrassed. Why weren't the police informed? Or was your team trying to embarrass the police too?
In an anonymous letter sent to the Rockwood Road group by one of your employees, several severe accusations were made about your in-house management. (http://www.rockwoodroad.blogspot.com). Although we cannot know for sure whether this letter actually stemmed from someone inside your station, I would suggest that you investigate whether these allegations have validity. If they do have validity, an immediate change in management should be made and those that said them should be "exposed and embarrassed".
A comment allegedly made by your management is that this is a David and Goliath story. I don't care to bring down your station and I don't think anyone in our community does. What we do want is for you to admit your were wrong, get assurances from your organization that you will not perpetrate this or any similar fabricated "story" on another community again and to gain back our trust in our news media.
I realize that we are not really your customers, your advertisers are. We are the consumers of your product, including the highly paid advertising. I, for one, have told my family, the people at work and as many others as I can that they should not watch your news program. It is deceptive, and can no longer be trusted to give accurate, honest and dependable news reporting.
Sincerely,
Bill Reinersmann
Broomall, PA
P.S. Apparently someone running your website is trying to make sure emails don't get through to WCAU's management by having bad relays in your email system. Emails bounce back from your "WCAU Investigators" email link. I am also sending this to Fox 29 and WB 17 in Philadelphia to keep them informed about the issues surrounding this story and to remind them of the importance of news gathering integrity. The local CBS and ABC affiliates do not have a public email address available.
I am a resident of Marple Township, Pennsylvania, and we live about four blocks from where Channel 10 in Philadelphia created their pedophile "sting" report on February 29. I am appalled at the way your company continues to obfuscate the issues involved in this episode. The issue is not about pedophiles and their crimes. The issue is putting people in harm's way to CREATE a story to boost ratings.
Not only did your management use bad judgment in approving the initial report, but they now continue to twist the facts of the situation.
In Mr. Bianchi's letter to the citizens of the Rockwood Road area he says that the station "apologized to Township residents". I was there. Your PR person did no such thing. There was no apology. There were attempts to justify your company's actions. When will someone just come out and agree with the District Attorney of Delaware County, the Police, the representatives of our area, the School Board and the FBI? YOU WERE WRONG! I'm sure your attorneys are screaming in your ear not to apologize or admit wrongdoing, but it's the right thing to do. Your station's reporting affected innocent people. Children are scared to go out on their own street in the safest township in Philadelphia's suburbs.
Mr. Bianchi again tells us that the problem is "enormous". It may be, but that does not justify risking a catastrophe for the sake of "warranting our attention". That is Al-Qaeda's reasoning as well. What's next, shoot some innocent people to show the "enormous" dangers of guns? That would get ratings too.
I am even MORE appalled that you would take our citizen's outrage and twist it to make claims on your station that this is "one of the most talked about" stories your station had done. It isn't the story that is causing people to speak out, it's the arrogance of a once respected organization to step on people's lives in search of ratings.
Mr. Bianchi talks about other stations that have run similar reports and that no one got hurt. 10 or 20 people does not make a good statistical analysis. All it takes is one violent person that does not meet the expected criteria, and you have a problem.
There were people on that street as your people were chasing the men. What if one of the people came running over to see what was going on as your "suspect" sped away and was hit by the car?
"Embarrassment and regret" is a common tactic of your news station (and others), whether it be this story or any of the other "exposes" that so conveniently occur during sweeps. If these men (or any of your other sting victims) are committing criminal acts, they should be arrested, not embarrassed. Why weren't the police informed? Or was your team trying to embarrass the police too?
In an anonymous letter sent to the Rockwood Road group by one of your employees, several severe accusations were made about your in-house management. (http://www.rockwoodroad.blogspot.com). Although we cannot know for sure whether this letter actually stemmed from someone inside your station, I would suggest that you investigate whether these allegations have validity. If they do have validity, an immediate change in management should be made and those that said them should be "exposed and embarrassed".
A comment allegedly made by your management is that this is a David and Goliath story. I don't care to bring down your station and I don't think anyone in our community does. What we do want is for you to admit your were wrong, get assurances from your organization that you will not perpetrate this or any similar fabricated "story" on another community again and to gain back our trust in our news media.
I realize that we are not really your customers, your advertisers are. We are the consumers of your product, including the highly paid advertising. I, for one, have told my family, the people at work and as many others as I can that they should not watch your news program. It is deceptive, and can no longer be trusted to give accurate, honest and dependable news reporting.
Sincerely,
Bill Reinersmann
Broomall, PA
P.S. Apparently someone running your website is trying to make sure emails don't get through to WCAU's management by having bad relays in your email system. Emails bounce back from your "WCAU Investigators" email link. I am also sending this to Fox 29 and WB 17 in Philadelphia to keep them informed about the issues surrounding this story and to remind them of the importance of news gathering integrity. The local CBS and ABC affiliates do not have a public email address available.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Lawsuit Meeting
A well-known King of Prussia law firm held a closed-door meeting for residents of the Rockwood Road area Monday night to discuss their plan to sue NBC10 for the irresponsible pedophile sting held in a neighborhood house March 1.
At this point, I am not going to release the firm's name, nor details of what they discussed Monday night. I will say, however, that they are going to act quickly.
Since many people were not informed of the meeting, the law firm will hold another meeting Monday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m at the township building. Those of you who signed up to be involved in a lawsuit will probably be notified personally. But everyone who is interested is welcome.
JOE
At this point, I am not going to release the firm's name, nor details of what they discussed Monday night. I will say, however, that they are going to act quickly.
Since many people were not informed of the meeting, the law firm will hold another meeting Monday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m at the township building. Those of you who signed up to be involved in a lawsuit will probably be notified personally. But everyone who is interested is welcome.
JOE
Neighbor gets NBC10's response, and get this ... they said 'they did apologize'
Dear Mr. Steinmetz:
I am the General Manager of NBC10, and I am responding to the e-mail you sent to Jay Ireland at NBC in New York (copy attached).
First, thank you for taking the time to write. We very much appreciate the opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue with members of the community about this report.
Second, we do not take lightly the concerns you express. By now you may know that we invited and met with members of the community at our station on Friday and engaged in a frank conversation that illuminated for us very vividly the concerns of the neighbors and leaders of the community and, I hope, helped those who attended the meeting to understand the facts of our reporting and our intent in doing this report. Among other things, we discussed the fact that the address of the house was not published on the internet and was not published by us in our original report. The address was given to seven men who called a private telephone line. As you know, three of those men showed up at the house and were instantly made aware that they had been stung. The other four were contacted by Perverted Justice, the civilian online advocacy group with whom we worked on this report. To our knowledge, no one else was given the address.
Third, you and others in your community have raised some specific points to which I would like to respond:
● What would have happened if someone had shown up and turned violent?
Reports of this nature have been broadcast by other television stations and a television network in a variety of locations around the country, and we are not aware of a single instance in which any of the men who arrived became violent. To the contrary, the pattern is that, when they realize they have been "stung," they show shame, embarrassment and regret. Indeed, this is actually what happened here and it is in line with what experts predict. As we have reported, the men who engage in this type of behavior are not prowling predators, but are those who need to believe they have established a "relationship" with the child they seek to meet. In short, we did not think that we would be faced with violence or that we were creating a dangerous situation; if we had, we simply would not have done this report at all.
● What is the point of luring potential pedophiles into camera range without the possibility of arrest and conviction?
The specific reason to lure the online predator out into the open where he can be stung is to create fear in all such men that they too may be the subject of a sting if they actually try to connect with the child they have "met" online. In addition, I must respectfully disagree with the view that there is no possibility of arrest or conviction of the men who appeared at the house in our report or in others like it. In particular, in our case, one of the three men has already been arrested and the other two are under investigation.
● Creating "hot button" stories that play to viewers' fears under the guise of "raising awareness" is unethical at the very least.
NBC10 produced the report at issue, but it did not create the underlying problem, which is enormous and which warrants all of our attention. Last Friday night - outside of any sweeps period - we broadcast a full hour report on the underlying problem, as well as a follow up on our original report. We are of course concerned with ratings, and, in light of that, we strive to bring the public reports that it will find both interesting and useful. We believe this report was both.
● Your apology to the residents of Newtown Township is a place to begin.
We have apologized to Township residents. At the community meeting on Tuesday, March 9, at our meeting on Friday, and in our one-hour program on Friday night, we told the residents that we are sorry that the way we went about our report caused them so much concern. We also hope to continue the dialogue with the community leaders and residents that we began on Friday.
Thank you very much for writing.
Sincerely,
Dennis Bianchi
------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Ireland,
I am an outraged parent from the community of Newtown Square, PA, which was victimized by your affiliate NBC10's shameless ratings "stunt" during last week's sweeps period. By now, I am sure you are familiar with all of the details, including NBC10's refusal to admit wrongdoing in this case.
I am also sure that you have been flooded with letters, calls and emails from my similarly outraged neighbors concerning this situation, but I feel I must voice my opinion on this subject as it has affected our community as has nothing else in the five years I have lived here. The one thing we are looking for as a community is an apology; the one thing NBC10 seemingly will never provide.
The thing that wrankles me most is that NBC10 is attempting to take the high road and make themselves look like heroes, in particular after one of the pedophiles (a member of the US Army) was identified, arrested and likely will be court-martialed. NBC10 is puffing their chests as if to say "See! OUR story led directly to the apprehension of this pedophile!" The arrest of this man is, indeed, a good thing; however, the stunt which pulled him into our neighborhood was irresponsible, immoral and reprehensible.
My question to you, Mr. Ireland, is this: Is there any recourse that your network has against its affiliates in a situation such as this? A response to this email would be greatly appreciated, as the community of Newtown Square, PA has been wronged and is looking for retribution.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Chuck Steinmetz
I am the General Manager of NBC10, and I am responding to the e-mail you sent to Jay Ireland at NBC in New York (copy attached).
First, thank you for taking the time to write. We very much appreciate the opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue with members of the community about this report.
Second, we do not take lightly the concerns you express. By now you may know that we invited and met with members of the community at our station on Friday and engaged in a frank conversation that illuminated for us very vividly the concerns of the neighbors and leaders of the community and, I hope, helped those who attended the meeting to understand the facts of our reporting and our intent in doing this report. Among other things, we discussed the fact that the address of the house was not published on the internet and was not published by us in our original report. The address was given to seven men who called a private telephone line. As you know, three of those men showed up at the house and were instantly made aware that they had been stung. The other four were contacted by Perverted Justice, the civilian online advocacy group with whom we worked on this report. To our knowledge, no one else was given the address.
Third, you and others in your community have raised some specific points to which I would like to respond:
● What would have happened if someone had shown up and turned violent?
Reports of this nature have been broadcast by other television stations and a television network in a variety of locations around the country, and we are not aware of a single instance in which any of the men who arrived became violent. To the contrary, the pattern is that, when they realize they have been "stung," they show shame, embarrassment and regret. Indeed, this is actually what happened here and it is in line with what experts predict. As we have reported, the men who engage in this type of behavior are not prowling predators, but are those who need to believe they have established a "relationship" with the child they seek to meet. In short, we did not think that we would be faced with violence or that we were creating a dangerous situation; if we had, we simply would not have done this report at all.
● What is the point of luring potential pedophiles into camera range without the possibility of arrest and conviction?
The specific reason to lure the online predator out into the open where he can be stung is to create fear in all such men that they too may be the subject of a sting if they actually try to connect with the child they have "met" online. In addition, I must respectfully disagree with the view that there is no possibility of arrest or conviction of the men who appeared at the house in our report or in others like it. In particular, in our case, one of the three men has already been arrested and the other two are under investigation.
● Creating "hot button" stories that play to viewers' fears under the guise of "raising awareness" is unethical at the very least.
NBC10 produced the report at issue, but it did not create the underlying problem, which is enormous and which warrants all of our attention. Last Friday night - outside of any sweeps period - we broadcast a full hour report on the underlying problem, as well as a follow up on our original report. We are of course concerned with ratings, and, in light of that, we strive to bring the public reports that it will find both interesting and useful. We believe this report was both.
● Your apology to the residents of Newtown Township is a place to begin.
We have apologized to Township residents. At the community meeting on Tuesday, March 9, at our meeting on Friday, and in our one-hour program on Friday night, we told the residents that we are sorry that the way we went about our report caused them so much concern. We also hope to continue the dialogue with the community leaders and residents that we began on Friday.
Thank you very much for writing.
Sincerely,
Dennis Bianchi
------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Ireland,
I am an outraged parent from the community of Newtown Square, PA, which was victimized by your affiliate NBC10's shameless ratings "stunt" during last week's sweeps period. By now, I am sure you are familiar with all of the details, including NBC10's refusal to admit wrongdoing in this case.
I am also sure that you have been flooded with letters, calls and emails from my similarly outraged neighbors concerning this situation, but I feel I must voice my opinion on this subject as it has affected our community as has nothing else in the five years I have lived here. The one thing we are looking for as a community is an apology; the one thing NBC10 seemingly will never provide.
The thing that wrankles me most is that NBC10 is attempting to take the high road and make themselves look like heroes, in particular after one of the pedophiles (a member of the US Army) was identified, arrested and likely will be court-martialed. NBC10 is puffing their chests as if to say "See! OUR story led directly to the apprehension of this pedophile!" The arrest of this man is, indeed, a good thing; however, the stunt which pulled him into our neighborhood was irresponsible, immoral and reprehensible.
My question to you, Mr. Ireland, is this: Is there any recourse that your network has against its affiliates in a situation such as this? A response to this email would be greatly appreciated, as the community of Newtown Square, PA has been wronged and is looking for retribution.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Chuck Steinmetz
Friday, March 12, 2004
It continues to amaze me that these people can sleep at night ...
Joe,
My wife Marie just saw a commercial that stated Channel 10 is going to run a one hour "special" tomorrow night at 7:00 PM, telling us "how we can protect our children from online predators." They will be running their irresponsible "ratings stunt" once again, and giving us "helpful tips." Are we or are we not fortunate to live in a community serviced by Channel 10?????? I don't know how we've managed to survive all these years without their community assistance.
I guess their M.O is to keep foisting their irresponsibility on the public until they (Channel 10) convince themselves that they are in the right concerning this story. I still can't believe they spun their story of our community meeting Tuesday night into a massive justification of their irresponsibility due to the arrest of one of the "visitors" to our neighborhood on March 1. Now they do this???? It continues to amaze me that these people can sleep at night knowing what they did.
Chuck Steinmetz
PS: Please feel free to post this letter on the website, as everyone needs to know of this latest abomination!
My wife Marie just saw a commercial that stated Channel 10 is going to run a one hour "special" tomorrow night at 7:00 PM, telling us "how we can protect our children from online predators." They will be running their irresponsible "ratings stunt" once again, and giving us "helpful tips." Are we or are we not fortunate to live in a community serviced by Channel 10?????? I don't know how we've managed to survive all these years without their community assistance.
I guess their M.O is to keep foisting their irresponsibility on the public until they (Channel 10) convince themselves that they are in the right concerning this story. I still can't believe they spun their story of our community meeting Tuesday night into a massive justification of their irresponsibility due to the arrest of one of the "visitors" to our neighborhood on March 1. Now they do this???? It continues to amaze me that these people can sleep at night knowing what they did.
Chuck Steinmetz
PS: Please feel free to post this letter on the website, as everyone needs to know of this latest abomination!
LETTER FROM INSIDE NBC10: keep pushing for action
Dear Sir,
Please respect my anonymity, as I have great respect for what you are
doing. Let me tell you a couple of things about the pedophile story.
First, it was rushed on the air. With an investigative report, especially an undercover one, we normally take more time than this. Management was desperate to get this report on for the last night of February ratings. Remember, this is the same station that ran the crawl warning of the "Storm of the Century." That also happened on the last day of February sweeps.
The feeling was that if the station asked for permission, it would delay the story and so they went ahead without asking. Both Fox and KYW wanted to do this same story, but after making a few phone calls to law enforcement, both decided against it.
Stations in other cities have done this report, but they have taken precautions, like hiring security just in case someone showed up with a gun.
NBC10 didn't want to spend the money.
Believe me, they wish they would have picked another neighberhood now. They know they made mistakes, but will not admit to them. They are trying to make a positive out of a negative by showing positive emails and doing a special on how to protect your kids.
They have made many mistakes this month because KYW is catching them in the ratings. There is real panic. NBC is the same station that rushed on the air to saw that Faheem Thomas-Childs was dead. He wasn't. It was a horrible mistake. Chris Blackman, the news director was livid, admitted the mistake and suspended people. He felt for Faheem and his family. He does not feel the same way about Newtown Square.
This is what someone from WCAU wrote on a national industry web site: "This, at this point, is all about a community trying to keep the spotlight going on it.. like it's a Goliath slayer...and it won' be... and no one in other areas that don't care about this tiny little suburban hamlet, will give a rat's ass about boycotting a station, if that's the station they want to watch. It's not going to happen... keep dreaming."
The feeling is "who cares about Newtown Square, it's one tiny part of our viewing area." That's why you are not getting an apology or an admission of a mistake. They don't want to admit they are wrong to everyone else.
Good luck to you. Make certain you keep pushing for action, the lawsuit, the pickets, other stations will cover this. But don't let to much time pass or the story will die away.
Here is one more tip: You should contact Jay Ireland at NBC in New York. He is in charge of all the NBC stations. He is Dennis Bianchi's boss. I think his email address is Jay.Ireland@NBC.Com
Please respect my anonymity, as I have great respect for what you are
doing. Let me tell you a couple of things about the pedophile story.
First, it was rushed on the air. With an investigative report, especially an undercover one, we normally take more time than this. Management was desperate to get this report on for the last night of February ratings. Remember, this is the same station that ran the crawl warning of the "Storm of the Century." That also happened on the last day of February sweeps.
The feeling was that if the station asked for permission, it would delay the story and so they went ahead without asking. Both Fox and KYW wanted to do this same story, but after making a few phone calls to law enforcement, both decided against it.
Stations in other cities have done this report, but they have taken precautions, like hiring security just in case someone showed up with a gun.
NBC10 didn't want to spend the money.
Believe me, they wish they would have picked another neighberhood now. They know they made mistakes, but will not admit to them. They are trying to make a positive out of a negative by showing positive emails and doing a special on how to protect your kids.
They have made many mistakes this month because KYW is catching them in the ratings. There is real panic. NBC is the same station that rushed on the air to saw that Faheem Thomas-Childs was dead. He wasn't. It was a horrible mistake. Chris Blackman, the news director was livid, admitted the mistake and suspended people. He felt for Faheem and his family. He does not feel the same way about Newtown Square.
This is what someone from WCAU wrote on a national industry web site: "This, at this point, is all about a community trying to keep the spotlight going on it.. like it's a Goliath slayer...and it won' be... and no one in other areas that don't care about this tiny little suburban hamlet, will give a rat's ass about boycotting a station, if that's the station they want to watch. It's not going to happen... keep dreaming."
The feeling is "who cares about Newtown Square, it's one tiny part of our viewing area." That's why you are not getting an apology or an admission of a mistake. They don't want to admit they are wrong to everyone else.
Good luck to you. Make certain you keep pushing for action, the lawsuit, the pickets, other stations will cover this. But don't let to much time pass or the story will die away.
Here is one more tip: You should contact Jay Ireland at NBC in New York. He is in charge of all the NBC stations. He is Dennis Bianchi's boss. I think his email address is Jay.Ireland@NBC.Com
LETTER: Law enforcement is NOT the purview of the media
Sirs:
In your statement on your web site you say,"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, and NBC 10 helped raise public awareness of this issue." and "In covering this story, NBC 10 believes that no one was put in danger and the station conducted itself responsibly"
What if one of these guys had a weapon? What if they had gone to the house next door? What if these men decide they want to take revenge on our community for disgracing them? These are sick individuals. Yet Channel 10 still shows no remorse for bringing them into our neighborhood.
As a resident of Broomall with 2 children, living just 4 blocks away, I find it appalling that anyone would find this "expose" reasonable. You claim to "raise public awareness of this issue". Is there anyone that has a computer and has children that doesn't know that the Internet can be a bad place? Our children have it drilled into their heads in school. Most parents remind their kids on a regular basis. At Cub Scouts we require review of child safety with the boys at least once a year.
There was no "helping" on the part of the sensationalist NBC10, it was purely for RATINGS DURING SWEEPS. Do you think the public is that stupid? Once again, the 'FUD factor' is in charge of what is broadcast on your station. Whether it's exaggerating the latest snow storm or flashing scare tactic headlines on the screen for a week, Channel 10 takes the cake for fear, uncertainty and doubt broadcasting.
Law enforcement is NOT the purview of the media. That falls to the police and the other governmental organizations.
How do you know that "Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem"? More FUD…now to sell advertising and make excuses for your irresponsible journalism. We know there are some sickos out there. We don't know if this is a "huge" problem. There are bad people out there. We do know that they don't live on Rockwood Road. You had to find one of these sickos in Maryland, almost 100 miles away, and another in Bucks County, more than 30 miles away, and bring them here.
Tell parents to inform their children that they exist. Tell law enforcement agencies to fight them. But don't get bad people to come to a house in someone's neighborhood and then let them walk away just to sell more advertising.
You show no remorse for disrupting our community's lives. You continue to use the publicity to sell your station, stretching your reports for all you can. Your conduct is reprehensible and I hope criminal and civil sanctions are brought against your organization and the decision makers in it for such irresponsible conduct.
Bill Reinersmann
Broomall, PA
P.S. Having bad links on your web site to your email won't stop the emails from coming
In your statement on your web site you say,"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, and NBC 10 helped raise public awareness of this issue." and "In covering this story, NBC 10 believes that no one was put in danger and the station conducted itself responsibly"
What if one of these guys had a weapon? What if they had gone to the house next door? What if these men decide they want to take revenge on our community for disgracing them? These are sick individuals. Yet Channel 10 still shows no remorse for bringing them into our neighborhood.
As a resident of Broomall with 2 children, living just 4 blocks away, I find it appalling that anyone would find this "expose" reasonable. You claim to "raise public awareness of this issue". Is there anyone that has a computer and has children that doesn't know that the Internet can be a bad place? Our children have it drilled into their heads in school. Most parents remind their kids on a regular basis. At Cub Scouts we require review of child safety with the boys at least once a year.
There was no "helping" on the part of the sensationalist NBC10, it was purely for RATINGS DURING SWEEPS. Do you think the public is that stupid? Once again, the 'FUD factor' is in charge of what is broadcast on your station. Whether it's exaggerating the latest snow storm or flashing scare tactic headlines on the screen for a week, Channel 10 takes the cake for fear, uncertainty and doubt broadcasting.
Law enforcement is NOT the purview of the media. That falls to the police and the other governmental organizations.
How do you know that "Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem"? More FUD…now to sell advertising and make excuses for your irresponsible journalism. We know there are some sickos out there. We don't know if this is a "huge" problem. There are bad people out there. We do know that they don't live on Rockwood Road. You had to find one of these sickos in Maryland, almost 100 miles away, and another in Bucks County, more than 30 miles away, and bring them here.
Tell parents to inform their children that they exist. Tell law enforcement agencies to fight them. But don't get bad people to come to a house in someone's neighborhood and then let them walk away just to sell more advertising.
You show no remorse for disrupting our community's lives. You continue to use the publicity to sell your station, stretching your reports for all you can. Your conduct is reprehensible and I hope criminal and civil sanctions are brought against your organization and the decision makers in it for such irresponsible conduct.
Bill Reinersmann
Broomall, PA
P.S. Having bad links on your web site to your email won't stop the emails from coming
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Response from Mercedes
Dear Mr. McDevitt,
Thank you for your recent internet inquiry.
Our television advertisements, as with other media, are placed in
programming selected for its demographic appeal and social value. Ads are
scheduled sometimes weeks in advance of airtime. While we sympathize with
your feelings, we are sure you can understand that commercial advertisers
do not control the content or views of the programs on which they
advertise.
If we can be of any further assistance, please feel free to e-mail us again
or contact us at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (1-800-367-6372).
Sincerely,
Heidi Martin
Consumer Promotions
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Thank you for your recent internet inquiry.
Our television advertisements, as with other media, are placed in
programming selected for its demographic appeal and social value. Ads are
scheduled sometimes weeks in advance of airtime. While we sympathize with
your feelings, we are sure you can understand that commercial advertisers
do not control the content or views of the programs on which they
advertise.
If we can be of any further assistance, please feel free to e-mail us again
or contact us at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (1-800-367-6372).
Sincerely,
Heidi Martin
Consumer Promotions
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
NBC's story
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Station's sting draws fire-By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Friday, March 05, 2004
Most people find it reassuring to know that the media watchdogs are out
there reporting on injustice, government corruption and the no-goodniks
creeping around our communities.
And those "gotcha" moments make for great TV.
WCAU-TV Channel 10, the NBC affiliate over in Philadelphia, came up with a
little sweeps-week scam of its own Wednesday night. The station teamed with
an Internet vigilante group to trap men who were looking to have sex with
teenage girls.
According to Associated Press reporter Jason Straziuso, the station started
out in online chat rooms. The undercover operators, pretending to be young
girls, then lured three men to a beige Cape Cod house that the station had
rented in the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of Newton Square, Pa., about a
half-mile from an elementary school.
The men showed up at the house and -- Gotcha! An EXCLUSIVE Channel 10
investigation! Live, tonight at 11!
The trouble was that the station hadn't bothered to tell the local police,
community leaders, residents or school officials about their sting
operation. And those folks weren't too pleased with the idea of potential
pedophiles being brought into an "uncontrolled" situation in their nice
neighborhood.
"These pedophiles were given an address in our township, and they were
coming to the front door in a neighborhood that was just loaded with
children," Newtown Township Police Chief Lee Hunter said yesterday. "We
haven't had that danger until they brought them into our community."
Reaction was swift, and it didn't include patronization of the sponsors. The
nearby school told parents not to let their children walk home. Police put
six more patrol cars on the streets. And more than 300 residents turned out
for a meeting to express their outrage.
The station, like any good news media outlet, is standing by its "Perverted
Justice" story, saying it is "proud" of its report.
And in follow-up stories on the air and at their Web site, WCAU officials
are holding up quotes from people praising and thanking them for their
report.
"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, of which every parent
should be acutely aware," their statement said. They also quote a doctor who
essentially says it is very unlikely that any of these pedophiles would just
choose a kid "off the street." They were looking for kids they'd already
made contact with.
The Web site doesn't say what this doctor's field of expertise is, but he
sure isn't watching the same news reports that the rest of us are seeing.
Anyway, the AP reports that the Delaware County district attorney's office
called the TV station's actions "irresponsible and dangerous" and is
investigating whether any laws were violated.
That might sting the station.
Most people find it reassuring to know that the media watchdogs are out
there reporting on injustice, government corruption and the no-goodniks
creeping around our communities.
And those "gotcha" moments make for great TV.
WCAU-TV Channel 10, the NBC affiliate over in Philadelphia, came up with a
little sweeps-week scam of its own Wednesday night. The station teamed with
an Internet vigilante group to trap men who were looking to have sex with
teenage girls.
According to Associated Press reporter Jason Straziuso, the station started
out in online chat rooms. The undercover operators, pretending to be young
girls, then lured three men to a beige Cape Cod house that the station had
rented in the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of Newton Square, Pa., about a
half-mile from an elementary school.
The men showed up at the house and -- Gotcha! An EXCLUSIVE Channel 10
investigation! Live, tonight at 11!
The trouble was that the station hadn't bothered to tell the local police,
community leaders, residents or school officials about their sting
operation. And those folks weren't too pleased with the idea of potential
pedophiles being brought into an "uncontrolled" situation in their nice
neighborhood.
"These pedophiles were given an address in our township, and they were
coming to the front door in a neighborhood that was just loaded with
children," Newtown Township Police Chief Lee Hunter said yesterday. "We
haven't had that danger until they brought them into our community."
Reaction was swift, and it didn't include patronization of the sponsors. The
nearby school told parents not to let their children walk home. Police put
six more patrol cars on the streets. And more than 300 residents turned out
for a meeting to express their outrage.
The station, like any good news media outlet, is standing by its "Perverted
Justice" story, saying it is "proud" of its report.
And in follow-up stories on the air and at their Web site, WCAU officials
are holding up quotes from people praising and thanking them for their
report.
"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, of which every parent
should be acutely aware," their statement said. They also quote a doctor who
essentially says it is very unlikely that any of these pedophiles would just
choose a kid "off the street." They were looking for kids they'd already
made contact with.
The Web site doesn't say what this doctor's field of expertise is, but he
sure isn't watching the same news reports that the rest of us are seeing.
Anyway, the AP reports that the Delaware County district attorney's office
called the TV station's actions "irresponsible and dangerous" and is
investigating whether any laws were violated.
That might sting the station.
THANKS FOR MAKING NEWTOWN SQUARE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE
We all agree that our local, county and state law enforcement and public officials have been doing an excellent job giving 110% of their time to ensure the safety of our community. However, there are a few other people that I would personally like to thank. Thank you Joe & Christie McDevitt and John & Mary Pat Miner! Thank you first of all for being persistent in shutting down NBC10’s sting operation before it went on for another day! Thank you for allowing many angry, fearful and confused neighbors to use your front lawns as a meeting place to voice concerns, opinions and have questions answered by our town's law enforcement and public officials. You have also endured many media cameras and reporters on your doorstep, not to mention the endless parade of phone calls. You have organized the community with great effectiveness through the Rockwood Road website you created and maintain. Your passion and diligence should be applauded! I would also like to thank Pat Kobalski for being our eyes and ears when we could not be there. It is truly neighbors like you that confirm my reasons for Newtown Square being the best place to live!
Debi
Debi
NEWS ARTICLES 3-10-04
http://www.bizreport.com/article.php?art_id=6423
http://www.courttv.com/news/2004/0308/sting_ap.html
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/8131467.htm
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/8111491.htm
http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11096687&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=6
http://www.courttv.com/news/2004/0308/sting_ap.html
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/8131467.htm
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/8111491.htm
http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11096687&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=6
NBC10 advertiser (KRAFT) responds to complaint email
Thanks for visiting our web site. We're sorry to learn you're disappointed
with the content of a television program you recently saw.
We pride ourselves in tasteful and believable advertising, and we try to be
sure that the programs we sponsor are of the same quality. As an advertiser, we don't have a voice in the content of the program. But, if the show doesn't meet our standards, advertising is withdrawn. We make a sincere effort to avoid sponsorship of any programs that would be unacceptable in terms of generally accepted social or community standards. This requires that judgments be made and, in
spite of our best efforts, there are some instances when it's not easy to
determine in advance whether a particular program or portions of the program may turn out to be objectionable to any members of the audience.
We'll continue to work toward presentation of entertainment which is in good
taste. Please add our site to your bookmarks, and visit us again soon!
RESPONSE TO KRAFT
Thank you for your response. I understand that you could not know what the programs you are advertsing on are showing and doing. I thought you should be made aware of what happened so as not to tarnish your good name. Thank you again for everything. As a community in Newtown Square, PA, we are outraged with NBC10 and must continue to push for an apology. In order to do that, we are forced to lean on the advertisers too. We are officially boycotting all of their sponsors, which includes KRAFT. Although it is not your fault, we must use our consumer leverage. Thank you again for your response.
Joe McDevitt
themcdevitts@comcast.com
with the content of a television program you recently saw.
We pride ourselves in tasteful and believable advertising, and we try to be
sure that the programs we sponsor are of the same quality. As an advertiser, we don't have a voice in the content of the program. But, if the show doesn't meet our standards, advertising is withdrawn. We make a sincere effort to avoid sponsorship of any programs that would be unacceptable in terms of generally accepted social or community standards. This requires that judgments be made and, in
spite of our best efforts, there are some instances when it's not easy to
determine in advance whether a particular program or portions of the program may turn out to be objectionable to any members of the audience.
We'll continue to work toward presentation of entertainment which is in good
taste. Please add our site to your bookmarks, and visit us again soon!
RESPONSE TO KRAFT
Thank you for your response. I understand that you could not know what the programs you are advertsing on are showing and doing. I thought you should be made aware of what happened so as not to tarnish your good name. Thank you again for everything. As a community in Newtown Square, PA, we are outraged with NBC10 and must continue to push for an apology. In order to do that, we are forced to lean on the advertisers too. We are officially boycotting all of their sponsors, which includes KRAFT. Although it is not your fault, we must use our consumer leverage. Thank you again for your response.
Joe McDevitt
themcdevitts@comcast.com
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT, NOT IN MY BACKYARD! - by Debi Schroedel
I am, as I am sure many of you are , sick to my stomach over the many reports insinuating that the people of Newtown Square have blown this situation out of
proportion. I am tired of the so called experts stating that the possibility of
these pedophiles posing a threat to our community is unlikely. Neither NBC10
nor Harry Hairston knew the mental or emotional state of these “guests” .
Let's suppose for one horrific moment any one of these “guests” did not meet the
typical make-up of a pedophile (which that in itself is truly scary) but instead
had the makings of a violent, dangerous, rapist or killer. Lets suppose when
one of these persons knocked on the wrong door, your child answered (even
though you taught them not to open the door to strangers, they are children
after all), I need not go on. Would we then have the right to be unreasonable?
Do we need to sit around and wait for something terrible to happen to one of our
children before we are allowed to be “overblown"? Would we then have recieved an apology from NBC10?
Due to the fact that NBC10 did not take the appropriate actions and work within the confines of the law, they had left too many WHAT Ifs up in the air. Their claims that they did not do anything legally wrong has yet to be determined but ethically and morally they compromised the safety of our community especially our children.
One journalist had the audacity to state that perhaps NBC10 was vulnerable because they did not notify our local law enforcement. The fact is NBC10 had placed Newtown Square in a vulnerable and potentially dangerous situation The chances they took by putting our children in harms way cannot go unpunished with a mere slap on the hand.
We are very aware of dangers in our society today and have been fortunate enough to able to choose this community to raise our children so that we have atleast a fighting
chance of reducing risks. To comment on another newspaper reporter’s thoughtless remarks::YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT, NOT IN MY BACKYARD!
Debi Schroedel
Resident Rockwood Road
proportion. I am tired of the so called experts stating that the possibility of
these pedophiles posing a threat to our community is unlikely. Neither NBC10
nor Harry Hairston knew the mental or emotional state of these “guests” .
Let's suppose for one horrific moment any one of these “guests” did not meet the
typical make-up of a pedophile (which that in itself is truly scary) but instead
had the makings of a violent, dangerous, rapist or killer. Lets suppose when
one of these persons knocked on the wrong door, your child answered (even
though you taught them not to open the door to strangers, they are children
after all), I need not go on. Would we then have the right to be unreasonable?
Do we need to sit around and wait for something terrible to happen to one of our
children before we are allowed to be “overblown"? Would we then have recieved an apology from NBC10?
Due to the fact that NBC10 did not take the appropriate actions and work within the confines of the law, they had left too many WHAT Ifs up in the air. Their claims that they did not do anything legally wrong has yet to be determined but ethically and morally they compromised the safety of our community especially our children.
One journalist had the audacity to state that perhaps NBC10 was vulnerable because they did not notify our local law enforcement. The fact is NBC10 had placed Newtown Square in a vulnerable and potentially dangerous situation The chances they took by putting our children in harms way cannot go unpunished with a mere slap on the hand.
We are very aware of dangers in our society today and have been fortunate enough to able to choose this community to raise our children so that we have atleast a fighting
chance of reducing risks. To comment on another newspaper reporter’s thoughtless remarks::YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT, NOT IN MY BACKYARD!
Debi Schroedel
Resident Rockwood Road
RESIDENTS WILL HAVE THEIR SAY TONIGHT - IMPORTANT ARTICLE FROM DELCO TIMES
Monday, March 08, 2004
New News Articles
THIS MAKES A GREAT POINT: http://www.hendersondispatch.com/articles/2004/03/07/news/opinion/opin01.txt
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040306/APA/403060786&c
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-03052004-259267.html
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-03042004-258577.html
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw94030_20040305.htm
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw94030_20040305.htm
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/1-03062004-259591.html
http://www.wrestling-news.com/artman/publish/article_2190.shtml
http://www.freep.com/entertainment/tvandradio/npred12_20040212.htm
http://www.citizenonline.net/citizen/archive/article9CF374AF3758419DBBD0D3BBE4FDCF87.asp
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/8125718.htm
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=televisionNews&storyID=4509773§ion=news
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=televisionNews&storyID=4509773§ion=news
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/8123864.htm
http://www.ljworld.com/section/stateregional/story/163572
http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=15917
http://www.freep.com/money/tech/npred12_20040212.htm
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=@@2004403060786
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/8123864.htm
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/local/8123864.htm
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/8123864.htm
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/state/8123864.htm
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/8123864.htm
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/8123864.htm
http://www.citizenonline.net/citizen/archive/article9CF374AF3758419DBBD0D3BBE4FDCF87.asp
http://www.tvspy.com/shoptalk.cfm?page=1
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040306/APA/403060786&c
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-03052004-259267.html
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-03042004-258577.html
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw94030_20040305.htm
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw94030_20040305.htm
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/1-03062004-259591.html
http://www.wrestling-news.com/artman/publish/article_2190.shtml
http://www.freep.com/entertainment/tvandradio/npred12_20040212.htm
http://www.citizenonline.net/citizen/archive/article9CF374AF3758419DBBD0D3BBE4FDCF87.asp
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/8125718.htm
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=televisionNews&storyID=4509773§ion=news
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=televisionNews&storyID=4509773§ion=news
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/8123864.htm
http://www.ljworld.com/section/stateregional/story/163572
http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=15917
http://www.freep.com/money/tech/npred12_20040212.htm
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=@@2004403060786
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/8123864.htm
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/local/8123864.htm
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/8123864.htm
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/state/8123864.htm
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/8123864.htm
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/8123864.htm
http://www.citizenonline.net/citizen/archive/article9CF374AF3758419DBBD0D3BBE4FDCF87.asp
http://www.tvspy.com/shoptalk.cfm?page=1
Sunday, March 07, 2004
RESIDENT'S AGENDA FOR TUESDAY MEETING
So we accomplish the things we want to on Tuesday night, we should put together an agenda. As far as I can see it there are five main subjects to be discussed. Please send me suggestions to themcdevitts@comcast.net. The more ideas the better.
TUESDAY'S SUGGESTED AGENDA
1. NBC10's apology. (NBC10 has not apologized)
a. Contact and boycott sponsors (set up committee)
b. picket to continue the media pressure (set up committee)
2.The pedophiles.
a. Continue to request that the authorities address the neighbor's concerns about the pedophiles that came to the neighborhood and potential others that got the address
b. Find out what steps police have taken and will continue to take to safeguard children
3. Legal action against NBC10.
a. Find out what steps the DA has taken and what steps he will take.
b. Begin discussions concerning civil action to be taken by neighbors and/or the township/schools.
c . Explore alternative ideas for fining NBC10, such as zoning infractions.
4. New legislation.
a. Discuss with our representatives at all levels of government what steps need to be taken to enact a law to prohibit this sort of thing from happening again. (set up committee)
5.Keeping our neighborhood safe (set up a committee)
a. townwatch
b. "safe home" project
TUESDAY'S SUGGESTED AGENDA
1. NBC10's apology. (NBC10 has not apologized)
a. Contact and boycott sponsors (set up committee)
b. picket to continue the media pressure (set up committee)
2.The pedophiles.
a. Continue to request that the authorities address the neighbor's concerns about the pedophiles that came to the neighborhood and potential others that got the address
b. Find out what steps police have taken and will continue to take to safeguard children
3. Legal action against NBC10.
a. Find out what steps the DA has taken and what steps he will take.
b. Begin discussions concerning civil action to be taken by neighbors and/or the township/schools.
c . Explore alternative ideas for fining NBC10, such as zoning infractions.
4. New legislation.
a. Discuss with our representatives at all levels of government what steps need to be taken to enact a law to prohibit this sort of thing from happening again. (set up committee)
5.Keeping our neighborhood safe (set up a committee)
a. townwatch
b. "safe home" project
Some letters from one of our neighbors
Mr. Spencer (see Delaware County Daily Times Column below),
Re. above: Perhaps if Channel 10's ratings stunt was performed in your neighborhood, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction". Perhaps if Channel 10's ratings stunt was conducted out of your house, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction". Perhaps if your children walked to and from school directly in front of the house used in the ratings stunt, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction". Perhaps if your children boarded and unboarded their school bus less than 500 yards from the house used in the ratings stunt, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction". Perhaps if your children attended a school less than 1/2 mile from the house used in the ratings stunt, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction".
Just some things to think about... perhaps.
Charles Steinmetz
Rockwood Road supporter
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear NBC10:
It is a real shame when real journalism takes a back seat to unwanted journalism. You are inviting crime into our safe neighborhood by going undercover over the internet and seeking out pedophiles to come into our neighborhood so that you can nab them on camera. When you are all gone and the investigation is over, there will still be pedophiles out there that will remember our neighborhood and prey on our youngest, most innocent precious children. Who is going to stop them then? No one asked you to come into our neighborhood and scare our children and our lives the way you did.
Perhaps if you are doing this kind of investigation for our protection, the very least you could have done was to go door to door with a township official warning what was going to happen in the coming days so that we could protect our children the best that we can.
However, setting up an operation of this caliber less than a 1/2 mile from a catholic school where there are 700+ children, speaks volumes that all you care about is getting ratings.
Now that spring time is just around the corner we cannot let our children out to play due to the unwanted publicity that you have created. Our children are no longer safe to walk to and from school.
And you call yourselves real news people?
Chuck & Marie Steinmetz
Re. above: Perhaps if Channel 10's ratings stunt was performed in your neighborhood, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction". Perhaps if Channel 10's ratings stunt was conducted out of your house, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction". Perhaps if your children walked to and from school directly in front of the house used in the ratings stunt, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction". Perhaps if your children boarded and unboarded their school bus less than 500 yards from the house used in the ratings stunt, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction". Perhaps if your children attended a school less than 1/2 mile from the house used in the ratings stunt, you would not think your neighbors had a "wildly overblown reaction".
Just some things to think about... perhaps.
Charles Steinmetz
Rockwood Road supporter
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Dear NBC10:
It is a real shame when real journalism takes a back seat to unwanted journalism. You are inviting crime into our safe neighborhood by going undercover over the internet and seeking out pedophiles to come into our neighborhood so that you can nab them on camera. When you are all gone and the investigation is over, there will still be pedophiles out there that will remember our neighborhood and prey on our youngest, most innocent precious children. Who is going to stop them then? No one asked you to come into our neighborhood and scare our children and our lives the way you did.
Perhaps if you are doing this kind of investigation for our protection, the very least you could have done was to go door to door with a township official warning what was going to happen in the coming days so that we could protect our children the best that we can.
However, setting up an operation of this caliber less than a 1/2 mile from a catholic school where there are 700+ children, speaks volumes that all you care about is getting ratings.
Now that spring time is just around the corner we cannot let our children out to play due to the unwanted publicity that you have created. Our children are no longer safe to walk to and from school.
And you call yourselves real news people?
Chuck & Marie Steinmetz
Saturday, March 06, 2004
"Delco’s D.A., police eye pedophile sting"; By TIMOTHY LOGUE; DELCO TIMES 3-6-04
Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said hisoffice will partner with other law-enforcement agencies, both in and out of state, to investigate an NBC10 news story that lured would-be pedophiles to a Newtown home.
"More than likely, this will be a multi-state investigation," he said. "We have agreed to enter into a coordinated investigation with other agencies to determine what happened Monday with NBC10 and all these individuals."
Green was contacted by the statewide major in charge of criminal investigations for the Pennsylvania State Police Friday and plans to reach out to Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces in other states. Delaware County is home to one of the country’s 41 ICAC units.
Working with a Web site dedicated to exposing sexual predators, NBC10 reporter Harry Hairston and his crew set up shop in the 100 block of Rockwood Road Monday. A handful of men, responding to a phony invite they received in a chat room, came to the door expecting to have sex with a 14-year-old girl and were instead greeted by cameras and microphones. Their reactions were broadcast Wednesday night on NBC10.
With Newtown residents and local politicians demanding an apology and calling for a boycott of the television station and its sponsors, NBC stood by the report and maintained the piece helped raise public awareness about a dangerous trend.
"They knowingly brought people who were prepared to commit a crime into my neighborhood without any concern for what might happen when they arrived or when they left," said Newtown resident Stephen Voudouris. "I don’t know what kind of service they provided."
Public meetings are scheduled for Monday at the Newtown Township Building on Bishop Hollow Road and Tuesday at the Gauntlet Center on West Chester Pike. Both meetings start at 7:30 p.m.
While NBC10 has described the Tuesday event as a town meeting to discuss sexual predators, Voudouris claimed it was set up to "discuss how to react to the damage NBC10 has done to our neighborhood."
"Things have not returned to normal," said Carol A. Cary, principal of the St. Anastasia School, which is located a short distance from the "bust house" NBC10 rented on Rockwood Road.
"We are still on high alert. Our teachers have been told to be extremely vigilant about strangers on campus. Our walkers have had to arrange rides to and from school, and we have marked and unmarked police cars on the perimeter of our property."
Rockwood Road resident Ted Meehan wants Green’s office to press charges against the television station. "There are charges for endangering the welfare of a child and there are laws against the solicitation of sex," he said. "At the very least, what NBC10 did falls into the category of reckless endangerment.
"The fact that they continue to defend the story is beyond comprehension. This is another example of a TV station overlooking real news to cover manufactured news."
Green and deputy district attorneys Sheldon Kovach and John F.X. Reilly Jr. are handling the case along with Detective Lt. David Peifer and other investigators. "I doubt there is going to be any news to report in the next couple of weeks," Green said.
Meehan said the house that NBC10 used for their story had recently changed hands. "From what I understand, a lady was renting it and NBC10 said they wanted to use the place for a few days to do a story on the neighborhood," he said.
Investigators still do not know how many people answered the chat-room invite and showed up at the Rockwood address or whether anyone working for NBC10 had possession of a weapon during the time they occupied the home.
One of the creators of the Web site Perverted-Justice.com, which helped NBC10 with its story, said he was present for a similar media bust in Portland, Ore., with three armed security guards present.
Voudouris said his neighborhood has taken on a decidedly different look since the sexual-predator story aired. "Two days ago there were no cop cars in areas where there are now 10, and there are five parents at a bus stop with children that used to walk home," he said.
"I’m madder now than when the story first came out. Any reasonable person would say that this was a bad idea."
"More than likely, this will be a multi-state investigation," he said. "We have agreed to enter into a coordinated investigation with other agencies to determine what happened Monday with NBC10 and all these individuals."
Green was contacted by the statewide major in charge of criminal investigations for the Pennsylvania State Police Friday and plans to reach out to Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces in other states. Delaware County is home to one of the country’s 41 ICAC units.
Working with a Web site dedicated to exposing sexual predators, NBC10 reporter Harry Hairston and his crew set up shop in the 100 block of Rockwood Road Monday. A handful of men, responding to a phony invite they received in a chat room, came to the door expecting to have sex with a 14-year-old girl and were instead greeted by cameras and microphones. Their reactions were broadcast Wednesday night on NBC10.
With Newtown residents and local politicians demanding an apology and calling for a boycott of the television station and its sponsors, NBC stood by the report and maintained the piece helped raise public awareness about a dangerous trend.
"They knowingly brought people who were prepared to commit a crime into my neighborhood without any concern for what might happen when they arrived or when they left," said Newtown resident Stephen Voudouris. "I don’t know what kind of service they provided."
Public meetings are scheduled for Monday at the Newtown Township Building on Bishop Hollow Road and Tuesday at the Gauntlet Center on West Chester Pike. Both meetings start at 7:30 p.m.
While NBC10 has described the Tuesday event as a town meeting to discuss sexual predators, Voudouris claimed it was set up to "discuss how to react to the damage NBC10 has done to our neighborhood."
"Things have not returned to normal," said Carol A. Cary, principal of the St. Anastasia School, which is located a short distance from the "bust house" NBC10 rented on Rockwood Road.
"We are still on high alert. Our teachers have been told to be extremely vigilant about strangers on campus. Our walkers have had to arrange rides to and from school, and we have marked and unmarked police cars on the perimeter of our property."
Rockwood Road resident Ted Meehan wants Green’s office to press charges against the television station. "There are charges for endangering the welfare of a child and there are laws against the solicitation of sex," he said. "At the very least, what NBC10 did falls into the category of reckless endangerment.
"The fact that they continue to defend the story is beyond comprehension. This is another example of a TV station overlooking real news to cover manufactured news."
Green and deputy district attorneys Sheldon Kovach and John F.X. Reilly Jr. are handling the case along with Detective Lt. David Peifer and other investigators. "I doubt there is going to be any news to report in the next couple of weeks," Green said.
Meehan said the house that NBC10 used for their story had recently changed hands. "From what I understand, a lady was renting it and NBC10 said they wanted to use the place for a few days to do a story on the neighborhood," he said.
Investigators still do not know how many people answered the chat-room invite and showed up at the Rockwood address or whether anyone working for NBC10 had possession of a weapon during the time they occupied the home.
One of the creators of the Web site Perverted-Justice.com, which helped NBC10 with its story, said he was present for a similar media bust in Portland, Ore., with three armed security guards present.
Voudouris said his neighborhood has taken on a decidedly different look since the sexual-predator story aired. "Two days ago there were no cop cars in areas where there are now 10, and there are five parents at a bus stop with children that used to walk home," he said.
"I’m madder now than when the story first came out. Any reasonable person would say that this was a bad idea."
Friday, March 05, 2004
LOOK WHAT THE PRESS IS WRITING ...
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/8109439.htm
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HERE'S A STORY FROM ABC
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/3504-nbcsexsting.html?DCMP=EMC-wpvi
HERE'S DELCO TIMES' EDITORIAL TODAY
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11072805&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18168&rfi=6
Pittsburg Post Gazette Picks up on the Story
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04065/281359.stm
Washington Observer Reporter
http://www.observer-reporter.com/281808600725553.bsp
The Trentonian
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11074755&BRD=1697&PAG=461&dept_id=44551&rfi=6
PennLive
http://pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1078444153178480.xml
Pocono Record
http://www.poconorecord.com/2004/lifestyl/fxp54395.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HERE'S A STORY FROM ABC
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/3504-nbcsexsting.html?DCMP=EMC-wpvi
HERE'S DELCO TIMES' EDITORIAL TODAY
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11072805&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18168&rfi=6
Pittsburg Post Gazette Picks up on the Story
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04065/281359.stm
Washington Observer Reporter
http://www.observer-reporter.com/281808600725553.bsp
The Trentonian
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11074755&BRD=1697&PAG=461&dept_id=44551&rfi=6
PennLive
http://pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1078444153178480.xml
Pocono Record
http://www.poconorecord.com/2004/lifestyl/fxp54395.htm
Email addresses & Sponsors
Send me email addresses of people we all should contact
I'll post them here!
* preston@y100.com
* wcauinvestigators@nbc.com
* gspencer@delco-times.com (wrote column this morning that our reaction was "overblown" LINK HERE)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALSO HERE IS A PARTIAL LIST OF NBC10 SPONSORS:
Samsung
Coors Light
H&R Block
Wachovia Center
Verizon
PNC Bank
Mercedes-Benz
Weight Watchers
PA Lottery
Aventis
Jackson-Hewitt
Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging
CarSense
Smartmoney.com
Taj Mahal
Sandals
Yahoo
Kraft
Gigex
Raymour & Flanigan
Thomasville Furniture
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CUT AND PASTE LETTER TO SPONSOR
Dear Sponsor,
Over the past week, children from my neighborhood have not been able to walk home from school unescorted, or to play outside, because of NBC-10's irresponsible decision to lure pedophiles into our neighborhood.
Without any notice to neighbors or the local police, reporter Harry Hairston went onto the internet and lured as many as 17 sexual predators to come to my neighborhood - enticing these perverts with promises of sex with either a 14 year old girl, or boy. There are several dozen children on our street between the ages of 12 and 16. What could the News Directors have been thinking - to place our children in jeopardy for the sake of some cheap sensationalism to artificially boost their ratings?
Even after hearing the outrage of the neighborhood, NBC-10 has refused to acknowledge its responsibility, even agree to meet with the neighbors. Instead, it repeatedly defends its original debacle.
Your company sponsored the report in question, and therefore your company's name will appear on the website set up to warn people about the exercise in yellow journalism by NBC-10. We hope you will add your voice to ours in calling for those responsible for this outrageous attack upon the peace and tranquility of our neighborhood to be immediately and severely disciplined, and to assist the community in restoring its privacy and security.
Starting on March 9, an effort will be made to enlist the support of a number of family advocates all over the United States. At that time, a list of companies who fail to condemn NBC-10 will be sent out with a summary of what has happened to this neighborhood. I will also be sending the same to everyone on my own personal rolodex list, and asking them to forward it to as many people as possible.
YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS
----------------------------------------------------------------
MORE SPONSORS AND ADDRESSES
NBC-10 News
wcauinvestigators@nbc.com
(610) 949-7473
City & Monument Aves.
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Sponsors
Raymour & Flanigan
http://www.raymourflanigan.com/contactus/contactus.asp
Pennsylvania Lottery
AREA 1
PHILADELPHIA
700 Packer Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19148
Phone: (215) 952-1123
FAX: (215) 952-1134
Monday-Friday 8:30 - 4:30
Mercedes Benz
http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container.jsp?/contactus/mailus/index.jsp&menu=2
1-800-FOR-MERCEDES (1-800-367-6372)
· Contact us by e-mail
· Send us a letter:
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Customer Assistance Center
3 Paragon Drive
Montvale, N.J. 07645
Boscov’s Department Store LLC
4500 Perkiomen Avenue
Reading, PA 19606.
Call us @ 800-284-8155
shopbyphone@boscovs.com
Wachovia Bank
(800) 275-3862
https://www.wachovia.com/form/1,,14,00.html
BMW
http://www.bmwusa.com/Contact/ContactBmw.htm
Customer
800-831-1117
Joe Torsella for Congress
7601 Castor Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19152
215-722-1100
joe@joetorsella.com
Cingular Wireless
http://www.whereismyorder.com/contactus.aspx?ReferringDomain=cchoicesfs
To order by phone call
1-866-816-5873
Comcast High Speed Internet
Comcast Investor Relations
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Or by calling toll free: 866-281-2100
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
6075 Poplar Avenue · Suite 800 ·
Memphis, TN · 38119-4709
(800) 877-7375 · Fax (901) 766-6482
http://www.cmcsk.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=118591&p=irol-contactir
The Dump
Langhorne
215-302-1010
Sprint
Investor Information Line: 1-800-259-3755
PO Box 7997
Shawnee Mission, KS 66207-0997
Fax: 913-523-8312
E-mail: investorrelation.sprintcom@mail.sprint.com
Kohl’s Department Store
866-887-8884
Hidalgo (Movie)
The Secret Window (Movie)
I'll post them here!
* preston@y100.com
* wcauinvestigators@nbc.com
* gspencer@delco-times.com (wrote column this morning that our reaction was "overblown" LINK HERE)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALSO HERE IS A PARTIAL LIST OF NBC10 SPONSORS:
Samsung
Coors Light
H&R Block
Wachovia Center
Verizon
PNC Bank
Mercedes-Benz
Weight Watchers
PA Lottery
Aventis
Jackson-Hewitt
Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging
CarSense
Smartmoney.com
Taj Mahal
Sandals
Yahoo
Kraft
Gigex
Raymour & Flanigan
Thomasville Furniture
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CUT AND PASTE LETTER TO SPONSOR
Dear Sponsor,
Over the past week, children from my neighborhood have not been able to walk home from school unescorted, or to play outside, because of NBC-10's irresponsible decision to lure pedophiles into our neighborhood.
Without any notice to neighbors or the local police, reporter Harry Hairston went onto the internet and lured as many as 17 sexual predators to come to my neighborhood - enticing these perverts with promises of sex with either a 14 year old girl, or boy. There are several dozen children on our street between the ages of 12 and 16. What could the News Directors have been thinking - to place our children in jeopardy for the sake of some cheap sensationalism to artificially boost their ratings?
Even after hearing the outrage of the neighborhood, NBC-10 has refused to acknowledge its responsibility, even agree to meet with the neighbors. Instead, it repeatedly defends its original debacle.
Your company sponsored the report in question, and therefore your company's name will appear on the website set up to warn people about the exercise in yellow journalism by NBC-10. We hope you will add your voice to ours in calling for those responsible for this outrageous attack upon the peace and tranquility of our neighborhood to be immediately and severely disciplined, and to assist the community in restoring its privacy and security.
Starting on March 9, an effort will be made to enlist the support of a number of family advocates all over the United States. At that time, a list of companies who fail to condemn NBC-10 will be sent out with a summary of what has happened to this neighborhood. I will also be sending the same to everyone on my own personal rolodex list, and asking them to forward it to as many people as possible.
YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS
----------------------------------------------------------------
MORE SPONSORS AND ADDRESSES
NBC-10 News
wcauinvestigators@nbc.com
(610) 949-7473
City & Monument Aves.
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Sponsors
Raymour & Flanigan
http://www.raymourflanigan.com/contactus/contactus.asp
Pennsylvania Lottery
AREA 1
PHILADELPHIA
700 Packer Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19148
Phone: (215) 952-1123
FAX: (215) 952-1134
Monday-Friday 8:30 - 4:30
Mercedes Benz
http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container.jsp?/contactus/mailus/index.jsp&menu=2
1-800-FOR-MERCEDES (1-800-367-6372)
· Contact us by e-mail
· Send us a letter:
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Customer Assistance Center
3 Paragon Drive
Montvale, N.J. 07645
Boscov’s Department Store LLC
4500 Perkiomen Avenue
Reading, PA 19606.
Call us @ 800-284-8155
shopbyphone@boscovs.com
Wachovia Bank
(800) 275-3862
https://www.wachovia.com/form/1,,14,00.html
BMW
http://www.bmwusa.com/Contact/ContactBmw.htm
Customer
800-831-1117
Joe Torsella for Congress
7601 Castor Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19152
215-722-1100
joe@joetorsella.com
Cingular Wireless
http://www.whereismyorder.com/contactus.aspx?ReferringDomain=cchoicesfs
To order by phone call
1-866-816-5873
Comcast High Speed Internet
Comcast Investor Relations
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Or by calling toll free: 866-281-2100
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
6075 Poplar Avenue · Suite 800 ·
Memphis, TN · 38119-4709
(800) 877-7375 · Fax (901) 766-6482
http://www.cmcsk.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=118591&p=irol-contactir
The Dump
Langhorne
215-302-1010
Sprint
Investor Information Line: 1-800-259-3755
PO Box 7997
Shawnee Mission, KS 66207-0997
Fax: 913-523-8312
E-mail: investorrelation.sprintcom@mail.sprint.com
Kohl’s Department Store
866-887-8884
Hidalgo (Movie)
The Secret Window (Movie)
DON'T LET NBC TWIST THE TRUTH-TUESDAY'S MEETING IS TO DISCUSS THEIR ACTIONS!!!!
How dare channel 10 states that we are having a meeting on tuesday night to discuss internet pedators, like we owe them a thank you for getting our community to discuss this problem. I'm calling them again right now, maybe you could ask people to call again on the web site
Steve Voudouris
Steve Voudouris
NBC 10 Statement On 'Perverted Justice' Story - No Apology Here
The following statement was issued Thursday afternoon by NBC 10:
"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, and NBC 10 helped raise public awareness of this issue.
In covering this story, NBC 10 believes that no one was put in danger and the station conducted itself responsibly.
We have listened to and reported on the community's concerns about this story, and we are open to continuing a dialogue."
"Child predators on the Internet are a huge problem, and NBC 10 helped raise public awareness of this issue.
In covering this story, NBC 10 believes that no one was put in danger and the station conducted itself responsibly.
We have listened to and reported on the community's concerns about this story, and we are open to continuing a dialogue."
Advice from Los Angeles
Dear Sir,
I got your website from my mother who lives on Barren Road. I can not believe that News10 is dropping to such low levels. This is outrageous; I am outraged by this and concerned for my old neighborhood. When I grew up in Newtown Square (and still have many brothers, nieces and nephews living there) this was a community which depended on each other. In this time of concern, I am glad to see many people band together. Having known Lee Hunter for a long time and knowing the Police of Newtown Square, I can assure you, they will be on the watch and will make sure all safety precautions are taken place.
My recommendations from Los Angeles:
1. Boycott 10
2. Call all advertisers about what they did.
3. Picket, Create Bumper Stickers, Picket the station owners front yard, Picket the Reporters Front Yard and Neighborhood
4. Call Radio Talk Shows
5. Call Major Correspondence people from the likes of "CNN, FOX, MSNBC" You would be surprised at how receptive and easy these people are reach. Leave VM when you do get them. Most news companies would be outraged by the action of a local TV station.
Keep your spirit up! Keep your voices loud and band together. Let me know how I can help.
Patrick Monahan
I got your website from my mother who lives on Barren Road. I can not believe that News10 is dropping to such low levels. This is outrageous; I am outraged by this and concerned for my old neighborhood. When I grew up in Newtown Square (and still have many brothers, nieces and nephews living there) this was a community which depended on each other. In this time of concern, I am glad to see many people band together. Having known Lee Hunter for a long time and knowing the Police of Newtown Square, I can assure you, they will be on the watch and will make sure all safety precautions are taken place.
My recommendations from Los Angeles:
1. Boycott 10
2. Call all advertisers about what they did.
3. Picket, Create Bumper Stickers, Picket the station owners front yard, Picket the Reporters Front Yard and Neighborhood
4. Call Radio Talk Shows
5. Call Major Correspondence people from the likes of "CNN, FOX, MSNBC" You would be surprised at how receptive and easy these people are reach. Leave VM when you do get them. Most news companies would be outraged by the action of a local TV station.
Keep your spirit up! Keep your voices loud and band together. Let me know how I can help.
Patrick Monahan
Another Wonderful Letter From Mr. Pelc
Dear Mr. Blackman:
It is over 48 hours since I first wrote to your assistant news manager David Parker to express outrage over your irresponsible activities in our community. Although I made specific requests for information and specific requests for action, I have had no reply.
Mr. Parker did telephone me the morning of March 3rd. He started by acknowledging receipt of the letter and stating he wanted to point out some “inaccuracies”. Given the circumstances and your tenuous ethical position, it was a bad start. Mr. Parker also stated I was unreasonable and expressed hurt feeling at my disrespect for Channel 10. Some people are just too sensitive.
I am still waiting for a written reply. It gives you a chance to document the “inaccuracies”. Surely among all your talent you have someone capable of writing in addition to pressing a camcorder button.
Today, you were quoted by other media as saying that Channel 10 harmed no one and acted responsibly. Do you really think you harmed no one? Do you not think the 8, 10 , 12 and 14 year old boys and girls walking our streets and school hallways are not aware of the sexual predators you invited onto Rockwood Road for the express purpose of having sex with children? Do you really think those children are not scared or anxious? Do you really think their parents and teachers are not upset? Does that not count as harm to you?
I challenge you to find anything unreasonable in my first letter. I made specific requests for information which you have ignored. I suggested very simple steps to resolve the situation, basically don’t run the story and apologize. Since you did run the story last night, you have made it very clear where you stand. You care about ratings and money, and you don’t care about us or our children.
I forced myself to watch your investigative report last night and it did meet all my expectations: tasteless, titillating and totally devoid of socially redeeming value. Calling it an investigative report is like calling a spoiled piece of meat fine dining.
I am proud of the residents of Newtown Square for standing up and taking you on. I fully support the statements and actions of police, township, school and county officials who have announced plans to sue Channel 10 for reckless disregard of our children’s safety and to seek damages.
You had a chance to try to remedy this situation and you ignored it. At this point, if you have any sense of decency, you need to fire Harry Hairston and whatever news manager was ultimately responsible for approving this outrageous escapade. If that happens to be you, best wishes in your new career.
Lastly, I call upon the owners of Channel 10 to intervene forcefully and to decide if you want to aspire to becoming a news organization or if you want to continue to degenerate into a third-rate excuse for entertainment.
While the owners of Channel 10 are debating that career choice, I suggest all residents of the Delaware Valley, who care about their children and safety of their communities, do one very simple thing - change channels! There are plenty of other choices, it won’t cost you a penny, it won’t do you any harm and it might do us all some good.
Sincerely,
Edward Pelc
It is over 48 hours since I first wrote to your assistant news manager David Parker to express outrage over your irresponsible activities in our community. Although I made specific requests for information and specific requests for action, I have had no reply.
Mr. Parker did telephone me the morning of March 3rd. He started by acknowledging receipt of the letter and stating he wanted to point out some “inaccuracies”. Given the circumstances and your tenuous ethical position, it was a bad start. Mr. Parker also stated I was unreasonable and expressed hurt feeling at my disrespect for Channel 10. Some people are just too sensitive.
I am still waiting for a written reply. It gives you a chance to document the “inaccuracies”. Surely among all your talent you have someone capable of writing in addition to pressing a camcorder button.
Today, you were quoted by other media as saying that Channel 10 harmed no one and acted responsibly. Do you really think you harmed no one? Do you not think the 8, 10 , 12 and 14 year old boys and girls walking our streets and school hallways are not aware of the sexual predators you invited onto Rockwood Road for the express purpose of having sex with children? Do you really think those children are not scared or anxious? Do you really think their parents and teachers are not upset? Does that not count as harm to you?
I challenge you to find anything unreasonable in my first letter. I made specific requests for information which you have ignored. I suggested very simple steps to resolve the situation, basically don’t run the story and apologize. Since you did run the story last night, you have made it very clear where you stand. You care about ratings and money, and you don’t care about us or our children.
I forced myself to watch your investigative report last night and it did meet all my expectations: tasteless, titillating and totally devoid of socially redeeming value. Calling it an investigative report is like calling a spoiled piece of meat fine dining.
I am proud of the residents of Newtown Square for standing up and taking you on. I fully support the statements and actions of police, township, school and county officials who have announced plans to sue Channel 10 for reckless disregard of our children’s safety and to seek damages.
You had a chance to try to remedy this situation and you ignored it. At this point, if you have any sense of decency, you need to fire Harry Hairston and whatever news manager was ultimately responsible for approving this outrageous escapade. If that happens to be you, best wishes in your new career.
Lastly, I call upon the owners of Channel 10 to intervene forcefully and to decide if you want to aspire to becoming a news organization or if you want to continue to degenerate into a third-rate excuse for entertainment.
While the owners of Channel 10 are debating that career choice, I suggest all residents of the Delaware Valley, who care about their children and safety of their communities, do one very simple thing - change channels! There are plenty of other choices, it won’t cost you a penny, it won’t do you any harm and it might do us all some good.
Sincerely,
Edward Pelc
Resident: "This whole 'investigation' is a disgrace to journalism "
Thank you very much for posting the letter on your website. It was well written and expresses some of the concerns I have as a Rockwood Rd. resident with two young daughters. I spoke with Mr. Dave Parker at Channel 10 this afternoon and he said his channel was working in cooperation with a web sitecalled perverted-justice.com which is set up to find sexual deviants across the country. He said the problem of pedophiles is huge and needs to be addressed. He said law enforcement officials are not doing enough (which must give his channel the right to lure these potential sexual predators into our neighborhood and catch them "on camera"). He said also that five persons responded to the chat room notice and four arrived at 110 Rockwood. Two of the respondants were from out of state, NJ and MD. This whole "investigation" is a disgrace to journalism and I'm outraged by their irresponsible disregard for the safety of our children. Thank you, Deidre Selig
Resident Letter: What they did should be illegal
When I hear any police officer, or elected official saying that they don't believe any laws have been broken here, I'm flabbergasted. Of course the law has been broken.
If I call up my neighbor and tell them that there is a bomb under their car, I will be arrested before I hang up the phone.
If I call up a couple of rough characters and tell them that an old man will be walking down the street with $700 in cash in his pockets, I can be arrested for reckless endangerment.
If I get someone drunk and they the get into an accident, I am legally responsible.
When some news jockey operates a clandestine solicitation to pedophiles - offering sex with a child - in a residential neighborhood, where dozens of children play, our elected leaders say "no laws have been broken".
I don't believe it. If they can't find a way to throw the book at Harry Hairston and the NBC-10 News Team, they just aren't trying hard enough.
Not only do I want to see criminal charges brought against these incompetent fools, but I also want to bring enormous financial presssure to bear against NBC. I think we need to begin writing to family advocates all over the USA and ask for their support in boycotting NBC News - including all sponsors of NBC News programs - until every reporter, and news director who was responsible for this reckless assault on our neighborhood has been fired.
Ted Meehan
Rockwood Rd
If I call up my neighbor and tell them that there is a bomb under their car, I will be arrested before I hang up the phone.
If I call up a couple of rough characters and tell them that an old man will be walking down the street with $700 in cash in his pockets, I can be arrested for reckless endangerment.
If I get someone drunk and they the get into an accident, I am legally responsible.
When some news jockey operates a clandestine solicitation to pedophiles - offering sex with a child - in a residential neighborhood, where dozens of children play, our elected leaders say "no laws have been broken".
I don't believe it. If they can't find a way to throw the book at Harry Hairston and the NBC-10 News Team, they just aren't trying hard enough.
Not only do I want to see criminal charges brought against these incompetent fools, but I also want to bring enormous financial presssure to bear against NBC. I think we need to begin writing to family advocates all over the USA and ask for their support in boycotting NBC News - including all sponsors of NBC News programs - until every reporter, and news director who was responsible for this reckless assault on our neighborhood has been fired.
Ted Meehan
Rockwood Rd
FORM LETTER FOR NEIGHBORS TO SEND TO REPRESENTATIVES - CUT AND PASTE
Thanks Lori Biondi for the following letter!
February 19, 2004
The Honorable [NAME]
INSERT ADDRESS
Dear Governor/Senator [LAST NAME]:
NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) lured pedophiles to a home they rented two blocks from a school, 110 Rockwood Road in Newtown Square, without the approval or knowledge of the Newtown Township Police Department, during an undercover investigation on Monday, March 1, 2004. This address is also within a very short distance from many daycares and two of our public elementary schools. The story involved the set-up of an Internet site to lure pedophiles to the home under the impression of meeting a 14 year-old girl or boy there.
As a parent, concerned citizen and resident of Newtown Square, Delaware County, State of Pennsylvania [and United States of America?], I urge you to assist in holding NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) and reporter, Harry Hairston, accountable for what they have done to our neighborhood, families and our community. It is hard enough to protect our children from dangers without NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) inviting them directly into our neighborhood, especially without law enforcement supervision. If they were so interested in “performing a public service”, why didn’t they use their house or their neighborhood?
I would also like to make you aware that while NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) taped these sick individuals, there were many of our children playing in their front yards, riding their bikes and enjoying a beautiful spring day.
The situation is currently under investigation by the Newtown Police Department, the Delaware County District Attorney and the Criminal Investigation Division.
I would like to invite you to attend the following meetings to hear our concerns and offer your assistance:
· Monday, March 8, 7:30 p.m. at the Newtown Township building, Bishop Hollow Road
· Tuesday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center, West Chester Pike
I urge you to support passing legislation so this crime is not repeated in any neighborhood. Legislation also needs to be passed, similar to Megan’s Law, to inform neighborhoods of these people who have attempted to engaged in inappropriate contact with minors. These predators may not have been prosecuted, but they certainly had all intentions of committing a crime against our children. We shouldn’t need to wait until they after they commit a crime to be warned about them.
Sincerely,
[NAME]
Concerned Citizen of Newtown Square,
Delaware County, State of Pennsylvania
[and United States of America?]
February 19, 2004
The Honorable [NAME]
INSERT ADDRESS
Dear Governor/Senator [LAST NAME]:
NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) lured pedophiles to a home they rented two blocks from a school, 110 Rockwood Road in Newtown Square, without the approval or knowledge of the Newtown Township Police Department, during an undercover investigation on Monday, March 1, 2004. This address is also within a very short distance from many daycares and two of our public elementary schools. The story involved the set-up of an Internet site to lure pedophiles to the home under the impression of meeting a 14 year-old girl or boy there.
As a parent, concerned citizen and resident of Newtown Square, Delaware County, State of Pennsylvania [and United States of America?], I urge you to assist in holding NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) and reporter, Harry Hairston, accountable for what they have done to our neighborhood, families and our community. It is hard enough to protect our children from dangers without NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) inviting them directly into our neighborhood, especially without law enforcement supervision. If they were so interested in “performing a public service”, why didn’t they use their house or their neighborhood?
I would also like to make you aware that while NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) taped these sick individuals, there were many of our children playing in their front yards, riding their bikes and enjoying a beautiful spring day.
The situation is currently under investigation by the Newtown Police Department, the Delaware County District Attorney and the Criminal Investigation Division.
I would like to invite you to attend the following meetings to hear our concerns and offer your assistance:
· Monday, March 8, 7:30 p.m. at the Newtown Township building, Bishop Hollow Road
· Tuesday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center, West Chester Pike
I urge you to support passing legislation so this crime is not repeated in any neighborhood. Legislation also needs to be passed, similar to Megan’s Law, to inform neighborhoods of these people who have attempted to engaged in inappropriate contact with minors. These predators may not have been prosecuted, but they certainly had all intentions of committing a crime against our children. We shouldn’t need to wait until they after they commit a crime to be warned about them.
Sincerely,
[NAME]
Concerned Citizen of Newtown Square,
Delaware County, State of Pennsylvania
[and United States of America?]
Political Contact List- Tell these people how you feel!!!
Contact Information List:
This is a list of legislators for any zip code. Paste the address into your browser and enter the appropriate zip code above the map.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm
Governor Ed Rendell
Governor of Pennsylvania
225 Main Capitol
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 787-2500 phone
(717) 772-3155 fax
Senator Rick Santorum (R - PA)
511 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6324
(202) 228-0604 fax
Senator Arlen Specter (R - PA)
711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4254
(202) 228-1229 fax
E-mail: arlen_specter@specter.senate.gov, Senator_Specter@Specter.senate.gov
This is a list of legislators for any zip code. Paste the address into your browser and enter the appropriate zip code above the map.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm
Governor Ed Rendell
Governor of Pennsylvania
225 Main Capitol
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 787-2500 phone
(717) 772-3155 fax
Senator Rick Santorum (R - PA)
511 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6324
(202) 228-0604 fax
Senator Arlen Specter (R - PA)
711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4254
(202) 228-1229 fax
E-mail: arlen_specter@specter.senate.gov, Senator_Specter@Specter.senate.gov
Thursday, March 04, 2004
STATEMENT FROM THE MARPLE NEWTOWN BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
The Marple Newtown School Board and the Marple Newtown School District administration are outraged at NBC 10's attempt to gain ratings by luring pedophiles to a residential neighborhood in our School District. NBC 10 has acted irresponsibly, endangering the children of our community in a needless, shameful effort to create news, not report it.
This senseless and outrageous ratings grab will not and should not be accepted by our community. The Marple Newtown School Board fully supports the efforts of the Delaware County District Attorney's Office and its investigation into this matter. We will do whatever is necessary to aid that investigation.
The Marple Newtown School District works tirelessly on school security plans and makes every effort to protect our children. The District was not contacted by NBC 10 prior to this sensational news stunt or we would have voiced our strong objection and taken every step possible to stop this wrongheaded action. The District will continue to work with the Newtown Township Police Department to ensure the safety of our children
NBC 10's ill-conceived plot, while shamelessly pursuing ratings, shows a callous disregard for our children. That NBC 10 chose to conduct this stunt within 500 yards of a parochial school and just a short distance from two of our elementary schools is further proof of its disregard.
NBC 10 needlessly placed our children in jeopardy and its disgusting action will not be tolerated. The Marple Newtown School District condemns the actions of NBC 10 and urges residents to contact station management to voice their disappointment and outrage.
This senseless and outrageous ratings grab will not and should not be accepted by our community. The Marple Newtown School Board fully supports the efforts of the Delaware County District Attorney's Office and its investigation into this matter. We will do whatever is necessary to aid that investigation.
The Marple Newtown School District works tirelessly on school security plans and makes every effort to protect our children. The District was not contacted by NBC 10 prior to this sensational news stunt or we would have voiced our strong objection and taken every step possible to stop this wrongheaded action. The District will continue to work with the Newtown Township Police Department to ensure the safety of our children
NBC 10's ill-conceived plot, while shamelessly pursuing ratings, shows a callous disregard for our children. That NBC 10 chose to conduct this stunt within 500 yards of a parochial school and just a short distance from two of our elementary schools is further proof of its disregard.
NBC 10 needlessly placed our children in jeopardy and its disgusting action will not be tolerated. The Marple Newtown School District condemns the actions of NBC 10 and urges residents to contact station management to voice their disappointment and outrage.
Neighbor JOHN MINER delivers speech at Press Conference - here it is ....
Sunday, February 29 was a beautiful day. The sun was out, neighbors were talking, and, of course, children were playing.
As the sun again came out on Monday, neighbors went about their business. Parents began working, children walked to school, and younger children stayed behind to play.
The difference, however, between the two days was that on Monday, due to the irresponsible actions of NBC 10, there were at least 5 sexual predators cruising our streets, all of whom were not there the day before.
I represent a group of concerned citizens, parents, and grandparents who are outraged that this vigilante, ratings stunt put our children at risk by inviting predators to our doorsteps without the involvement of police.
Our local law enforcement currently does an exceptional job of keeping our community crime free. For NBC10 to invite sexual predators here undermines all their efforts.
We want to make clear that all of the pedophiles who came to our neighborhood on Monday were from other counties and states. In no way did NBC10 provide a service, what they provided was a disservice. Horribly, many of the antics of NBC10 were witnessed by children walking home from school.
We are very thankful that no child was victimized Monday. But the potential for catastrophe is still great. Since the 5 known predators that NBC10 invited into our community are still on the loose, we feel everyone is at risk.
NBC 10’s investigative report did not uncover a crime that was taking place in our neighborhood. The truth is, they brought it here.
As a community we want the following things to happen:
1. We want a public apology from NBC10 and a detailed plan of how they will hold the responsible parties accountable
2. We want NBC10 to rectify the situation by providing a “true” public service
3. We want our representatives to create legislation to prevent this from happening again
We do recognize that in today’s world all children are at risk to sexual predators, however, NBC10 made those risks greater through their irresponsible actions.
In response, we believe that all of us should boycott NBC10 and its advertisers until a reasonable effort is made to right this wrong.
As the sun again came out on Monday, neighbors went about their business. Parents began working, children walked to school, and younger children stayed behind to play.
The difference, however, between the two days was that on Monday, due to the irresponsible actions of NBC 10, there were at least 5 sexual predators cruising our streets, all of whom were not there the day before.
I represent a group of concerned citizens, parents, and grandparents who are outraged that this vigilante, ratings stunt put our children at risk by inviting predators to our doorsteps without the involvement of police.
Our local law enforcement currently does an exceptional job of keeping our community crime free. For NBC10 to invite sexual predators here undermines all their efforts.
We want to make clear that all of the pedophiles who came to our neighborhood on Monday were from other counties and states. In no way did NBC10 provide a service, what they provided was a disservice. Horribly, many of the antics of NBC10 were witnessed by children walking home from school.
We are very thankful that no child was victimized Monday. But the potential for catastrophe is still great. Since the 5 known predators that NBC10 invited into our community are still on the loose, we feel everyone is at risk.
NBC 10’s investigative report did not uncover a crime that was taking place in our neighborhood. The truth is, they brought it here.
As a community we want the following things to happen:
1. We want a public apology from NBC10 and a detailed plan of how they will hold the responsible parties accountable
2. We want NBC10 to rectify the situation by providing a “true” public service
3. We want our representatives to create legislation to prevent this from happening again
We do recognize that in today’s world all children are at risk to sexual predators, however, NBC10 made those risks greater through their irresponsible actions.
In response, we believe that all of us should boycott NBC10 and its advertisers until a reasonable effort is made to right this wrong.
"Use of house in TV 'sting' probed"; Phila Inquirer; 03/04/04
Reacting to calls from residents, Delaware County authorities are investigating a TV station's choice of a Newtown Township neighborhood near an elementary school to use for an Internet sting to lure pedophiles with the prospect of sex with 14-year-old girls and boys.
The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/8099872.htm
The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/8099872.htm
"Shame, shame, Channel 10" Phila Daily News; Dan Gross; 03/04/04
THE DELAWARE County district attorney's office yesterday had not decided whether it would file criminal charges against NBC-10 after the news station set up an undercover pedophile sting Monday in a residential neighborhood of Newtown Square.
As we reported yesterday, neighbors were outraged to learn the station had used the Internet and a rented house at 110 Rockwood Road to attract men who hoped to have sex either with a 14-year-old girl or boy.
The story, reported by Harry Hairston, aired on the station's 11 p.m. newscast yesterday. The report acknowledged the concerned community members, and Hairston made a point to remind viewers that these men "showed up to meet a specific child and were not prowling the neighborhood."
Two of the men who turned up at the house were from the area, and another had driven up from Maryland.
"I am totally, absolutely disappointed and disgusted with Channel 10 for the way they handled this situation," said Newtown Square police Chief Lee Hunter.
"We are highly upset. We feel it was unethical, unprofessional, and dangerous. It's unfair and unsafe for citizens and kids and we are going to follow every avenue we can to eliminate this problem from happening again," Hunter said.
Hunter said his department has been flooded with calls from angry citizens, and local politicians, and continues a strong police presence in the neighborhood and around a nearby elementary school.
Lane speaks her mind
Add CBS 3 to the list of folks peeved at NBC-10.
Says anchor Alycia Lane, "Channel 10, on a regular basis, lies about what they have that's exclusive and says the day after we've run a story that it was heard there first.
"It's getting to be unethical. It's extremely frustrating for those of us working hard."
Her comments came after she was questioned about a Sunday night interview with Luz Cuevas, mother of Delimar Vera, that was touted simultaneously as an exclusive by both CBS 3 and NBC-10, which also spoke to Cuevas.
CBS 3 news director Susan Schiller said her station's exclusivity references were inadvertent, and NBC-10 declined comment about the situation.
• To celebrate CBS 3's recent ratings boost, GM Peter Dunn has invited the entire station's staff out to dinner tonight.
grossd@phillynews.com
As we reported yesterday, neighbors were outraged to learn the station had used the Internet and a rented house at 110 Rockwood Road to attract men who hoped to have sex either with a 14-year-old girl or boy.
The story, reported by Harry Hairston, aired on the station's 11 p.m. newscast yesterday. The report acknowledged the concerned community members, and Hairston made a point to remind viewers that these men "showed up to meet a specific child and were not prowling the neighborhood."
Two of the men who turned up at the house were from the area, and another had driven up from Maryland.
"I am totally, absolutely disappointed and disgusted with Channel 10 for the way they handled this situation," said Newtown Square police Chief Lee Hunter.
"We are highly upset. We feel it was unethical, unprofessional, and dangerous. It's unfair and unsafe for citizens and kids and we are going to follow every avenue we can to eliminate this problem from happening again," Hunter said.
Hunter said his department has been flooded with calls from angry citizens, and local politicians, and continues a strong police presence in the neighborhood and around a nearby elementary school.
Lane speaks her mind
Add CBS 3 to the list of folks peeved at NBC-10.
Says anchor Alycia Lane, "Channel 10, on a regular basis, lies about what they have that's exclusive and says the day after we've run a story that it was heard there first.
"It's getting to be unethical. It's extremely frustrating for those of us working hard."
Her comments came after she was questioned about a Sunday night interview with Luz Cuevas, mother of Delimar Vera, that was touted simultaneously as an exclusive by both CBS 3 and NBC-10, which also spoke to Cuevas.
CBS 3 news director Susan Schiller said her station's exclusivity references were inadvertent, and NBC-10 declined comment about the situation.
• To celebrate CBS 3's recent ratings boost, GM Peter Dunn has invited the entire station's staff out to dinner tonight.
grossd@phillynews.com
Anyone want to Picket NBC10?
According to Lower Merion Police, we can picket NBC10 any time of the day, any day of the week, so long as we do not block driveways or sidewalks. We have to remain on the sidewalk at all times.
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
UPCOMING MEETINGS
*Thursday, March 4, day-time press conference and meeting at the Delaware County DA's office in Media (at the courthouse) show up around 10 a.m.
*Thursday, March 4, Evening-Outdoor meeting on Rockwood to discuss day's events and future plan including picketing of NBC10
*Monday, March 8, 7:30 p.m. at the Newtown Township building, Bishop Hollow Road
*Tuesday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center, West Chester Pike
*Thursday, March 4, Evening-Outdoor meeting on Rockwood to discuss day's events and future plan including picketing of NBC10
*Monday, March 8, 7:30 p.m. at the Newtown Township building, Bishop Hollow Road
*Tuesday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center, West Chester Pike
"Parents, police outraged by TV news"; News of Delaware County
NEWTOWN SQUARE - A local TV station lured pedophiles to a home two blocks from a school during an undercover investigation, yesterday.
NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) conducted the investigation at 110 Rockwood Road in Newtown Square, without the approval or knowledge of the Newtown Township Police Department.
The story involved the set-up of an Internet site to lure pedophiles to the home under the impression of meeting a 14-year-old boy there.
"The station rented the home, which is two blocks away from a school," Newtown Police Detective John Newell said yesterday evening.
Parents of students who attend St. Anastasia School learned of the investigation, when they received a letter from school officials informing them about the television station's actions.
"We're just upset that the police weren't informed by the TV station, because I have a feeling they would not have wanted these individuals in the neighborhood," said Shelia DiGiuseppe, a parent of a St. Anastasia School student.
St. Anastasia School, at 3309 West Chester Pike, is for students in grades one through eight.
"I just don't like the idea of attracting pedophiles to our neighborhood," said DiGiuseppe. "The majority of parents I've talked to feel the same way."
The situation is under investigation by the Newtown Police Department, the Delaware County District Attorney and the Criminal Investigation Division.
NBC 10 representative Dave Parker said he could not comment on the undercover investigation, last night.
NBC News Channel 10 (WCAU) conducted the investigation at 110 Rockwood Road in Newtown Square, without the approval or knowledge of the Newtown Township Police Department.
The story involved the set-up of an Internet site to lure pedophiles to the home under the impression of meeting a 14-year-old boy there.
"The station rented the home, which is two blocks away from a school," Newtown Police Detective John Newell said yesterday evening.
Parents of students who attend St. Anastasia School learned of the investigation, when they received a letter from school officials informing them about the television station's actions.
"We're just upset that the police weren't informed by the TV station, because I have a feeling they would not have wanted these individuals in the neighborhood," said Shelia DiGiuseppe, a parent of a St. Anastasia School student.
St. Anastasia School, at 3309 West Chester Pike, is for students in grades one through eight.
"I just don't like the idea of attracting pedophiles to our neighborhood," said DiGiuseppe. "The majority of parents I've talked to feel the same way."
The situation is under investigation by the Newtown Police Department, the Delaware County District Attorney and the Criminal Investigation Division.
NBC 10 representative Dave Parker said he could not comment on the undercover investigation, last night.
Letter from the McDevitts
To Whom It May Concern -
Please accept my complaint regarding NBC10's behavior yesterday on Rockwood Road.
It is completely inappropriate and unacceptable for NBC10 to attract potential harm to our neighborhood by inviting pedophiles and people with serious problems to that house. We saw many license plates of men from out of state in front of the house all day yesterday.
In addition, as some of these men went speeding out of the neighborhood, they nearly hit parked cars and children outside.
This type of careless, sensational journalism is completely irresponsible. I am certain that no one at NBC10 would want this at the house next door to them, especially if they had children who could be potential prey for these people.
We live in a quiet neighborhood with many children. Many of the antics of the reporters and "invited guests" were witnessed by children walking home from school yesterday afternoon.
When the police perform this type of operation, they do it in public places like shopping malls and movie theaters, not in residential neighborhoods.
Other things that took place yesterday were completely unacceptable, including the behavior of your reporter, Harry Hairston, who began verbally fighting with concerned neighbors and who threatened physical violence against them.
As someone who has practiced and studied journalism, I believe that you have crossed a line here. It is your duty to report the news, not to create crime. Although I understand your desire to perform investigative reporting, this was a poorly conceived plan which was very dangerous.
We would appreciate that you not run this story on your news program, as I believe that it will only cause more harm to the neighborhood.
We would appreciate a reply from someone at NBC10 immediately who can respond to our questions and concerns, and outline your action plan for handling this situation and holding the responsible parties accountable.
Sincerely,
Joseph McDevitt
& Christie McDevitt
Please accept my complaint regarding NBC10's behavior yesterday on Rockwood Road.
It is completely inappropriate and unacceptable for NBC10 to attract potential harm to our neighborhood by inviting pedophiles and people with serious problems to that house. We saw many license plates of men from out of state in front of the house all day yesterday.
In addition, as some of these men went speeding out of the neighborhood, they nearly hit parked cars and children outside.
This type of careless, sensational journalism is completely irresponsible. I am certain that no one at NBC10 would want this at the house next door to them, especially if they had children who could be potential prey for these people.
We live in a quiet neighborhood with many children. Many of the antics of the reporters and "invited guests" were witnessed by children walking home from school yesterday afternoon.
When the police perform this type of operation, they do it in public places like shopping malls and movie theaters, not in residential neighborhoods.
Other things that took place yesterday were completely unacceptable, including the behavior of your reporter, Harry Hairston, who began verbally fighting with concerned neighbors and who threatened physical violence against them.
As someone who has practiced and studied journalism, I believe that you have crossed a line here. It is your duty to report the news, not to create crime. Although I understand your desire to perform investigative reporting, this was a poorly conceived plan which was very dangerous.
We would appreciate that you not run this story on your news program, as I believe that it will only cause more harm to the neighborhood.
We would appreciate a reply from someone at NBC10 immediately who can respond to our questions and concerns, and outline your action plan for handling this situation and holding the responsible parties accountable.
Sincerely,
Joseph McDevitt
& Christie McDevitt
Contact at NBC
The number at channel 10 news is 1-800-847-9228. When you call, ask for Dave Parker.
An open letter to Mr. Parker at NBC, written by Mr. ED PELC, Newtown Square
Dear Mr. Parker:
This evening I attended a meeting with some 40 neighbors of Rockwood Road and neighboring streets. The impetus for the meeting was outrage at the irresponsibility and arrogance of Channel 10 News.
On March 1, 2004 your news management invited an unknown number of pedophiles into our community. By advertising on the internet you solicited pedophiles to visit a vacant house on our block for sex with a minor child.
There was no news story here. The house was temporarily vacant while the new owner arranged renovations. You rented it and manufactured news for ratings and greed. You did so with no regard for the safety of our children. You did so without the knowledge of local authorities and without any security. There are many schools and children in this neighborhood. The Saint Anastasia grammar school is only three blocks from the rental house.
An unknown number of pedophiles did respond and visited the house so you could take pictures and generate a meaningless story. The concern and action of nearby neighbors managed to halt your irresponsible actions.
A number of residents have contacted your office. Your explanations have been nauseating. You claim to be pursuing news, to be exposing a threat, to be offering help to the pedophiles, and to be within your legal rights. If you had conducted this supposed sting operation in the homes of your news managers or on-air personalities, I might be able to swallow your lies. You did not, however, endanger the family, friends and neighbors of your own. You chose to endanger our neighborhood.
A number of ideas surfaced at this evening’s meeting. One I liked was to conduct our own sting operation and publicize the home address of you or station owners on the internet as locales for underage sex, drugs, etc. We would, of course, show up outside your home with cameras to snap pictures of visitors. I’m sure we would be within our legal rights.
We have made our immediate concerns known to local leaders. I don’t know what action the Delaware County District Attorney can take, but we have encouraged any action possible. Personally, criminal acts such as reckless endangerment or solicitation sound appropriate to my civilian mind.
Of course, there was also discussion of civil litigation. We have time to think about that. While we are thinking, I request you send to the residents of this community a full detailed written explanation of your actions. This must include details of how and under what pretext you rented the house; details of how you solicited pedophiles into the community; how the Rockwood Road address was advertised and disseminated; whether that address continues to be disseminated, with or without your cooperation; all identifying information, to include names, license plates, photographs, etc., of pedophiles who visited the house; what actions you have taken and will take to insure these pedophiles will never again visit this neighborhood.
In the interim I strongly suggest Channel 10 take the following specific actions:
1. Do not run the “story” you propose. It is not newsworthy, and will only add to the hurt you already caused this community and will add weight to the basis for legal action.
2. Do run a story exposing your own poor judgment in this episode and apologizing to this community and any others you may have similarly harmed.
3. Reimburse the Newtown Square community for the expense you have caused the police to incur in responding to your actions and providing additional security for the neighborhood and schools.
I am copying this correspondence to political leaders and other news media. I do so in the naïve hope you may be swayed by public embarrassment.
In the event you do not do what is right, I am also asking other media to run this a letter to the editor or to conduct their own investigation of your bizarre sense of news reporting and community responsibility.
Finally, one last request. Please, please do not go on air and preach to us about freedom of the press, defending the community against hidden menaces and your devotion to truth. I have a limited capacity for hypocrisy.
Sincerely,
Edward Pelc
cc: State Senator Ted Erickson
US Senator Arlen Specter
DELCO District Attorney
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Delaware County Daily Times
Joseph P. McDevitt
This evening I attended a meeting with some 40 neighbors of Rockwood Road and neighboring streets. The impetus for the meeting was outrage at the irresponsibility and arrogance of Channel 10 News.
On March 1, 2004 your news management invited an unknown number of pedophiles into our community. By advertising on the internet you solicited pedophiles to visit a vacant house on our block for sex with a minor child.
There was no news story here. The house was temporarily vacant while the new owner arranged renovations. You rented it and manufactured news for ratings and greed. You did so with no regard for the safety of our children. You did so without the knowledge of local authorities and without any security. There are many schools and children in this neighborhood. The Saint Anastasia grammar school is only three blocks from the rental house.
An unknown number of pedophiles did respond and visited the house so you could take pictures and generate a meaningless story. The concern and action of nearby neighbors managed to halt your irresponsible actions.
A number of residents have contacted your office. Your explanations have been nauseating. You claim to be pursuing news, to be exposing a threat, to be offering help to the pedophiles, and to be within your legal rights. If you had conducted this supposed sting operation in the homes of your news managers or on-air personalities, I might be able to swallow your lies. You did not, however, endanger the family, friends and neighbors of your own. You chose to endanger our neighborhood.
A number of ideas surfaced at this evening’s meeting. One I liked was to conduct our own sting operation and publicize the home address of you or station owners on the internet as locales for underage sex, drugs, etc. We would, of course, show up outside your home with cameras to snap pictures of visitors. I’m sure we would be within our legal rights.
We have made our immediate concerns known to local leaders. I don’t know what action the Delaware County District Attorney can take, but we have encouraged any action possible. Personally, criminal acts such as reckless endangerment or solicitation sound appropriate to my civilian mind.
Of course, there was also discussion of civil litigation. We have time to think about that. While we are thinking, I request you send to the residents of this community a full detailed written explanation of your actions. This must include details of how and under what pretext you rented the house; details of how you solicited pedophiles into the community; how the Rockwood Road address was advertised and disseminated; whether that address continues to be disseminated, with or without your cooperation; all identifying information, to include names, license plates, photographs, etc., of pedophiles who visited the house; what actions you have taken and will take to insure these pedophiles will never again visit this neighborhood.
In the interim I strongly suggest Channel 10 take the following specific actions:
1. Do not run the “story” you propose. It is not newsworthy, and will only add to the hurt you already caused this community and will add weight to the basis for legal action.
2. Do run a story exposing your own poor judgment in this episode and apologizing to this community and any others you may have similarly harmed.
3. Reimburse the Newtown Square community for the expense you have caused the police to incur in responding to your actions and providing additional security for the neighborhood and schools.
I am copying this correspondence to political leaders and other news media. I do so in the naïve hope you may be swayed by public embarrassment.
In the event you do not do what is right, I am also asking other media to run this a letter to the editor or to conduct their own investigation of your bizarre sense of news reporting and community responsibility.
Finally, one last request. Please, please do not go on air and preach to us about freedom of the press, defending the community against hidden menaces and your devotion to truth. I have a limited capacity for hypocrisy.
Sincerely,
Edward Pelc
cc: State Senator Ted Erickson
US Senator Arlen Specter
DELCO District Attorney
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Delaware County Daily Times
Joseph P. McDevitt
"NBC-10 stunt stuns nabes" ; Daily News Article ; 3/3/04
The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/8092266.htm
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/8092266.htm
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
if you want something posted on this site, email me at: themcdevitts@comcast.net
SECOND MESSAGE
The Township Supervisors meet every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the Township Building. The next meeting will be the 9th. I'm sure a lot of people will be showing up. I also think there will be another informal meeting tomorrow night around dinner time infront of 108 rockwood.
FYI-
Newtown Township Supervisors
H. Ross Lambert, Chairman
Linda M. Houldin, Vice Chairman
John S. Custer,Esq.
Joseph Catania, Esq.
Jack DiPompeo
If someone can email the letter sent home from school, I can put that up here too.
FYI-
Newtown Township Supervisors
H. Ross Lambert, Chairman
Linda M. Houldin, Vice Chairman
John S. Custer,Esq.
Joseph Catania, Esq.
Jack DiPompeo
If someone can email the letter sent home from school, I can put that up here too.
FIRST MESSAGE TO NEIGHBORS
Hello everyone, this is another forum to discuss our concerns and keep each other informed about what is happening. We need to take this fight to NBC. I hope we get a new law passed that prevents them from doing this to another neighborhood. I also hope to see someone pay for this irresponsible and down-right stupid attempt at providing some sort of "public service." What they did is a "diservice" to our community. We are lucky nothing bad happened this time ... but who know if something bad will happen the next time.
email me anything you want posted at
themcdevitts@comcast.net
that includes any info anyone has on meetings, lawsuits, other newspapers/TV stations that want interviews.
thanks
Joe MCDevitt (108)
email me anything you want posted at
themcdevitts@comcast.net
that includes any info anyone has on meetings, lawsuits, other newspapers/TV stations that want interviews.
thanks
Joe MCDevitt (108)
