In early August of 2004, Marnita Annette Lynn Bynum, 40, was strangled to death. Later on her husband Melvin, who was pastor for a church in Sanford, NC, “Cry Out Loud Ministries”, was charged with her murder. Marnita Bynum's body was discovered in the trunk of her car around 2:00am one morning near Hamlet, NC. Ironically, Marnita Bynum started the women's crisis center at the church her husband preached at.
One facet of this story that hasn’t gotten any “serious second looks” is the kind of coverage it got from WTVD reporter Shae Crisson. As Melvin Bynum entered a property and was met by relatives who may or may not have known about who might have committed the crime, they were asked, “Don’t you want to know who murdered your mother?” for the television cameras by Ms Crissom. Needless to say relatives of Ms Bynum were angered by such heartless inquiries during what was arguably the worst or earliest part their grief.
In another situation, WRAL TV reporter Amanda Lamb attempted to interview Ann Miller prior to the filing of indictments, which now allege Miller's involvement in the arsenic related death of her husband Eric. As Ms. Miller made her way into a government building, Lamb confronts an obviously shaken woman who is not interested in making a statement. The film clip and audio have since been recycled into a number of so-called news segments or promotional trailers that are broadcast by the North Carolina news station. Neither woman, accused/alleged murderer or the reporter, provided viewers with much in terms of real news that day. The moment clearly wasn’t the high point in either of their careers (or lifetimes) yet this 10-second segment gets repeat airings.
In early November 2004, “photo journalists were attacked by Asa Collier after he engaged in some kind of outburst outside the Wake County Courthouse. Pictures depict Collier pushing cameramen away from him and viewers are left to ponder who is being most offensive (cameramen or anarchist protester). A man’s friends were facing obvious jail time for their actions and instead of giving him time and distance to compose himself or disappear the cameramen dove in towards their prey for a close up.
Every day these people meet persons on the worst days of their lives. To some extent these newspersons feed on these events or stoke the emotions of viewers and those who are viewed. Since when was reporting the news also supposed to include “making news” by engaging in such predatory tactics? If these were second string or tabloid reporters these events might dismissible but the reporters involved have worked for years in the business and should know better.
These are the kinds of reporting strategies that occur almost every day (albeit more often to lesser degrees) in other situations. It’s conceivable that some day soon, a reporter might actually be physically harmed when attempting a legitimate interview using less predatory tactics. The media will most probably resort to blaming those that they perceive to be attackers.
Reasonable persons have to wonder, what ethics do these journalists subscribe to? What motivates or encourages the situations like the ones described in this short history or description of recent events? Are these persons acting like responsible journalists when they “make the news” or acting more like desperate second-string paparazzi?
Whatever your views on the actions that these “journalists” (or those who are being asked for interviews) engage in, one has to admit that for as long as media persons “play with fire”, they risk getting burned. Some stories actually require aggressive tactics and certain risks. On the other hand, some stories or events don't deserve coverage or risks of any kind. And those persons (or their friends and family) who have suffered from undeserved and unwanted media exposure, won’t sympathize with reporters when they (media) suffer an occasional punch, scratch or broken piece of equipment (or much worse?) as a result of their predatory behaviors.
Good journalists know better than to behave like paparazzi and have learned to be more accountable for their actions. What about the “good guys” out there that won’t “get the story” or report some “real news” because the public (or public servants) have good cause to be on the defensive or demonstrate strong reservations about the media courting them for an occasional opinion, sound-byte or picture? Something to think about, no… and surprises occur almost every day, but don’t count on reading about such things in the papers or viewing a segment on journalist ethics on TV anytime soon.
WTVD: Pastor Arrested in Wife's Murder, August 19th, 2004. Article online at: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/news/081904_NW_bynumarrested.html viewed on November 15th, 2004.
WRALTV: Previous Stories About Eric Miller Murder. Article online at: http://www.wral.com/news/2171957/detail.html, viewed on November 15th, 2004.
WRALTV: Friend Of GOP Vandalism Suspects Has Emotional Outburst Outside Court . November 8th, 2004. Article online at: http://www.wral.com/news/3898517/detail.html, viewed on November 15th, 2004.
Shae Crisson – Biography on the Internet - http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/bios/Bio_Shae_Crisson.html
Amanda Lamb – Biography on the Internet –
http://www.wral.com/staff/460798/detail.html
