This from Michael Hayes, a weekend producer at Fox 61:
I feel compelled to share some insight on the Courant’s & Fox 61′s coverage of the Annie Le story. For full disclosure my name is Michael Hayes. I am a weekend producer at FOX 61.
In what has been one of the biggest, most interesting, most important, most talked about stories of the year, I believe the Courant & Fox 61 failed not only viewers, but its employees.
For 48 hours, as the drama unfolded, leadership was (excuse me for the unintended pun) no where to be found. Where was the director of news content Jeff Levine?
As Fox 61 producers and reporters were receiving important tip information on the investigation, we lacked the direction on what to do with it. At the exact moment when it is helpful to have the insight and judgement of leadership, none existed.
Let me be blunt, I’ve worked at several other news stations, and had a story this large and important broke, the higher ups would have been present. Unfortunately, the bosses I work for now are not.
Thanks,
Michael Hayes
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Michael,
Bully to you for venting your frustration. We the viewers — and potential consumers of products advertised on FOX 61, although I made a promise NEVER to purchase any product that is advertised during the station’s morning show and newcasts — appreciate your genuine concern for what you describe as a lack of leadership at the station. I’m not sure how much Jeff Levine appreciates being singled out. But you must remember he’s a marketing person, not a news person. As for Graziano’s whereabouts, he might have been hanging out in a parking lot in Farmington.
Brave fellow.
So in the trifling matters of ethics, integrity and now even basic professionalism Jeff Levine comes up short. Who’s he got pictures of up to no good to keep his job?
denis
Brave would be one adjective. I hope soon-to-be-unemployed is not another.
It’s just another chapter in Broad Street’s version of the farcical Psmith, Journalist — another weekly installment. Maybe the content manager is holed up in the office, listening to the Doors’ “Strange Days” (a good theme song for the paper these days.) Maybe “platform agnostic content” means the news is essentially unknowable or unverifiable anyway, so why bother making much effort to report it.
Strange days have found us
Strange days have tracked us down
Theyre going to destroy
Our casual joys
We shall go on playing
Or find a new town.
Readers should demand the resignations of the entire (mis) management team.
Funny.
One of my friends in the Courant newsroom informs me that the print and online operation did, indeed, have a very detailed and complete weekend coverage plan for the Annie Le story. It included who would be doing what and who to call in the event of a break, etc.
The TV side… not so much.
Very Brave. But you’ll probably be threatened with lawsuits tomorrow as I was by some people when I tried to speak out about something I found to be aggregious. Now I just keep my mouth shut…well except for this post.
The online operation might have had a very detailed and comprehensive coverage plan, but the coverage hasn’t been all that comprehensive — unless you count all the links at courant.com to Google News. Many of the links at the Courant’s website lead not to stories by Courant writers but to short videos featuring WTIC’s animatronic anchors and hyperventilating reporters. Sometimes the links are outdated (for example today’s embarrasssing “No Arrests Expected” headline and link several hours after the arrest of Clark). Other newspapers and cable television networks have done a better job covering the case — despite the fact that the Courant should be leading the coverage of this Connecticut story. Maybe the Courant should hire more reporters and editors.