Re: Boston Globe Online / Metro | Region / WPRI reporter's link to club stirs ethical questions

["Dan Billings" <billings@suscom-maine.net>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Faneuf" <tklaundry@juno.com>
To: <billings@suscom-maine.net>
Cc: <brian_vita@cssinc.com>; <k-vahey@attbi.com>; <billo@shoreham.net>;
<bri@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2003 3:47 PM
Subject: RE: Boston Globe Online / Metro | Region / WPRI reporter's link to
club stirs ethical questions


> Dave:
> So do you KNOW that WPRI did NOT check with the fire dept and see if the
club had violations or are you assuming that because it's a journalist that
no questions were asked?  It would seem to me that prior to doing a story
like a follow up to the Chicago story the station would need a list of
violations of the club being featured.  The fire dept has said the club did
not have any violations.
> df

I do not know that WPRI did not do as you suggest and in an earlier post, I
stated that if they had checked with government officials, it would have
been OK.

The statements in the Globe story seem to indicate that the club was chosen
because it was convenient.

In these circumstances, it is best to avoid even the appearance of a
conflict of interest.  Why go to the once club in the area owned by an
employee of the TV station?

-- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine