The Other Side Of The Picket Line

[Mark Watson]

  I happened to catch the first few minutes of WHDH-TV's(Channel 7) 4PM
news. They went live to reporter Sean Hennesey in Worcester with the story
about the Worcester Regional Transit Authority bus drivers going on strike
this morning. Hennesey did his live shot from inside the WRTA bus garage,
walking in front of a row of parked buses. That means he, and the camera
person had to cross the ATU Local 22 picket line to get to that garage. If
I'm not mistaken, aren't TV reporters and camera persons also union? IMHO
I'm surprised that they would cross a picket line, even if it was to do a
story about why the picket line is there. I wonder if the drivers gave the
reporter and camera person any grief for crossing the line.

    FWIW, WBZ-TV (a/k/a CBS 4) also did a live shot from Worcester, however
reporter Eileen Curran was across the street from the WRTA garage with the
striking workers walking the sidewalk behind her. The camera moved left and
zoomed in for a close up of the outside of the bus garage, and managed to
get a quick shot of Channel 7's satellite truck sitting inside the yard
before the pre-taped story package ran.

    And Channel 7 got yet a second satellite truck cameo on Channel 4's 4:30
news segment, both stations were at a park & ride lot in Londonderry NH
reporting on a security search of buses and passengers heading to Boston.

Mark Watson