Angry and Guilty

"Hey Mark. We need you to go meet Hollenhorst at the federal courthouse. The verdict for some trial is coming down."

"OK"

Some state official had been accused of extortion. He'd been taking payments from the owner of Envirocare (now called Energy Solutions), a nuclear waste storage company, to 'help him get some permits.'

The owner recorded several phone calls with this government official and turned them over to the Attorney General. An investigation and trial ensues and this guy is found guilty.

No sooner do I walk up to the courthouse than the accused and his family are walking out. John runs up and fills me in on who the players are.

"The old guy with the gray hair was just found guilty. He's not talking so just get me a good walk shot."

"OK"

In the world of TV news, a 'walk shot' is just that. It's usually a shot of someone involved in some story walking somewhere. In court cases, we walk with the person for 20 seconds or so and then let them pass. That way we can show this video while the reporter talks about what happened in court that day.

"Oh yeah, and the family has been pretty agressive toward the media."




Now these people knew what to expect. Here their dad, or whoever he was, was either taking bribes or extorting money from the owner of a storage facility to get permits. That in itself is a news story. He'd been found guilty - another news story.

They had been yelling at the media the entire trial but nothing like what they had done with me. Obviously they were a little more angry than normal at those they blamed for Dad's indiscretions. What I found interesting is not only did the dope in the glasses threaten me, but when I asked for clarification he not only repeated it but walked up to my camera and yelled it straight into the lens. That wouldn't have held up in a court had he decided to get physical.

An old lady who was a supporter of the family made the observation to John (read this line with a whiny, uneducated voice) "Can you believe that guy is putting that baby on TV?"

John brilliantly replied "You mean the baby that that lady is thrusting into the camera?"

I guess if you don't want your baby or your wife on TV, they shouldn't run right into the camera and announce "I'm trying to walk down the sidewalk!"