News and Society

Not long ago, I met with a radio and TV veteran of the industry. He'd been reporting on the news, been a station manager in several major US cities. Today he runs his own radio show, and is enjoying himself and retirement, although I guess we could call it semi-retirement in that case. Anyway, he has the most excellent stories about his interviews with big-name politicians. He'd gotten up and asked some pretty tough questions of some pretty high ranking politicians running for many of the highest offices in the country.

Without naming names, he told me one story that went something like this; he had to cover for one of his reporters that was doing another news story in another part of the country, a presidential candidate had come to town, and since he had clearance from the Secret Service he was able to sit in the front row with reporters to ask questions. When the individual was done with their speech, and began taking questions he asked some really hard-core questions.

The candidate had dodged those questions, and as he began to ask more, he was being nudged towards the aisle, and duly escorted out of the facility. Other reporters saw what was going on, and they didn't like it, and because everyone knows everyone else in the media industry, they asked follow-up questions along the same lines. At that point the candidate was looking pretty bad, and told everyone thank you very much, that he had to get to some other appointments.

When my acquaintance came back to the studio, and it was an affiliate station, he got a call from New York, as the candidate's staff wanted to know who he was, why he was there, and where on earth he got his facts and figures, and if those facts and figures were correct. The New York newsroom told the staffer from the candidate's HQ that they knew of this reporter, he'd been in the industry a long time, and if he asked the question, then he had his facts to back them up, not to worry about it. The campaign staffer hung up the phone.

Apparently, the presidential campaign staffer wanted to get him fired for asking the questions and embarrassing the candidate on TV. Because the candidate had a huge budget for advertising they tried to pull their weight with the New York office. It didn't work. Thankfully, we still have freedom of speech and freedom of the press in this great country. But that just goes to show you some of the underhanded and disgusting things that happen behind the scenes.

He explained to me that although he would never agree to it, often reporters would agree to stick to a scripted number of questions, and not go off track as a condition for getting the interview. Not only that, they would give those scripted questions in advance to the candidate, so they could have their staff work on the perfect answer. As a radio listener, and a TV news junkie, I am completely concerned about these things, and ask; is the news even real anymore? Apparently it isn't, but there are some hard-core reporters still left the aren't so easily intimidated. Thankfully they still believe in freedom and liberty in this nation. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.worldthinktank.net/ - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

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As the search continues for a 10-year-old boy swept away by the Merced River in Yosemite, the question of liability in national parks begins again. The parks are meant to be wild and natural, but rely on visitors fees, amongst other revenue, to remain open. Is it negligent to allow people to be so close to waterfalls, rapids, cliffs and rodent-born disease?

Yosemite is not without warning signs. Trailheads note the length of the trail and difficulty. Anything beyond these markers is in conflict with the park's mission to preserve nature. Lining rivers with guardrails and creating hotels in place of simple tents would turn Yosemite into a resort rather than a preserve.

The case of the missing boy is sad and possibly could have been prevented. The ten-year-old Andy was swimming with his six-year-old brother Jacob just down river from Vernal Falls. These powerful waters drop hundreds of feet down into Yosemite Valley. Though August is a time of low water levels and the shallows seem calm, the water is still moving with great force across slippery rocks on the river banks.

The boys were on a camping trip with their church group at the time. Their mother was watching from further away near the waterfall with other adult members of the church group. The area is a popular resting spot along the Mist Trail they were hiking. Regardless, young Andy was swept into the river and drowned. Jacob has not been found and is presumed dead. Their mother was also hurt as she ran and fell on rocks trying to reach the shore near where her children were lost.

Like most deaths at Yosemite, the boys were too close to fast moving water. Two other hikers were lost last year when they decided to cross a footbridge that was slick from the proximity to a waterfall. No sign warned them not to cross under wet conditions, but for many hikers this is a decision made based on ability. Rock climbers who scale the face of Half Dome make a similar call, where they intentionally put themselves in danger and rely on their own equipment to survive. Both hikers who cross the bridge fell off the slick pedestrian bridge trying to save time with the short cut.

The park is responsible for maintenance and care of the land. Negligence would be if the there was a foreseeable and preventable danger in the conditions of the maintained land. For the park, controlling the water levels and speed isn't reasonable. However, there could have been other precautionary actions that weren't taken. Then, the question is how to enforce safety rules in the huge park.

Ultimately, the care of young children falls to the guardian present at the time of the accident. Separating from a group in the wilderness is dangerous not only because people easily lose track of their position in the park, but because help is that much further away. It's best to exercise as much caution as possible to avoid these terribly sad situations of loss in the wild.

For those who have been in an accident this year in California, contact an accident attorney to represent your best interests in court. Visit http://bestaccident-attorneys.com/ to learn more.

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