With Halloween approaching, we monitor the local news stations, waiting for the Halloween scare stories to come out.
This morning, Orlando’s ABC affiliate, WFTV put one out, suggesting, “parents can also take matters into their own hands by searching online to find out where in their neighborhood registered sex offenders live” in order to make their children safer this Halloween.
Where’s your story about pedestrian safety or DUI offenders, WFTV? If you’re going to put out suggestions as to how parents can make their children safer, why not actually suggest tips that have any validity?
Children are more than twice as likely to get hit and killed by a car while trick-or-treating (analysis of U.S. government data shows that 115 pedestrians under 18 were killed on Oct. 31 over a 21-year period from 1990 to 2010. That’s an average of 5.5 deaths each Halloween, compared with an average of 2.6 on other days). Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also shows that between 2009 and 2013, 43 percent of all motor vehicle deaths occurring on Halloween night resulted from a drunken driving-related crash.
There is absolutely ZERO (0) increased rate of sex crimes against children on or around Halloween. (http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1079063209340143#articleCitationDownloadContainer
What happened to the days when journalism held standards of ethics and responsibility?
Please feel free to post this to WFTV’s article: http://www.wftv.com/news/local/parents-can-check-site-for-neighborhood-sex-offenders-before-trick-or-treating/630851778
490 E. South St., Orlando, FL 32801
Main Number: 407-841-9000
Newsroom: 407-822-8380
I just don’t get it. Fox 35 in Central Florida ran a report this morning about a serial killer in Tampa who is randomly shooting people on the street. So far 3 people have been shot. They reported, however, that the Tampa police says it is safe to go trick-or-treating.
What kind of signals are they sending to the community about SO’s? In one breath, they tell everyone to identify the local SO’s, and make sure you protect your family from them. Then they tell parents not to worry about a serial killer who has already claimed 3 victims. So the underlying message from the police is that people on the registry are far more dangerous than serial killers who are shooting people in public.
There has never been a conviction of a compliant RSO attempting a molestation of a child in the USA on Halloween. Why would any deviant criminal attempt a heinous crime when the parents are waiting in the car. Channel 9 every Halloween features stories on sex crimes and monsters. The real Monsters are Producers at WFTV causing a vigilante mentality. Last year their Reporter was knocking live on camera on RSO doors and asking if they intended to hand out candy. The sickness is not the potential molester, its greedy TV Affiliates dying for ratings. LOCAL TV News do not protect nor serve. They are performers! Writing the GM at channel 9 does very little. You need to write the FCC and report exploitation of news broadcasting. BTW, I plan on a wild adult costume party! FIGHT BACK.. JEV
I wonder if WFTV would reply to a open letter
You know, year after year FAC and many other advocates “school” the media about the Halloween scare. By now they have to know what we say is true. It is obvious they do not care about accuracy but instead using the fear factor to get ratings. It makes me SICK! You would think in this era of seeking the truth to combat false narratives and all the “false news” narratives that the media would want to be precise and present the truth – but no…
With any luck a politician’s kid will get run down by a drunk that night.
Pathetic as it is that might be the ONLY thing would get some of these evil sociopath’s attention to something besides the easy low hanging fruit that sex offenders are for them.
Seems it takes something like that to get an real change in the United States of America now. Sad but very true.
Even that might do it…just look at the topic of gun control even after the most deadly shooting in US history…so maybe one dead kid is actually NOT enough. I can hope can’t I…
What is striking is this is my local news that I watch and this seems to be the only subject they can’t get right or choose not to.
Have you noticed channel 2 WESH (NBC) and 6 WKMG (CBS) don’t do nearly as many sex offense stories or features as 9 WFTV (ABC). because WFTV uses these stories as ratings boosters so they dont want to cover the former offender as he receives his or her Masters Degree because that makes us look human and beware November sweeps are coming at least one registrant feature a week for the whole month. Smh
Someone also needs to explain to them that by suggesting that they also put ex-offenders and their families at risk including their children at risk for ridicule bullying vandalism or assault. My spouse had to transfer from a office she had worked in for years because she couldn’t take her colleagues gossiping about me when I was outed by one of them because of the registry
I had already commented before reading this request. I’m so sick of inaccurate reporting. It is simply to gather likes. People don’t want to read “facts”, they like to have drama and something to fear monger.
We are very lucky in the fact that the community we live in knows about my husbands past and accepts him as the love,y human being he is, not defining him by the trumped up charge 20 years ago. Not everyone is so lucky. But we still can’t have trick or treaters here due to our county’s ordinances. Stupid.
Fear is the greatest tool of control that anyone in a position of power (here, it is the media) has over the general public. That being said, are you truly surprised that channel 9 of all stations gets a story wrong or focuses on just one angle?
I’m not surprised by much, these days. Especially when it comes to money and power. We’ve lost our sense of reason and humanity.