By now, the 2013 video of a clearly disgruntled Providence, Rhode Island woman has probably graced numerous Facebook pages and evoked a mass of comments and various reactions. The woman who evoked these comments was not woman was practically behind harassed on camera but the reporter, Abbey Niezgoda, who people seemed to be so concerned about.
Here is the thing with reporting, I worked hand and hand with an array of well trained professionals during the summer and saw proper etiquette first hand for how a reporter should act when it comes to victims and family members of a serious or violent situation. What Abbey Niezgoda displayed was nowhere near close to that etiquette.
Through a written statement on WLNE-TV ABC 6, the station and Niezgoda claim that they asked the ‘assailant’ Melissa Lawrence, if it was okay to be filmed to which Lawrence replied “Ok, that’s good.” You can hear this exchange in the video and pretty clear that that was not the question asked to Melissa Lawrence.
When interviewing a victim or family member you either call ahead and ask if it’s okay for you to come to their home or meet at a designated area to interview them first. If they accept this offer you then begin setting up your camera for the interview.
In this case, the camera was already rolling when said question was asked and that is a clear violation of Melissa Lawerence’s privacy. Why was the camera already on and recording before the interviewee gave consent to be filmed?
Another question that needs to be asked is why Niezgoda and her camera man continued to film the situation as it clearly began to escalate? Melissa Lawrence’s daughter had been shot in the lower back at a graduation party barely a few days before this interview was shot and Lawrence was still very visibly upset by that fact. When a situation gets that intense, you turn the cameras off and disengage from the interview, you do not keep rolling and continue to press the issue.
Why upset this distraught mother even more by pestering her with questions when she clearly just wants you to turn off the cameras and get off of her property?
What makes this situation even worse and almost a disgrace to broadcast journalism is the fact that Abbey Niezgoda producers let her put this story together and let it air on live television.
What exactly are your television viewers getting out of seeing this story?
I do not like the picture that is being painted of Melissa Lawerence.
A violent angry black woman.
Now, 2016, Lawerence is being charge with felony accounts of aggravated assault and Neizgoda is getting concerned Facebook messages and well wishes when she is the one that was wrong in a situation where she did not follow the basic skills and rules of broadcasting.
Melissa Lawerence is the victim here, not Abbey Niezgoda.
