Governor Seeks Apology from Channel 10 Over Yellow Journalism
In a letter to the General Manager of WJAR NBC10, Lisa Churchville, Governor Carcieri’s Senior Advisor for Communications, John Robitaille, took WJAR NBC10 to task for “a carefully orchestrated partisan attack on the Governor” during a taping of NBC10 News Conference on May 22.
Mr. Robitaille reminded Ms. Churchville that, during that show, Channel 10’s political reporter, Bill Rappleye, “made an unsupported and poorly researched accusation of an ethics violation on the part of the Governor. That same night, Channel 10 aired a lead story accusing the Governor of an ethics violation in the hiring of his niece-in-law which took place over five years ago.” (click here for a detailed response by the Governor to this accusation).
“Mr. Rappleye knew that the story had previously been printed by the Providence Journal and that no ethics concerns had been raised. The Governor’s Media Office provided Mr. Rappleye with that information. Additionally, Mr. Rappleye’s story did not mention a change to the regulations that occured on or around 2007 that broadened the scope of the existing Ethics Code. But still, he badgered the Governor about the alleged violation during the taping of the show,” Mr. Robitaille’s letter noted.
He concluded, “NBC10 has allowed Mr. Rappleye to cross the line between professional journalism and political commentary. The Governor deserves an apology from NBC10.”
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