Re: 3/27/00 - Insensitive comments to ABC 20/20
Insensitive comments to ABC 20/20
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Published 3/27/00
To the Editor:
Near the end of the ABC 20/20 program about Suzanne Jovin's murder, the reporter said, "When we asked Yale to talk with 20/20 --, the University spokesman told us that bringing more attention to the murder can only hurt Yale. The spokesman said they want to put the Jovin murder behind them, that it is time to move on." The spokesman's comments displayed a profound insensitivity toward the Jovin family, and they were insensitive, as well, to the feelings of Suzanne's friends and all those who continue to mourn her death.
On March 22, Linda Lorimer, Vice President and Secretary, issued a four-paragraph statement prompted by criticisms of those comments. Except for the third paragraph, which pertained to ABC, the statement was far more sensitive than the words of the University spokesman and I am glad the Vice President issued it. It is unfortunate, however, that the University did not take this occasion to disavow the spokesman's comments and the position they described, and that it did not offer a public apology to the Jovin family, Suzanne's friends and all those who were hurt or offended by the comments. It is also unfortunate, of course, that apparently no member of the administration conveyed those sentiments to ABC last fall.
On the day the Vice President released her statement, Thomas Conroy, the deputy director of the Office of Public Affairs and the person who had spoken with the ABC producer, was reported to have said that his comments were mischaracterized and that ABC "got it wrong" (YDN, March 22). It would be presumptuous to challenge Mr. Conroy's description of his own conversations. However, based on a number of conversations I have had with the ABC producer, I do not believe his comments were in fact mischaracterized, nor do I believe that ABC "got it wrong." I believe ABC in fact got it right -- that the comments were made not once but on several occasions, beginning in September, 1999, in response to ABC's request for access to a member of the administration, and that, as insensitive as they were, they were meant to, and did, describe accurately the University's position at the time.
David R. Cameron
March 26, 2000
The writer is a professor of Political Science.
yaledailynews.com
- Jeff |
