Posts Tagged ‘Erie Bureau of Police’

Top Erie media stories of 2009

January 1st, 2010 joel

Happy New Year and welcome to the “teens!”

As was the case with much of the last ten years, the decade ended last night with the media front and center of culture’s conversation. With top-talker Rush Limbaugh finally released from a Honolulu hospital, and Fox viewers in O&O markets thankful for a momentary reprieve from losing their football, media doings are never far from top-of-mind.

Here’s the top stories we were talking about in 2009, by month:

  • January: local TV stations and the Times-News cover the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20th
  • February: longtime Erie broadcaster and cancer machine inventor John Kanzius succumbs to cancer on February 18th
  • March: Nancy Dymond replaces David Calabrese as market manager of the Connoisseur Media radio cluster in Erie
  • April: a video capture of an apparently intoxicated off-duty Erie Police officer uploaded to YouTube created a local and national controversy about police relations with the minority community, and the new reality of social media
  • May: Lilly Broadcasting merged the newsrooms of WICU and WSEE, resulting in the elimination of about a dozen off-air and on-air jobs
  • June: WICU is the final TV station to switch off their analog transmitter and put Erie completely into the digital television age
  • Wards react to the reveal July: The seven day build of a home for Erie’s Clara Ward culminated in the July 2nd reveal of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house
  • August: Star 104/WRTS increased it’s dominance in Erie radio as the Spring 2009 Arbitron ratings were released
  • September: Former Erie Congressman Phil English began his high profile blog “Presque Isle to the Potomac” on GlobalErie.com
  • October: The Erie Times-News was named Newspaper of the Year by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
  • November: Erie’s most-visited media website, GoErie.com underwent a major redesign
  • December: The weekend of December 12th and 13th turned out to be one of national media attention on Erie, as Saturday Night Live mentioned the fictional “Erie Chamber of Commerce” as part of a PGA spoof over the Tiger Woods controversy, then a two-hour special episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition showcased the work of thousands of volunteers impacting an eastside Erie neighborhood.

Next week, we’ll talk with one of Erie’s top media watchers about the past year and what we might see in the new year. Stay tuned.

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

Poll: favorite former TV anchor?

July 20th, 2009 joel

Over half of P&T poll respondents think that Erie Police Chief Steve Franklin’s withholding of information from the media and public is an actionable offense. 57% who answered the poll thought the chief should go.

The airwaves are full of history as television news celebrates the life of former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, and the 40 year anniversary of the event that was at the center of Cronkite’s passion, the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.

Cronkite was the originator of the anchorman role, and many in the decades since have filled that role at the three major broadcast networks with varying success. But everyone has a favorite.

Who was your favorite former TV anchor?

  • Peter Jennings (27%, 18 Votes)
  • Walter Cronkite (24%, 16 Votes)
  • Tom Brokaw (23%, 15 Votes)
  • David Brinkley (9%, 6 Votes)
  • John Chancellor (5%, 3 Votes)
  • Connie Chung (5%, 3 Votes)
  • Bob Schieffer (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Frank Reynolds (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Harry Reasoner (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Dan Rather (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Chet Huntley (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Max Robinson (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Howard K. Smith (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Barbara Walters (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 66

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , 10 Comments »

Poll: should Chief Franklin resign over his media ‘tin ear’?

July 13th, 2009 joel

The results of our three-week poll of over-the-air digital television viewers were shocking to me.

The basics of communication theory indicate that a message can only be sent from sender to receiver if the medium/carrier can make the trip. In our non-scientific poll, 38% of DTV viewers said they couldn’t receive the station that transmits the number one broadcast network, CBS. In fact 1 of 4 respondents said they were having trouble watching any commercial broadcast television out of Erie.

That’s a huge problem (and great opportunity for satellite vendors) that station engineers don’t have a whole lot of answers for. In fact, my request for comment and advice for viewers from one station has gone unanswered for a week. DTV viewers…you really have to look at getting a big exterior antenna, and if you’ve already done that, maybe the days of free television are over for you.

Erie Bureau of Police Chief Steve Franklin is once again in the news over his nondisclosure of a series of late-night attacks on women in a lower west-side neighborhood. It wasn’t until Erie Times-News reporters hammered him with questions did he admit to the investigation, while letting his disdain for the local media slip through the process.

Generally the police have a love/hate relationship with the media; playing them when they run out of leads, while being tight-lipped when they deem necessary. But Franklin’s claim that public disclosure would create panic, tons of false leads while tipping off the perps is not enough for those now calling him to step down.

Do you think Franklin’s actions are the last straw?

Should Erie Police Chief Steve Franklin lose his job over his use/nonuse of the media?

  • Yes: he is putting people in danger by not fully disclosing crimes in the city (57%, 24 Votes)
  • No: he may have a "tin ear" for the media, but he's still a good chief (36%, 15 Votes)
  • I don't know/I'm ambivalent (7%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 42

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 8 Comments »

Poll: who is most influential person in Erie media?

April 27th, 2009 joel

Last week, during the intense heat of the Erie cop YouTube controversy, we asked if there was any circumstance where you felt that the video should be taken down. 80% of respondents said, no, that it was a matter of free speech, while only 14 % said that there could be a circumstance that would precipitate its removal.

However, commenter max perhaps had the best point, that is sometimes missed by folks like elder law enforcement and old-media holdouts, that the viral nature of social media like YouTube made the whole question moot. One a post is out there, it is duplicated, modified, and distributed in such a way that it makes it impossible to track.

This week I’m throwing caution to the wind and asking a bodacious question: Who is the most influential person in Erie media. I’m including “the usual suspects,” but if you have other people you would like to nominate, just throw them in the comments or tweet @pressandtower and I’ll update the poll.

Because of that fact, I’m going to open up the voting so that you can answer more than once, in case a name appears later in the week that you wish to vote for. However, the polling software limits you to three votes total.

Who is the most influential person in Erie media?

  • Mike Richwalsky (26%, 31 Votes)
  • Sean Lafferty (18%, 22 Votes)
  • Brian Lilly (12%, 14 Votes)
  • Ed Palattella (11%, 13 Votes)
  • Pat Howard (11%, 13 Votes)
  • Lou Baxter (9%, 11 Votes)
  • Scott Bremner (7%, 9 Votes)
  • Julie Eisenman (5%, 6 Votes)
  • Peter Panepento (3%, 4 Votes)
  • Kevin Flowers (3%, 4 Votes)
  • Kevin MacDowell (2%, 2 Votes)
  • Rosanne Cheeseman (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Nancy Dymond (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Jim Riley (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Rick Sayers (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Tim Dunst (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 121

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 14 Comments »

Response to Erie cop YouTube reveals city’s poor message management

April 22nd, 2009 joel

Jimmy D.

The use of a pet name to refer to the leader of the internal affairs unit of the Erie Bureau of Police by the Mayor of the City of Erie was the tipping point early on in the continuing case surrounding the behavior of an Erie policeman caught on video and displayed on YouTube. The lack of professional response to the crisis set before them by the Mayor and Chief of Police Steve Franklin during that first interview by the Times-News’s Ed Palattella meant that this situation would have a much broader scope than the outrageous antics of one drunk cop “letting off steam.”

By originally putting the focus on the video author and the attempt to remove it from YouTube via court order, the city has shown that it has a deep lack of understanding of the modern media landscape and crisis management tactics. They didn’t realize that while they were responding with poor judgment when the video was first revealed, that they were already reluctant passengers on an Acela bullet train that would take this story global, complete with close to 60,000 hits on YouTube for the original video so far this morning, thousands more on the copies, CNN and Fox News calling for talking heads, and a U.S. Department of Justice investigation in play.
(more…)

Posted in Branding Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments »

Poll: should YouTube yank the Erie cop video?

April 20th, 2009 joel

Last week we asked you to share the last time you listened to internet radio. A quarter of respondents said that they had tried it, but it’s been a month since listening. Another fifth said that they had listened to both internet-only and terrestrial radio station streams within the past week, with an additional 16% listening to just radio station streams in the past week.

My take is that there is much to like from regular-old radio stations and people are able and willing to listen. You just need to provide them the compelling content.

The hottest story to hit Erie this year is arguably the YouTube video of an Erie policeman ridiculing a murder victim and the Bureau’s response to the situation. That response included a formal request to YouTube to pull the video, as well as seeking a court order for its removal. Both attempts by the Erie brass have failed.

Do you think that there are any extenuating circumstances that would justify the removal of the video? Is there any validity to the Police Bureau’s concern about wiretapping or recording of someone without their knowledge?

Answer the poll and then share your justification in the comments.

Is there any circumstance under which you feel that the YouTube video of the Erie City police officer should be pulled?

  • No: the event that was videotaped was in a public place thereby in the public domain (80%, 48 Votes)
  • Yes: the officer was off-duty and did not know he was nor did he give permission to be videotaped, so there should be some recourse for him and for the Bureau of Police (13%, 8 Votes)
  • I don’t know; I’m ambivalent (7%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 60

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , 3 Comments »

CNN coverage of YouTube of Erie cop

April 19th, 2009 joel

The story regarding the YouTube video which recorded a profane, visibly-intoxicated Erie City policeman has broken nationally.

The video on YouTube as of Sunday evening has received over 19,000 views and over 1,500 comments. Also Sunday, CNN weighed in with a feature on the video and interview of the referenced murder victim’s mother, and the national director of the NAACP. No one from the Erie Bureau of Police was available to appear on the cable channel.

This video from CNN was the 14th most played video on Sunday evening.

Posted in New Media Tags: , , , 10 Comments »
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