Questionable News Story on 11:00 pm News by Fr. Jerry Priscaro

--- On Mon, 3/15/10, jerry priscaro wrote:

From: jerry priscaro
Subject: Questionable News Story on 11:00 pm News
To: JLast@Wicu12.com
Date: Monday, March 15, 2010, 11:52 PM

John,

While I can appreciate your covering both sides of the Erie Coke Plant Story and certainly your news angle covering the debate whether the Plant Should Shut down or whether the Plant Should Stay Open and the Jobs retained, I have to say your 10 person poll at the Erie County Public Library leaves a lot to be desired. How many of them lived near the plant? How many of them lived around the downtown area? How many of them saw the black clouds and breathed in the air on Wednesday, March 10th.

It certainly was not a scientific poll nor even an accurate one and does not in any way even come close to representing the people of Erie County, Chatauqua County, NY, Ashtabula County, OH or the people of the City of Erie. The city has a population of 102,000. Erie County has 280,000 residents. Chatauqua County, NY and Ashtabula County, OH bring the grand total to well over 800,000 residents.

I was never a straight A student in Math Class, but I can tell you as a B student that when you compare the ratio between 10 responses to an issue and 102,000 or 280,000 or 800,000 (Erie County, Chatauqua County NY, Ashtabula County OH) people who are residents of the Tri-State Area, there is simply no comparison whatsoever.

Your news story was very one sided in reporting only 2 out of 10 people you interviewed wanted the plant to shutdown.

Keep this in mind. No one wants any manufacturing plant to close down that operates in compliance with all environmental laws and demonstrates respect for the law and respect for the health, safety and welfare of the people who live around the plant and in the City of Erie community (most especially the Bayfront area and Downtown Erie as well as the Eastside of Erie from State Street to Franklin Avenue). On the other hand, who would advocate a plant operating that violates the law. We don't support law-breakers in this community. Neither should you!

It is unfortunate that even though the Erie Coke Plant continues to break the law, it appears WICU would air a story giving the impression that keeping jobs is more important than enforcing the law. Now you know your parents, teachers, and those who have come to respect you in life and respect your occupation would pull you aside and say: "John, where in the world did you ever learn to do a story that would leave tens of thousands of people with the impression, it's ok to violate the law as long as they're environmental laws and they involve a manufacturing plant?" and "What in the world are you trying to prove?"

I think its one of the worst stories you've ever done. It should not have been aired as it was and your comment about 2 out of 10 not wanting the plant to shutdown was totally out of context and totally inappropriate in covering both sides of the story. You are at your best when you report the factual news and focus on factual events and educated opinions based on what is factually going on here.

Everyone knows the Erie Coke Plant is guilty of serious environmental law violations and environmental crimes. Let's not give the guilty party any favorable coverage that says to people: "Jobs are more important than the Health, Safety and Welfare of the People." Come on now, even you know better than that. I sure hope you never get cancer and that all the people who have it and are suffering from upper and lower respiratory diseases, asthma, bronchitis, and heart disease, including children, don't resort to throwing stones at a reporter who appears to have all but forgotten them and their serious health situations. How about interviewing or polling many of them about the Erie Coke Plant? And how about interviewing the Erie County Department of Health, the American Cancer Association, patients at the Erie Regional Cancer Center and 100s of family members of cancer victims whose funerals I presided over.

I sure hope you undo the wrong message and wrong impression you left viewers with tonight with your story. You owe it to the public to do a better job next time. People like myself who are well educated expect a whole lot more from you and WICU than the story you aired. It was a disaster and certainly not very characteristic of your otherwise fine news stories and news reporting.

Fr. Jerry Priscaro

P.S. How can anyone in their right mind stand on the side of a blatant, persistent, negligent Coke Plant Owner and some employees who are VIOLATING THE LAWS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Certainly not you I hope. That is the main issue here. The Violations, the Pollution, The Laws, and most importantly all of the people whose health is at risk and who have died as a result of the poisonous gases from the Coke Plant for several decades. Let's wake up on this one! You're not at your best when you do otherwise.


On Tuesday, March 16, 2010 2:40 PM, dennis stratton wrote:

Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:40:49 -0400
From: dennis stratton

Fr. Jerry,

John Last, TV12, interviewed me in front of Edison School in March a year ago (3/6/09). It was about the Erie school asthma rates, of which Edison is the worst in Erie.

This interview never ran. When I questioned John about running the story, he said that I was too biased about the Coke Plant. We never really talked about the Coke plant, just the high asthma rates.

So even back then either John Last, or someone at the station was trying to cover for the Coke Plant.

In fact, at that time, I didn't know who John Last was because he never covered anything environmental or related to the Tire Plant, which had been going on for 2 years at that time. Ask him about why that asthma interview with me never ran.

Dennis