# Such poor taste



## ladybug732 (Apr 29, 2008)

Ugh! My local news station just cut off a story about Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep to report the results of a basketball game!







I posted a more detailed explanation in the Finding Your Tribe section, and I'm hoping that people will email complaints to the station. Even if you're not in the San Antonio area, if you feel motivated to send an email, I'd greatly appreciate it. Our precious angels are more important than a basketball game, right?!







:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...3#post11263543


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## momz3 (May 1, 2006)

Im in Central tx and we're only a few hrs away from san antonio! I will be emailing them!


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## momz3 (May 1, 2006)

Instead of an apology I got a crappy response:

_Hi Shantell. Thanks for writing me.

Our web producers are uploading the story and video right now to woai.com. It should be available for viewing shortly.

Here's the link. Feel free to share it. http://www.woai.com/news/local/story...b-fe616e7c3a00

Thanks again for writing me. Stay in touch.
_

((his name))

Director of Creative Services

News 4, woai.com, Weather Plus, San Antonio Living

I will be emailing him back.


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## ladybug732 (Apr 29, 2008)

Yup, I got that same response and wasn't too pleased with it either. I did receive a second email that was slightly better, although the apology was hardly warm. See below. I was surprised/saddened that he didn't even mention that he was sorry for my loss after I had referred to it specifically in the email. I suppose some compassion was too much to ask for.









We apologize for interrupting the News 4 Special Report on the photographers who take pictures of parents' last moments with their dying children.

We have posted the story on woai.com. We plan on replaying the story in its entirety this Thursday night at 10pm.

I appreciate you taking the time to write with your comments and concerns. Your feedback is valuable, as we are constantly trying to improve our newscasts for our viewers.

Here is the link to the story.

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story...b-fe616e7c3a00

Sincerely,


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## momz3 (May 1, 2006)

I forgot as well









And your loss was so recent







peace and healing to you , mama.

Even though we lost Alexis 2 yrs ago, the pain is still there. Its kinda like on myspace when everyone reposts stupid bulletins and jokes but when October comes around, no one wants to repost anything honoring our lost babies. Its a slap in the face.

The response you got...I dunno, it just doesn't cut it for me. I'm still angry. Replaying it afterwards does not replace what they did. It is still clear that they find basketball much more important.


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## ladybug732 (Apr 29, 2008)

Thanks for the hugs, momz3, and the same back to you for your loss.







And I agree that his response didn't cut it either. I decided to send another email yesterday and this morning I got a reponse which actually satisfied me. He still didn't offer his condolences, but at least he made it clear that he understands he screwed up. My email, his response and my final response are below. Now that I got that I think I'm done fighting battles for a while - it's emotionally draining.









Mr. Ramey,

I do appreciate that the story has been posted on the website and that you will be replaying the story on Thursday night. The organization, the photographers and the featured families deserve this attention.

However, I was saddened with the responses I received from you and Mr. Derkowski. Though Mr. Derkowski sent me an individualized email and addressed me by name, his response consisted only of a short thank you for writing and a link to the story posted online. There was no apology and no recognition of the very personal and painful story that I shared with him, that of the recent birth of my stillborn daughter. In your response, though you apologized for the station's action and thanked me for my feedback, you failed to send me a personal email that addressed me by name and more importantly, that acknowledged my loss. While your email indicates that my "feedback is valuable," the lack of compassion in both emails led me to conclude that my feelings are not equally valued.

What would I have liked to hear from WOAI in response to my email? The following sentences demonstrate the kind of sensitivity I would expect from a news station that values its viewers:

"On behalf of WOAI, I would like to apologize for interrupting a story which obviously meant a great deal to you. We regret that our actions upset you, as we have always strived to deliver meaningful and relevant stories that enrich our viewers' lives. Because we share your belief in the value of this organization, we have posted the story on our website and will also re-air it on Thursday night at 10:00pm. Thank you for sharing your concerns with us, and we welcome your future assistance in improving our station with additional feedback. You have our condolences regarding your recent loss."

Does such a response take a little more time and effort on your part? Yes, it does. But I believe that addressing your viewers' concerns is worth it, and I would hope that you would feel the same way. If you and your associates do not have the time to do this, I would be happy to send you a copy of my resume that indicates that I am quite qualified to handle viewer correspondence. Now that my hopes and plans to be a stay-at-home mom have been shattered, I have plenty of time on my hands.

Kathleen:

Thank you. I wish I had a valid excuse for the lack of compassion in my response to you. I simply don't. And calling me out on it is a valuable lesson to treat our customers with compassion.

I apologize for not taking the time to do that.

Sincerely,

Mr. Ramey,

Thank you for making the effort to email me a personalized response that acknowledged the problem and accepted responsibility for it. That is what most people who email you with concerns want - that is all I wanted. Obviously, it is impossible for you to take back the original action of interrupting the report, but recognizing that your viewers' have a right to be upset and taking the time to discuss those concerns go a long way towards making the situation better. I hope this will be WOAI's response to any future viewers' comments.

Sincerely,
Kathleen

P.S. My heart especially goes out to the families who were interviewed for this report, and I hope they received a phone call expressing the station's regret. They deserve nothing less.


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## HarperRose (Feb 22, 2007)




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## Cuddlebaby (Jan 14, 2003)

hugs.


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## sbroglie (Nov 6, 2005)




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