Dave Ridley of RidleyReport.com was outside a primary voting location in Bedford where he encountered slimeball mayor of Manchester Ted Gatsas being interviewed by WMUR-TV reporter Amy Coveno. Ridley at one point steps into the shot of the WMUR camera and Coveno responds by nervously shifting her position before actually physically assaulting Dave by grabbing his camera.
As she does it, she says “Hey, you’re distracting me from my job, thanks.”, then lets go. As though him being a distraction in a public place gives her the right to commit assault against him. Here’s the video evidence:
The real shame is that you’d think reporters would respect and understand the freedom of the press, but clearly Ms. Coveno believes there are a special set of rules that apply to mainstream media. And, she’s probably right. WMUR-TV is licensed by the FCC and that licensing scheme keeps out potential competitors from the marketplace. WMUR is literally paying a criminal gang for protection.
Some would argue that Dave should not have gotten in their shot, but a more respectful, professional response from Coveno would have been to stop her questioning of Gatsas for a moment and then ask Dave to step out of their shot. Whether he would have or not is another question, but part of the risk of recording video in public places is that someone can either on purpose or inadvertently get into the background of your shot and do something stupid or offensive.
Coveno should know better and she owes Dave at least an apology and she’s lucky she didn’t damage his camera.
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