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Cleveland investigative reporter tackles porn in libraries

May 24, 2006 - 6:54pm — Samantha

Carl Monday, an investigative journalist from a TV station in Cleveland, turns his attention to porn on the library computers in two video segments here and here. The segments contain all the hallmarks of Geraldo Rivera style reportage, including shoving microphones in people's faces, dramatic family confrontations, and lots of cursing. The reporter also has a blog entry on his segments with 49 comments so far.

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May 25, 2006 - 8:48pm — AllenM

Re:Investigate Spellcheck, Mr. Reporter

I'm sorry. I thought your were making light of the issues in addition to mocking the report. I have a short fuse on this because I've heard the administrators of the Free Library (and speakers at ALA conferences) make light of these serious problems all too often.

And I think I should say that I was enraged reading about that one particular man who has been allowed to view porn and masturbate on several occasions without serious consequences. If that's true, Cleveland Public DESERVES to be pounded by the media. If the stories are sensationalistic, too bad. They brought the bad press on themselves.

When my union and I conducted a media campaign to embarrass the Free Library into improving security, we talked to pretty much anyone who was willing to interview us because it was so important to get our message out. And we didn't feel guilty when some people engaged in demagoguery as long as we were calmly sticking to the facts ourselves.

Anyway, sorry for the misunderstanding.

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May 25, 2006 - 9:42pm — shoe

Re:Investigate Spellcheck, Mr. Reporter

No problem, Allen. I can definitely see where the original comment could have been read the way it was... Actually, thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify. :)

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May 25, 2006 - 4:59pm — shoe

Re:Investigate Spellcheck, Mr. Reporter

Allen

I was unclear, and I do apologize. What I'm defining as melodrama was the presentation of the issue, not the issue itself. The issue itself, as you state, is extremely important. It's one thing to have an article that describes the issue at hand. It's another to have confrontations and inyourface reporting.

For the record, we have called the police on people masturbating in the library before. We've banned them. I know because I've had to throw them out when they've come back in. We filter our computers for this reason. My idea. No civil liberty fanaticism here, at least in this realm. I know stuff gets through the filter, but at least I can do my due diligence.

Certainly what happened in Philadelphia was tragic. No one will deny that. And maybe this reporter's heart is in the right place in his reporting on the Berea Library's situation. Stylistically, though, if I saw this report on the news, I'd be likely to shut it off. It reeks of trashy reporting.

This is an extremely important issue. It needs real reporting.

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May 25, 2006 - 3:49pm — AllenM

Re:Investigate Spellcheck, Mr. Reporter

I know most librarians are civil liberties fanatics, but this is one issue where we've definitely gone too far in protecting the "rights" of problem patrons. If someone is caught masturbating in the library, the police should be called and the person charged with a crime and banned from the library. Period!

Those of us in Philadelphia know from personal experience what happens when you laugh things like these off and say it's only Geraldo Rivera types and religious fundamentalists who care. For years, the Free Library of Philadelphia let people get away with looking at all the porn they wanted to and refused to take action when some of these people masturbated or exposed themselves. It came back to bite them in the ass because one of these people they refused to get tough on ended up raping and almost killing a young girl in one of the branches. Even after that happened, they refused to take the perverts seriously until the union and the media embarassed them in public about it.

Dismissing this problem as simple "melodrama" is incredibly offensive and ignorant in the view of those of us who work in Philadelphia.

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May 24, 2006 - 10:16pm — shoe

Investigate Spellcheck, Mr. Reporter

I've never caught anyone masterbating at our computers. Masturbating, sure. And 'alright' is not a word.

Hmmm, you know, forget spellcheck (well, obviously)... I think we need melodrama and this is news to who? check...

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