We were often criticized for printing facts about crimes because it would “hurt” the family. But rumors and innuendo can hurt even more. Answering questions like who owned the gun and how did the deceased get it are important questions that need to be answered.
Whether a gun is legally owned and locked up make sense to share but someone's mental health status is confidential. I understand your concern about stigma but there are HIPAA laws that are valid and important also.
But if there was a mental health issue and he was still allowed to buy a gun, that is a problem. Was that even checked? We have no way of knowing. I don’t think there is a violation of HIPAA once you are deceased.
This is important information, much of which I was not aware of before this article. I have often felt that the evening news raises more questions than it answers. : (
That can be a good thing. If people think there is a problem or something is wrong, it can be addressed. The police are just sweeping this under the rug.
This is an important story and I hope you will follow up on it. The sheriff is not doing his job and neither is news media. Lack of resources is a hindrance but not an excuse. What story is more important on their agenda than death and injury in the community. Citizens do not understand and you can help as you do here that the duty of news is not to the family but to the public at large. The family had been grievously hurt by suicide of its loved one. Not by news about that act. File an FOI against the sheriff. Talk to neighbors and friends snd the injured people. Time is a substitute for money to do an investigation. This attitude of protecting people by staying silent is so dangerous!
Unfortunately Bernie is very late to this idea. I had a conversation with Mark Mahoney when he was still at the Post Star about the simple step of being employee owned. In such a situation there is little need to make excess profit. The problem is that chains like Lee incurred huge debt by buying papers in order to be big enough to fight off hedge-fund buyouts. Once they incurred that debt they limited their opportunity. If they had instead invested their employees in a significant share of each individual newspaper the chance of hedge fund buyouts would be eliminated. Wall Street would have punished them in terms of stock price but the value of stock in the short term would be basically immaterial to thousands of employees who owned the business they worked for. It would have been a system that stabilized the industry. But because of the huge debt loads of parent corporations and the massive layoffs that opportunity is gone for most papers. Switching to a not for profit model might be fine for startups or for very small closely held papers that are not currently doing the bulk of daily reporting but it is a harder lift than it would have been to save the existing structure and re-configure it.
before my response.. many many problems would be solved if: there were no monopolies like many of our laws were in place, but not enforced; and with campaign reform
====
late to the idea or not.. doesn't make it a bad idea, nor his only idea
Employee-owned is also in the book. He also suggested that boards have a percentage of employees... as he stated "Companies would not be sending jobs overseas if employees were on the board."
[ironically the same republicans who complain about 'socialism' have no problem voting for the capitalists that send their job overseas to communist/socialist countries. I would guess you heard the saying -- "A capitalist will sell the rope to the communists that they use to hang the capitalist.]
Another problem with all small market media.. the news people are often low on the totem pole.. My involvement made me realize the reporters are a peg or two below, owner, accountants and advertising.. Spoke with a post-star accountant who a) I think was making more than reporters and b) saw the writing on the wall and left when he realized they couldn't sustain his income
This is true in radio too... local radio station was a profitable job for the owner and the advertising people.. The ad people often negotiated commercial packages that they directly benefited from (like ads for gas stations where the ad salesman and owner would get free gas) While doing this the announcers were barely making above minimum wage
AND the ones recording the commercials.
I disagree with your 'startups'
Also... 'switching' in my mind creating a BBC isn't switching, but putting in place a different setup. 'switching' sounds to me like you would be keeping the high costs of overhead.
And all that has a lane if they no longer complete against monopolies
Everything I have read points to how small media really starts the investigations, george santos is an example.
what I love about these kinds of republican posts is how they are so bias themselves, they can't accept fairness, they can under stand balance
if it isn't proven lies from fox, oan or newsmax, it isn't fair
and of course, worse of all.. they throw out biases and think that is okay, not seeing the hypocrisy ... because if the news doesn't bend over to the right.. then it can never be fair to them
Tomlinson was appointed as chairman of the CPB board by President George W. Bush, for a two-year term, in September 2003. He embarked upon a mission to purge CPB of what he perceived as "liberal bias".[7] His efforts sparked complaints of political pressure.[5] Broadcasting & Cable magazine wrote when Tomlinson "uses terms like 'fair and balanced' in talking about what PBS should be, it is understandably seen as code guaranteed to evoke charges of the 'Foxification' of PBS and raise alarm bells with liberals and moderates, as well as with viewers who just don't care about a political agenda at all".[8]
btw preston, thanks for joining the conversation....
I didn't address that the problem with A.I. that is it is is programmed in ways that it causes two problems the obvious 'fakes' but the secondary one is how bias and often racist it is so I could see how a republican would like that
one thing you could help me out with have you ever read a book, I have this bias thought that right wingos don't read and get most of their info from right-wing sources (psss you have proved that)
When I read that the deceased had esophageal cancer, it diminished my compulsion to pre-judge the sheriff’s current choice to suppress information related to this tragic event. As a career Navy nurse, former hospice nurse and chaplain, I witnessed up close and personal the physical agony of this destructive malignancy, the unpredictable and often painful side effects of chemo, radiation and other Rx’s, and the slow starvation which hallmarks this diagnosis in many cases. Like many ultimate terminal illnesses, it’s a disease that takes hostages…the patient, family, other loved ones, and even health care providers who feel helpless as the condition progresses. The concept of Hope changes from hope for a Cure…to hope for More Time…to hope for a merciful transition into the next life… and release from a damaged body which can no longer sustain vital organs and has depleted the spirit.
Sadly, the stigma of suicide prevails, along with the misguided misbelief that early hospice referrals denote “giving up.” Many of my patients, my family members, and my friends lived long beyond Drs. expectations once effective pain/other symptom relief were initiated, along with compassionate home care services which supported the family, as well as the patient. It could prevent the use of a gun, or other traumatic methods, used by many people to stop their physical/mental/spiritual suffering.
As an aside, as a “recovering Catholic,” I also firmly believe in self-determination, and support for the states which support physician-assisted patient choices to make their own non-violent “exit plans.”
And I believe in a merciful God, who weeps in witnessing all the human suffering from diseases He/She did not create…and that this Higher Power will provide peace to all, with an Open Door policy for all who seek mercy.
I totally understand the desire and need to be released from a body that no longer serves. But the two injured people…what’s up with that? If it was a suicide, why try to take two people who don’t have a terminal illness with you? There seems to be more here than suicide.
Very interesting Ken. Are you aware the Queensbury town council just awarded everyone around LaFarr mid-year wage increases EXCEPT for LaFarr? Is there something bubbling below the surface that we should be made aware of? VERRY INTERESTING!!!
Correction, it was the county not the Qby board that passed the raises. There were some raises put into the budget that passed in January and this was an additional set of pay increases. I don’t know if there was overlap, nor do I know if there is some antagonism against the sheriff under the surface but I don’t suspect there is. I believe LaFarr is respected and well liked pretty much across the board.
One of the problems of not having reporters that go to where the action is. WNYT reported that the "a man shot his mother and 2 other relatives after learning his father had died from an illness". He then shot himself. The property owner Randy Strong 57 recently died from cancer according to the news report online.
Ken , I agree with you quite often . I respect your perspective as a journalist and respect Sherrif LaFarrs as our Sheriff . Neither side should be judged as right or wrong . As in our democracy , imput as determined individually by both sides , often results in a fair outcome.
This week’s well-intentioned oversight too easily becomes tomorrow’s concealment of graft or other corruption. The rumors then become truth. Or do they? Who knows? Who’s to tell us?
You can bet if this were in another section of Glens Falls or Queensbury, details would NOT be spared. Something doesn't add up here. Does LaFarr have the authority to say a crime has not been committed when two people were shot? I call that a crime! Yes, I am sure the family has enough grief to last a lifetime but hearing all the rumors that are circulating are worst than the truth. LaFarr doesn't need to go into detail but name the shooter, condition of the two family members and lastly the gun!!! Whose gun was it? Was it a handgun, a long gun. or AR-15. Why the cover up?
I suspect you are correct that if this had happened in say West Glens Falls, particularly in the State streets area or one of the mobile home park more information would have been released.
I'm actually glad that the sheriff handled it this way. This family has been through hell as it is.
We were often criticized for printing facts about crimes because it would “hurt” the family. But rumors and innuendo can hurt even more. Answering questions like who owned the gun and how did the deceased get it are important questions that need to be answered.
Whether a gun is legally owned and locked up make sense to share but someone's mental health status is confidential. I understand your concern about stigma but there are HIPAA laws that are valid and important also.
But if there was a mental health issue and he was still allowed to buy a gun, that is a problem. Was that even checked? We have no way of knowing. I don’t think there is a violation of HIPAA once you are deceased.
Yup ken your right you don't think
https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/health-information-of-deceased-individuals/index.html
This is important information, much of which I was not aware of before this article. I have often felt that the evening news raises more questions than it answers. : (
That can be a good thing. If people think there is a problem or something is wrong, it can be addressed. The police are just sweeping this under the rug.
This is an important story and I hope you will follow up on it. The sheriff is not doing his job and neither is news media. Lack of resources is a hindrance but not an excuse. What story is more important on their agenda than death and injury in the community. Citizens do not understand and you can help as you do here that the duty of news is not to the family but to the public at large. The family had been grievously hurt by suicide of its loved one. Not by news about that act. File an FOI against the sheriff. Talk to neighbors and friends snd the injured people. Time is a substitute for money to do an investigation. This attitude of protecting people by staying silent is so dangerous!
You are assuming there are reporters left in the community who have time to file FOI’s or talk to the neighbors and friends.
Just read Bernie Sander's latest book, he has a suggestion that maybe newspapers should start functioning (be funded) like public Radio or TV.
1) so there is local news
2) unbias news
3) news not controlled by monopolies
Unfortunately Bernie is very late to this idea. I had a conversation with Mark Mahoney when he was still at the Post Star about the simple step of being employee owned. In such a situation there is little need to make excess profit. The problem is that chains like Lee incurred huge debt by buying papers in order to be big enough to fight off hedge-fund buyouts. Once they incurred that debt they limited their opportunity. If they had instead invested their employees in a significant share of each individual newspaper the chance of hedge fund buyouts would be eliminated. Wall Street would have punished them in terms of stock price but the value of stock in the short term would be basically immaterial to thousands of employees who owned the business they worked for. It would have been a system that stabilized the industry. But because of the huge debt loads of parent corporations and the massive layoffs that opportunity is gone for most papers. Switching to a not for profit model might be fine for startups or for very small closely held papers that are not currently doing the bulk of daily reporting but it is a harder lift than it would have been to save the existing structure and re-configure it.
before my response.. many many problems would be solved if: there were no monopolies like many of our laws were in place, but not enforced; and with campaign reform
====
late to the idea or not.. doesn't make it a bad idea, nor his only idea
Employee-owned is also in the book. He also suggested that boards have a percentage of employees... as he stated "Companies would not be sending jobs overseas if employees were on the board."
[ironically the same republicans who complain about 'socialism' have no problem voting for the capitalists that send their job overseas to communist/socialist countries. I would guess you heard the saying -- "A capitalist will sell the rope to the communists that they use to hang the capitalist.]
Another problem with all small market media.. the news people are often low on the totem pole.. My involvement made me realize the reporters are a peg or two below, owner, accountants and advertising.. Spoke with a post-star accountant who a) I think was making more than reporters and b) saw the writing on the wall and left when he realized they couldn't sustain his income
This is true in radio too... local radio station was a profitable job for the owner and the advertising people.. The ad people often negotiated commercial packages that they directly benefited from (like ads for gas stations where the ad salesman and owner would get free gas) While doing this the announcers were barely making above minimum wage
AND the ones recording the commercials.
I disagree with your 'startups'
Also... 'switching' in my mind creating a BBC isn't switching, but putting in place a different setup. 'switching' sounds to me like you would be keeping the high costs of overhead.
And all that has a lane if they no longer complete against monopolies
Everything I have read points to how small media really starts the investigations, george santos is an example.
Edward unbiased news? It’ll never happen, ok never is a long time and artificial intelligence is quickly approaching so maybe?
The American Government is one of the largest monopolies in the world, and where will the public radio and TV stations get the money to pay their bills. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_for_Public_Broadcasting#:~:text=Public%20broadcasting%20stations%20are%20funded%20by%20a%20combination,donations%20from%20listeners%20and%20viewers%2C%20foundations%20and%20corporations.
what I love about these kinds of republican posts is how they are so bias themselves, they can't accept fairness, they can under stand balance
if it isn't proven lies from fox, oan or newsmax, it isn't fair
and of course, worse of all.. they throw out biases and think that is okay, not seeing the hypocrisy ... because if the news doesn't bend over to the right.. then it can never be fair to them
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Tomlinson#CPB_tenure
Tomlinson was appointed as chairman of the CPB board by President George W. Bush, for a two-year term, in September 2003. He embarked upon a mission to purge CPB of what he perceived as "liberal bias".[7] His efforts sparked complaints of political pressure.[5] Broadcasting & Cable magazine wrote when Tomlinson "uses terms like 'fair and balanced' in talking about what PBS should be, it is understandably seen as code guaranteed to evoke charges of the 'Foxification' of PBS and raise alarm bells with liberals and moderates, as well as with viewers who just don't care about a political agenda at all".[8]
btw preston, thanks for joining the conversation....
I didn't address that the problem with A.I. that is it is is programmed in ways that it causes two problems the obvious 'fakes' but the secondary one is how bias and often racist it is so I could see how a republican would like that
https://time.com/5520558/artificial-intelligence-racial-gender-bias/
one thing you could help me out with have you ever read a book, I have this bias thought that right wingos don't read and get most of their info from right-wing sources (psss you have proved that)
mIke if the "time" is more important than the information, must be the need to know is not that great
Thank you Rosemary. Sunlight is always the best medicine.
When I read that the deceased had esophageal cancer, it diminished my compulsion to pre-judge the sheriff’s current choice to suppress information related to this tragic event. As a career Navy nurse, former hospice nurse and chaplain, I witnessed up close and personal the physical agony of this destructive malignancy, the unpredictable and often painful side effects of chemo, radiation and other Rx’s, and the slow starvation which hallmarks this diagnosis in many cases. Like many ultimate terminal illnesses, it’s a disease that takes hostages…the patient, family, other loved ones, and even health care providers who feel helpless as the condition progresses. The concept of Hope changes from hope for a Cure…to hope for More Time…to hope for a merciful transition into the next life… and release from a damaged body which can no longer sustain vital organs and has depleted the spirit.
Sadly, the stigma of suicide prevails, along with the misguided misbelief that early hospice referrals denote “giving up.” Many of my patients, my family members, and my friends lived long beyond Drs. expectations once effective pain/other symptom relief were initiated, along with compassionate home care services which supported the family, as well as the patient. It could prevent the use of a gun, or other traumatic methods, used by many people to stop their physical/mental/spiritual suffering.
As an aside, as a “recovering Catholic,” I also firmly believe in self-determination, and support for the states which support physician-assisted patient choices to make their own non-violent “exit plans.”
And I believe in a merciful God, who weeps in witnessing all the human suffering from diseases He/She did not create…and that this Higher Power will provide peace to all, with an Open Door policy for all who seek mercy.
I totally understand the desire and need to be released from a body that no longer serves. But the two injured people…what’s up with that? If it was a suicide, why try to take two people who don’t have a terminal illness with you? There seems to be more here than suicide.
Very interesting Ken. Are you aware the Queensbury town council just awarded everyone around LaFarr mid-year wage increases EXCEPT for LaFarr? Is there something bubbling below the surface that we should be made aware of? VERRY INTERESTING!!!
I knew that LaFarr had asked for a raise, but I did not hear what the results were.
Correction, it was the county not the Qby board that passed the raises. There were some raises put into the budget that passed in January and this was an additional set of pay increases. I don’t know if there was overlap, nor do I know if there is some antagonism against the sheriff under the surface but I don’t suspect there is. I believe LaFarr is respected and well liked pretty much across the board.
I was at Moreau State Park when I first heard about the shooting. I was with my wife and three of five of our children.
Quickly thinking of the locations of all my loved ones.
A support group of Social workers for adoptive families had a summer picnic.
I had just been talking with a social worker about gun violence and how it's
everywhere. Why someone would need a fully automatic AR 15. How mental health is important. How we need to de stigmatize the conversation.
The young Social Worker picking the brain of a Gulf War Era veteran. The Family of the young woman recently killed in Hebron NY.
How trauma effects us all. No matter if you a child or a veteran. How we need to help each other more.
My heart breaks for the family, in the face of such a painful experience.
One of the problems of not having reporters that go to where the action is. WNYT reported that the "a man shot his mother and 2 other relatives after learning his father had died from an illness". He then shot himself. The property owner Randy Strong 57 recently died from cancer according to the news report online.
I don’t see why that information could not be provided in a press release to better understand what happened.
Ken , I agree with you quite often . I respect your perspective as a journalist and respect Sherrif LaFarrs as our Sheriff . Neither side should be judged as right or wrong . As in our democracy , imput as determined individually by both sides , often results in a fair outcome.
The police should not get to decide what is public information and what it not. They have proved unable to manage that power over and over.
That is also correct.
This week’s well-intentioned oversight too easily becomes tomorrow’s concealment of graft or other corruption. The rumors then become truth. Or do they? Who knows? Who’s to tell us?
Exactly. Where do you draw the line?
You can bet if this were in another section of Glens Falls or Queensbury, details would NOT be spared. Something doesn't add up here. Does LaFarr have the authority to say a crime has not been committed when two people were shot? I call that a crime! Yes, I am sure the family has enough grief to last a lifetime but hearing all the rumors that are circulating are worst than the truth. LaFarr doesn't need to go into detail but name the shooter, condition of the two family members and lastly the gun!!! Whose gun was it? Was it a handgun, a long gun. or AR-15. Why the cover up?
I suspect you are correct that if this had happened in say West Glens Falls, particularly in the State streets area or one of the mobile home park more information would have been released.
I am very disappointed with the Sheriff's Department regarding this case. What's being hiddden?