■ 19 August 2009 | 2:41 PM
Video: WTKR says reporter Barbara Ciara was attacked
NewsChannel 3 is reporting that Barbara Ciara and two photojournalists were "attacked" while confronting the owners of Virginia Employment Services, a company whose owners were in court this morning on an unrelated charge. Those charges were dismissed. The station has filed charges "for what we see as assault and the destruction of property," according to WTKR.com. Watch the confrontation below.
Video from WTKR.com
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and for the record..
I think these two folks should have kept the lawsuit. Barbara Ciara was in the wrong. SHE only filed because in this commonwealth it somehow 'cancels the other lawsuit out' when both parties file assault. I know that is not the right legal term, but it is how it works. Any judge worth their salt would have found Ciara and her camera boys guilty. Sheesh, you would have thought Paris was in that car.
By the way, did she REALLY think this guy was going to give her any real, quality news at that point? What was the point of getting in their faces like that? Was she hoping he would suddenly just say ok, let's go sit somewhere and I will give you the scoop? How ridiculous.
Ciara
That pushy hog looks p-o-ed at the end of the video because for all her pushing and literally getting in the way of someone's car door, walk-way etc...she still didn't manage to get the story. I thought the people were being rather nice. LISTEN to the video, you can hear them being polite, then getting frustrated because they can't close the door...then they go back to polite. Even then, all the girl said was "get out of the way''. Rightfully so.
Ciara is in my opinion, not news material. She presents in a poor, nasally news-voice, and is like listening to Ricky Lake. If you can't get the story without getting in the way, then you are no longer looking for news, but paparazzi reporting. It isn't professional, and it deserves a law to keep paparazzi like her out of our faces, walkways, and cars.
Barbara Ciara crossed the line
I'm certainly not defending the employment agency, but Ms. Ciara had absolutely no right to go as far as she did and not allow them to close the car door. She just went too far.
it appears that Bab's
Was lucky to not get knocked on her butt. She has no right to put her hands, or any other part of her body on this guy. Once she put her hands on this guy it's called self defence. Once you are asked to turn off the camera & leave, that's it. If you don't comply & then continue to touch & harrass them, it becomes assault. I may not like what his company is doing to the people he's suppose to be trying to help, but there's a time & place for that too, it's called a court of law. Bab's is very lucky indeed to have the charges dropped.
Alright, didn't see it
I'll retract my previous comment. I didn't see the link to the video at the top of the page. After viewing it, I'll agree that was uncalled for.
is she the same one....
who was enticed by another local station quite a few years ago for her stellar journalism/reporting abilities? Maybe I'm confusing her with someone else...
Her actions in the video are quite unbecoming....shocking actually.
guy in blue tshirt???
Who was the guy in the blue tshirt assisting the Oleary's to the vehicle. That situation might have been alot worse without him there helping move everything along. Barbara and her cameraman need to watch this video with their supervisors and explain their actions. Waaaay out of line here....no question!
As far as the Oleary's and their actions....they WILL be dealt with in a court of law. They'll get theirs!!!!
Barbara Ciara should be
Barbara Ciara should be fired. Pure and simple. Once he indicated that he didn't want to comment and she grabbed his arm to force him to talk to her, and then she inserted herself at the the back of the SUV to prevent them from leaving. If I was her boss she would be looking for another job. I have no use for her or O'Leary.
This will all be dismissed in court
The news anchor pushed her limits here, but I didn't see either "victim" truly being assaulted here.
I think a better story would be on Virginia Employment Services, which is why Mr. O'Leary originally went to court. The company is a pretty well known scam in the area, charged $395 up front to get you a job. The Pilot should focus on letting everything in the community know about their shady business, especially now that so many people are getting desperate for jobs.
Interview
I saw the video of Barbara Ciara with the VEC employees, and I agree that Ms. Ciara clearly over stepped the bounds of good reporting. I don not agree with what the VEC employees did, and that is a matter for the Court.
However, reporters anxious to get the "scoop" often go over the line by sticking cameras and mics in peoples faces, after they go out of their way to avoid the media. I thought Ms. Ciara would have used more class in pursuit of her story,sadly she didn't, and I think it made her look bad,and she may have lost some respect as well. You should report the news, not make it.