I just read Christine Haughney's New York Times article about the backstory at the Journal News regarding the publishing of the now infamous and dangerous interactive gun map. She interviews Janet Hasson who greenlighted the map:
“As journalists, we are prepared for criticism,” Ms. Hasson said, as she sat in her meticulously tended office and described the ways her 225 employees have been harassed since the article was published. “But in the U.S., journalists should not be threatened.” She has paid for staff members who do not feel safe in their homes to stay at hotels, offered guards to walk employees to their cars, encouraged employees to change their home telephone numbers and has been coordinating with the local police.
“As journalists, we are prepared for criticism,” Ms. Hasson said, as she sat in her meticulously tended office and described the ways her 225 employees have been harassed since the article was published. “But in the U.S., journalists should not be threatened.” She has paid for staff members who do not feel safe in their homes to stay at hotels, offered guards to walk employees to their cars, encouraged employees to change their home telephone numbers and has been coordinating with the local police.
Dear Hasson:
You are absolutely correct - journalists should not be threatened for exercising their first amendment privileges. You, however, should be fired for exercising obscenely poor judgment or gross stupidity borne of your own political biases, providing potential criminals with a treasure trove of information they would not have obtained otherwise, and endangering the safety of every citizen of Rockland and Westchester County. I never thought of buying a gun before, but because of your decision to publish the maps, I may now do so.
Posted by: John Gallo | 01/10/2013 at 01:19 PM