Something has Mark Casey a little rattled. And no wonder.
The news director of KPNX (Channel 12) in Phoenix, Casey told viewers Friday that his staff has become the target of threats during the past two weeks as the debate over immigration moved to the forefront with the signing of the state’s new immigration law.
“Yes, we have received threats of violence against us and against individuals on all sides of the issue,” Casey wrote in a letter posted on the station’s website.
Though he didn’t specify the nature of the threats or whom they targeted, Casey said the tone of the reaction had become “uncomfortable and off-putting” and that striking a balance in covering the issue “has been quite difficult because of the intensity of this debate.”
The letter itself was extraordinary. TV stations are rarely forced to defend their coverage or appeal to viewers for calm. But then again, rarely does the volume of criticism get so loud.
“In your letters and e-mails, many of you have judged us to be unpatriotic or ‘part of the ‘Open Borders’ crowd,'” Casey wrote. “Others have said we haven’t been ‘tough enough’ in challenging the state and national political leadership who support the new law. Still more of you have judged us to be ‘shallow’ and to have ‘oversimplified’ a complicated issue.”
As part of a longer explanation he added: “We are committed to doing our best.”
The viewer comments written beneath Casey’s plea bear him out. Here’s one, for example, asking why readers have not been allowed to comment beneath another story posted elsewhere on the website. The site’s administrator appears to have censored certain words already:
THEN WHY THE (inappropriate term) WON’T YOU ALLOW COMMENTS ON THE DEPUTY THAT WAS SHOT BY THE ILLEGAL F*CKN IMMIGRANT PIECE OF FECES FROM THAT RATHOLE MEXICO, YOU F*KN PIECE OF UNAMERICAN (inappropriate term)!
And that’s not the only one to question Casey’s patriotism or motives:
How much does the Chamber of Commerce pay for this pro-illegal immigrant coverage anyway?
You people are worst than Goldman Sachs…..anything for money….even if it ruins the country.
For anyone who has worked in a newsroom and covered the immigration debate in recent years, the tone is familiar.
Back in 2008, activists on both sides of the issue, as well as several local police agencies, said they were worried that violence could break out after Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio began to launch immigration sweeps in heavily Hispanic parts of the Phoenix area. It was enough, even, for the East Valley Tribune to publish a story headlined, “Why so angry about illegal immigration?”
The chaos of that period eventually calmed, even though Arpaio’s sweeps continued. But as Casey’s letter shows, it is back in full and this time, it may be even uglier.