“It’s about time that someone finally tells the press to mind their own business regarding the grieving and the victims of a tragedy,” is how one person put it. Another wrote, “I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you putting them in their place!!” Yet another enthused: “Let me give you a standing ovation for the way in which you dealt with the media vultures at the end of today’s press conference! Your message to them made me literally cheer.”
These were among the many positive email responses received by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway following her Dec. 17 press conference, the day after the horrific mass shooting at Abundant Life Christian School. A student and a teacher were killed, along with the student shooter, who took her own life, and several people were injured, two critically. The mayor, frustrated by questions for which she had no answers or patience, berated the reporters in the room. Here is what she said:
“It is absolutely none of y’all’s business who was harmed in this incident. Please have some human decency and respect for the people who lost loved ones, or were injured themselves, or whose children were injured. Just have some human decency, folks. Leave them alone. Let them grieve. Let them recover. Let them heal. Don’t feed off their pain.”
The mayor’s comments attracted national attention, as well as some pushback. As Isthmus editor Judith Davidoff wrote in the paper’s January issue (“Let’s all take a minute”), press advocates, myself included, were critical of the mayor’s remarks. UW-Oshkosh journalism professor Vincent Filak, a former reporter, editor and newsroom adviser, wrote an open letter to the mayor explaining how journalists approach crime victims and their families with sensitivity and respect. In many cases, Filak noted, the people contacted welcomed the opportunity to “talk about how great their kid was, or how amazing their parent was.”
Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, which I serve as president, gave negative recognition to Rhodes-Conway over these remarks, in the form of an award for not being a friend of open government — specifically, No Friend of Openness award, or “Nopee.” I told an audience it was the media’s job to cover such horrible stories, and it hurts them, too. I suggested the mayor did not apologize when her comments drew flack because she liked the positive attention they brought her. City spokesman and Isthmus alum Dylan Brogan attended this event. He said afterward that he shared what I said to the mayor, “who is taking your words seriously.”
In mid-March, I filed an open records request for all emails received by Rhodes-Conway regarding this press conference, from Dec. 17 to the end of the year. In response, the mayor’s office promptly and very professionally released 136 pages of emails, without anything redacted. The whole file is available by clicking on this link.
Some of the emails, culled through keyword searches, were a bit off-topic, like the one from the Madison resident who warned:
Many individuals in your office will be investigated and charged criminally for their role in hiding what is obvious. America will support the impending federal prosecution of those who supported the political hateful extremism that led to the deaths of the children in your city. Your current mayor will be investigated and federally indicted.
There was also this, from “Madame President Kallenbach” of Tampa, Florida:
You are Fired. No Queers serving in the Government. Sodomy is against God’s law and you are a horrible example to young people. The school shooting is a direct Judgment on your Leadership. Cursed.
Of the 85 emails that, unlike these examples, dealt directly with Rhodes-Conway’s comments regarding the press, 64 were positive, or 75%. (Another metric: Of these emails, 17 were from Madison residents, 32 from people elsewhere in Wisconsin and 36 from people in other states.)
Here are some of the positive things that people had to say:
I applaud you for handling the press and telling them to back off and have some respect and decency.
Hooray for you in your response to the media questions. It’s something that they have needed to hear for a long time.
We especially LOVED the way you shut down the media for asking inappropriate questions. Thank you!
You are so right in saying it is no one’s business. The media is a mess. Thank you for your kindness and strength.
We cannot praise you enough for standing up against the media who I fully believe only want the identities of the victims so they can harass them to get their 5 minutes of fame. They have no right.
Well done addressing the media! I am not even from Wisconsin, but it makes me sick watching reporters during any tragedy. The inhumanity and apathy shown for grieving and shell-shocked people is appalling. Thank you for standing up for those who are hurting.
Congratulations on standing up for decency and shutting down the media and their curiosity. You are absolutely right…leave the families and students alone. Let them grieve, let them have some peace, let them heal. Thank you for your bravery.
The most powerful email is support of the mayor’s comments came from the parent of a 5th grader at Abundant Life:
We just got home from getting her together with classmates and I wanted to let you know that among the parents I was speaking with there was overwhelming thankfulness for how you spoke to the press and defended our privacy earlier this week. Thank you. Praying for you and all our leaders.
It’s important to note that at no point during the press conference did anyone allege that members of the media were pestering or harassing victims or their families. It was all about the questions being posed to public officials and the paucity of information provided.
“Why would you guys not have the proper people in place to answer some of these questions?” asked reporter Jenna Rae of TMJ4 in Milwaukee, immediately before Rhodes-Conway delivered her rebuke. “We’re asking questions that have been circulating on social media, including rumors about the victims. Why not provide clarification and actually have people here to answer those questions to set the record straight?”
Many of the 21 emails that took the mayor to task were varied, some harsh. Here are a few examples:
Your self-serving statements to the media during this difficult time for our city are despicable and disrespectful. … Media professionals are entitled to answers to probing questions, not emotional lectures.
The members of the media are there to broadcast the information live to the public, and to report it live to the public. They are doing their jobs FOR THE PUBLIC. Just like you. Please have respect for their work. You should apologize for your behavior.
I beg to differ with you. It is absolutely the publics right to know who was killed/injured in the school shooting. And, it is your responsibility to share that information with us.
You are absolutley disgusting! I’m watching your press conference from across the country. You need to be ashamed of yourself! you guaranteed that you will never hold public office ever again!
And then there was this, from Madison resident Walter Carl Jimison Sr.:
Great job being a fucking BITCH at the news conference! Who made you the end all be all that determines what business others need to know what what others don’t need to know? Suggestion, shut the fuck up, stop being a bitch and just hurry up out of office so a decent Republican can do the job and hold a better press conference. Thanks, Happy Holidays Bitch!
There were also messages like this one from Bert Kreitlow of Waukesha:
We can debate the particular propriety of providing information on victims to reporters after a crime…but the broader point that I want to make is that you and other public officials should believe in the importance of the work of news reporters and make the effort to answer their questions and provide information.
Perhaps the wisest comment was from Jean Hennessey of Cottage Grove, who wrote:
The questions from the press and the community come from a place of deep concern and the desire for clarity during a time of immense grief. It is essential that we respond thoughtfully and with a commitment to supporting the families and individuals impacted. Moving forward, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard of communication, ensuring that our words reflect the care and seriousness this situation demands.
Offered an opportunity to comment for this article, Rhodes-Conway responded:
“I stand by the city of Madison’s record of being tremendously transparent to the public and the media. My focus that day was on supporting victims and their families who had barely had a chance to start processing an incomprehensible loss. As someone whose family has been the victim of gun violence and was treated poorly by the media, I felt it was my duty to try to spare the ALCS community similar treatment. I wish all the reporters covering this tragedy followed the lead of local media but this was sadly not the case and victims indeed felt that some members of the press were harassing them in a time of tremendous pain.
“In addition to the positive emails, I received positive feedback on social media, and still talk with people — even in other cities — who thank me for my words, and my instinct to protect the victims and their families. I also think it’s important to mention that the information reporters were demanding to know immediately (which I did not know at the time) was released the following day.”
Clearly, the mayor is not backing down. She sees the outpouring of support from these emails and on social media as an affirmation of the soundness of her position. But maybe it’s just an affirmation of its popularity.
