Threats Go With Territory for Members of the Media

A few years ago, Larry Himmel’s home phone was tapped and he was under surveillance by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. Himmel was a commentator and host of a nightly comedy show for KFMB-TV (Channel 8) at the time. Someone who apparently didn’t appreciate his humor was sending threatening letters to his home, and the Sheriff’s Department took the threats seriously enough to beef up security.

“It just goes with the territory,” Himmel said.

Indeed, the occasional in-depth conversation with a crackpot, and letters and calls from revenge-minded story subjects, secret admirers and genuinely sick people, are practically common for some members of the media, and not just for the big-name controversial commentators/television personalities like Michael Tuck, Ted Leitner and even Himmel.

Usually the threats are easy to ignore. Sometimes they’re not.

Himmel’s notes were arriving at his home and seemed to be coming from someone who knew him.

Another member of the media kept finding little obscene statues on the kitchen porch. Another was being followed. Sometimes the letters are graphic and detailed, indicating a scary depth of knowledge.

The number of threats against members of the media is increasing, said Sheriff’s Detective Floyd Feese, who has handled “5 to 10” such cases in the last two years from the Encinitas substation.

“We definitely have a group of people going after news media and public officials,” said Feese, who handles the cases differently than “normal” cases. “They (reporters) have a job to do. My job is to be paranoid.”

Members of the media who report threats to the San Diego Police Department are “treated like any other citizen who wants to make a report of a threat,” according to Police Department spokesman Bill Robinson. He recalls about five such cases in the last five years: “Mainly males calling female reporters or anchors.”

It is often hard for reporters to know if a threat or incident is serious enough to warrant reporting to the police.

Currently, one local radio reporter is worried that the subject of a story is looking for revenge. The reporter’s house was broken into on the same day the story aired, but nothing was stolen. However, there were clear signs that someone had been in the house. The incident is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department.

“It scared me,” the reporter said. “I took it as a message.”

Two weeks ago, a reporter for a local television station called 911 to report a group of four men trying to break into a neighbor’s car. After the reporter’s name appeared in news reports about the incident, a book critical of the media and a copy of the news reports appeared in the reporter’s mailbox.

The case, investigated by the Sheriff’s Department, turned out to be false alarm. A neighbor left the book in the mailbox. But the reporter, who had received threatening phone calls in the past, has increased security around the house.

“The first thing I thought about was, what stories am I working on now?” the reporter said.

Some stories make reporters a little more alert than usual, such as the Karen Wilkening prostitution story, currently making headlines. It contains unknown, titillating and potentially dangerous elements--mysterious and powerful figures possibly working behind the scenes and a potential link to a series of murders, for example.

“A lot of reporters are scared” about the Wilkening case, the radio reporter said.

Most television, radio and newspaper offices have extensive security measures. Although some officials for the local television stations didn’t want to discuss specifics, occasionally they intensify security because of threats. For example, an extra security guard was hired to patrol the KFMB-TV (Channel 8) studio at night a few years ago; later, a large fence was built around the whole station.

“My feeling is that if someone wants to get you, they’ll get you,” Himmel said. “People who write and call won’t touch you.”

Himmel taped audition segments for KGTV (Channel 10) last week. “Just taking a look,” News Director Paul Sands said. . . .

KNSD-TV’s (Channel 39) “SportsTalk” show brings all the excitement of radio to television, which is to say it is as visually stimulating as a can of bean dip. It’s a radio sports talk show on television (after Saturday afternoon baseball games), and it doesn’t try to be anything else. XTRA-AM’s (690) Lee (Hacksaw) Hamilton is the host, droning on and on about any sports topic. Sometimes he even seems to know something about the subjects. He sits in a darkened set made to look like a radio studio, fielding phone calls. Cameras provide different views of Hamilton’s head. It’s a show for sports addicts and insomniacs only. . . .

Locally based pretentious high-brow magazine Arete is starting a national marketing effort. A subscription mailer was recently sent to 350,000 homes. . . .

Former North County Entertainer publisher Brian Cook has started a three-dot column for the Blade Tribune, er, uh . . . the Oceanside-based paper now called the Blade-Citizen. To promote the column, he got San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen to pose for a photo. Cook flew up to San Francisco and spent a grand total of maybe 30 seconds with the granddaddy of three-dot columnists. “I had to develop the film to see what he looks like,” Cook said. . . .

In 1987, Constance Powers, a Chula Vista landlord featured in a Channel 10 “10 on Your Side” segment, accused reporter Bill Griffith, now the co-host of Channel 10’s homey morning talk fest “InSide San Diego,” of hitting her in the face with a microphone and generally harassing her. She filed a lawsuit seeking at least $25,000 in damages. Videotape of the incident suggested that Griffith didn’t even have the alleged microphone/weapon in his hand, and Powers’ original attorney withdrew from the case, citing its lack of merit. Last year, a Superior Court judge made a summary judgment in Channel 10’s favor. But Powers’ new attorney has filed an appeal. . . .

New News Director Donald Shafer has started work at Channel 39. . . .

In the last two weeks, Channel 39 reporter Bill Ritter lost two producers. Both Candace Armstrong, the producer for his investigative segments, and Barry Martin, producer of “San Diego Chronicles,” the new show hosted by Ritter, resigned to pursue other interests. Martin was originally hired to produce Himmel’s show. With a contract that ran through June, he was assigned to “Chronicles,” which premiered last month with a show on entrepreneurs. Although no decision has been made, station personnel expect “Chronicles” to become a regular feature, although some at the station would like to see it tackle more hard-news topics. . . .

Channel 10 reporter and weekend anchor Adrienne Alpert, on jury duty, was called up for the case of an Oregon man charged with trying to kill a prostitute in San Diego. But she was excused when it was learned she had covered the case.