Was Channel 10’s ‘Scoop’ a Case of Bad Judgment?

There are several serious issues raised by KGTV’s (Channel 10) coverage of Luis Lebron last week, not the least of which is the appropriateness of a television photographer conducting his own surveillance of a suspect.

Photographer Bob Lampert provided Channel 10 with a scoop. When Lebron was brought into custody late Wednesday afternoon, Channel 10 was the only television news department with video, including scenes of the police confronting Lebron for the first time.

For two weeks before the San Diego Police Department slapped handcuffs on Lebron, a truck driver originally thought to be a suspect in a series of Clairemont killings, Lampert was monitoring the police surveillance. By following the police investigators, he shot videotape of the suspect buying milk and putting gas in his car.

Lampert says the investigating officers knew he was in the vicinity during the two weeks of surveillance, but he never had any contact with them.

Several members of the media have complained to the Police Department about Lampert’s access to the investigation. They wonder if Lampert was given preferential treatment, and that is what the police officials say they are investigating.

“If he got information through (someone in the department), then that is totally inappropriate and we will take administrative action,” said Commander Larry Gore, chief of the SDPD’s public-affairs department.

Channel 10 says Lampert discovered the investigation by putting together “puzzle pieces” from police reports, which is as good an explanation as any. Lampert says he was tracking the investigators for several days before he even knew what case they were working on.

“I think the whiners and complainers want phone calls (about stories) and it doesn’t work that way,” Lampert said.

Lampert’s access, though, is almost a moot point. He is notorious for his chummy relationship with the cops. His wife is a sergeant with the SDPD, and he is known to be good friends with several officers. This is not the first time he has been the only reporter involved in a police operation.

SDPD officials say they didn’t officially tip Lampert, so any attacks on official department policy aren’t going to go very far. If the information was leaked to him, well, it wouldn’t be the first time the cultivation of sources has resulted in a scoop.

Channel 10 news director Paul Sands said Lampert was acting like any good investigative reporter. But there’s a difference between a television photographer with a camera in his hand and a reporter. Upon discovering the surveillance, a reporter might have checked out the scene as unobtrusively as possible, perhaps even tagging along with the cops.

Lampert went a step further, risking detection by shooting video of Lebron. It’s not so far-fetched to imagine a suspect spotting a photographer and blowing apart an investigation.

The only payoff for taking the gamble was the video. Thanks to Lampert’s enterprise, Channel 10 had the story, the scoop. With Lampert tracking the investigation, they knew they’d be on the scene when a suspect was taken into custody. But it wasn’t enough. They had to have video.

“If we just have some guy sitting and talking about (the surveillance), then we haven’t been doing television,” Sands said.

Lampert, who has been covering police for more than 20 years, says he does this type of surveillance all the time, shooting mounds of videotape that never get aired. He recently shot video during the investigation of Chris Petti, a key figure in the Richard Silberman case.

“I pick my time and spot” to shoot video, he said. “I’d rather not have the tape than to blow the investigation for somebody.”

Neither Lampert nor Sands would detail what precautions Lampert took to ensure he wouldn’t be detected by Lebron.

“There may be a risk factor, and it is certainly one we are deeply aware of, but it is one we completely avoided in this case because we have a trained professional doing this,” Sands said. “With a lot of people, my fear level would have been about a 10. But with Bob my fear level was about 0.0.”

The police have taken the position that as long as Lampert was not interfering with the investigation, they have no complaints, which might also be a reflection of their respectful relationship with Lampert. Gore says they cannot tell a reporter where they can or cannot go in pursuit of a story, yet they often clash with local photographers when they attempt to do exactly that.

More than Lampert’s surveillance, the police department and the district attorney’s office were far more upset with Channel 10’s initial 5 p.m. broadcast of the video, in which Lebron’s face was clearly visible. After anxious calls from the authorities, Channel 10, which rushed to get the video on the air after Lebron was taken into custody at 4 p.m., agreed to blur Lebron’s face in subsequent broadcasts, a common precaution. The D.A.’s office and the police fear that public exposure of a suspect’s face may taint an identification lineup.

At 11 p.m. Thursday, after Lebron was cleared and released, Channel 10 again showed his face after “debate in the newsroom.” Since Channel 10 had already shown his face the previous day, reporter Jim Wilkerson told viewers, the rationale was to show it again to say, “Here he is, he’s not a suspect.”

The Union-Tribune Publishing Co. and the Newspaper Guild may have agreed on a contract, but the relationship is still tense, to say the least. On May 8, management distributed a memo advising supervisors that company policy prevents them from being members of the union. Soon enough, the memo found its way on to the Guild’s bulletin board. A few days later, management’s employee relations director fired off a letter to the Guild pointing out that it is was a “clear violation” of the new contract to post something on the Guild’s bulletin board without first sending a copy to management.

Jerry St. James, the Jer of “Jeff and Jer,” is a staunch animal activist, and he has a clause in his contract with KFMB-FM (B100) stipulating that he won’t do any promotions with groups that use animals in research experiments. That includes most medical charities, like the Leukemia Society. “The station is not going to stop doing things (promotions) because of his personal views,” program director Mike Novak said, noting that there may be cases when St. James simply won’t participate in a station promotion due to his beliefs.

When the staff of XHRM-FM (92.5) was told on Thursday that the Modern Radio Corp., the company operating the station, was declaring bankruptcy and that control of the station may return to Willie Morrow, they were also asked to return the phones and other equipment that suddenly disappeared the day before when news of the switch leaked out. All the staffers were forced to hand in letters of resignation before they could receive their final paychecks.

Former B100 Rich Brother Scott Kenyon has latched on to the North County-based KKOS-FM (95.9). Beginning today, he’ll join Rick Rome on the morning show.