A Letter to KUSI Management
By Clovis M. Honore
Dear KUSI Management,
In the wake of outright public attacks on San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten, MD, MPH and the San Diego County Department of Health and Human Services for doing the exact job we are paying them to do, I find it shocking that your morning anchors, Paul Rudy and Lauren Finney would make unsubstantiated statements suggesting there is bias in the way the County is managing this unprecedented health and economic crisis. They suggested, without presenting any evidence whatsoever, that there must be an increase in COVID-19 infections related to protest, and that there was bias in the County’s reporting because they did not say so.
Such baseless on-air attacks on a Black woman who is a leading public figure, and who has already been harrassed by thoughtless community members runs the risk of putting her further into harm’s way. Perhaps they were not on the phone yesterday with a friend, as I was, who stated that a member of their household had died from complications related to COVID-19. Perhaps they have the privilege of not having been touched by the devastation this virus has unleashed. Perhaps, because they still have their jobs, this is not serious to them. Perhaps because they have never had to stand in front of the community and make the hard decisions, they can stand on the sidelines and throw rocks at those of us who are engaged in serving the community every day.
It is important that news agencies like yours and their reporters and anchors hold the truth and integrity in high regard. To malign the work of our public servants through innuendo and without facts to support their statements is disrespectful and hurtful in the very least, and potentially dangerous in the polarized climate in which we currently live. Certainly, your reporters and anchors are entitled to their opinions and apparently you allow them to make these kinds of statements on the air. However, I would think that some degree of journalistic integrity and concern for our public servants would prompt your station and its representatives to do the research and present the evidence that supports their position.
I hope and pray that you and your representatives will communicate with Dr. Wooten and the County of San Diego and take appropriate corrective action regarding this matter. I am sharing this email with a few community members who I think would also be concerned about this behavior.
Peace.
Be The Right Person, In The Right Place, At The Right Time, Doing The Right Thing, In The Right Way, For The Right Reason.
“No one is coming to save us but us.” (Rev Eugene Williams)
Clovis M. Honoré
