Last Sunday, The Record of Woodland Park reported the death of CBS newsman Harold Dow the day before, but didn't have the cause of death. The obituary was based on information provided by the wire services.
But the lazy assignment editors working under the insufferable Deirdre "Mother Hen" Sykes never followed up, as is usually the case.
This week, other media reported that Dow, who was African-American, died of an asthma attack behind the wheel of his car in Hackensack, where he grew up, and that an inhaler was found in the vehicle. Here is a link to one of the accounts: Why Harold Dow diedSee commentary on today's newspaper in the post below
CBS News has an interest in obscuring a possible link between Dow's adult-onset asthma and his escape from the WTC collapse. Wasn't he there that fateful day in his capacity as their employee? Wouldn't that, therefore, make them liable for the development of a debilitating medical condition and at the very least expose them to the cost of a disability insurance claim?
ReplyDeleteBoth The Record and CBS News missed the real story. Dow suffered adult-onset asthma possibly because he barely escaped the WTC collapse. His Ground Zero experience was in the original obit, which didn't mention cause of death.
ReplyDeleteNo one has connected the dots or even raised the question of whether he got sick after 9/11, like so many others exposed to the dust and smoke, especially those caught in the initial debris.
Too many of the reporters and editors at The Record fail to connect the dots. How they keep their jobs is a real puzzle.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would think an employer would be responsible if a reporter's health suffered from an assignment.
ReplyDeleteThe Record handles disability claims this way: After a number of weeks on disability, the reporter would be told he or she would have to return to work or face dismissal, whether their health permitted working or not. Apparently, this tactic is perfectly legal.
ReplyDelete