The Saint Rose Chronicle

Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Cailin Brown Abby Inghram and fellow student Kali Zigrino interview Ryan Peterson from Capital News 9.

Melanie Bova speaks with reporters on crazed capitol.

News media from across the state zeroed in on the Capitol lawn Tuesday, under the same clear sunny skies that marked Day One in 2007 when the new Governor promised to clean up all that was wrong with state government.

Word that Gov. Eliot Spitzer allegedly hired a high-price call girl in Washington, D.C. last month drew media satellite trucks from as far as New York and beyond to the capital city. Reporters-in-training from a journalism class at The College of Saint Rose arrived downtown at the same time the media were preparing to go live for their noon broadcasts.

"We want to find out whether the Governor will be around for hours, days, or weeks, and we also want to know how this incident is going to affect the state budget," said reporter Blaise Navarro for Clear Channel Communications. "We're here trying to get the time line."

Navarro estimated he would be on site for the day.

"Everybody here is just waiting to see what will happen, and we've been camped out since 8 a.m.," WTEN reporter Dori Marlin told Saint Rose reporters. She described the lawn as a "media frenzy" and pointed to why: "This is the largest political story to hit Albany in a long time."

Reporters from the local 24/7 cable station, Capital News 9 camped out at the Capitol.

"We arrived yesterday when the news first broke, and at that point it was just a 'shock and awe' atmosphere," said Ryan Peterson, a reporter for Capital News 9. Peterson and his colleagues from 9 returned to the Capitol at 6 a.m. Tuesday. Essentially, they too were playing the waiting game to see "what will be next."

A camera man for Capital News 9, Brad Wilson, was finding other story angles while waiting for official word. "We're in a delay right, so we're looking for those thoughts and outlooks from the youth and every day people on the streets."

Wilson told The Chronicle that Capital News 9 was taking calls from the public last night from around the world and receiving about one email every minute.

Another reporter from Fox News, Craig Boswell said he hoped that Spitzer would admit to the allegations. "What could become more intriguing and intense?"

Reporters and videographers applied makeup off camera, reviewed notes, used cell phones and positioned cameras, mics and other equipment on the soggy thawing lawn.

Politicians milled around the cameras, Mayor Gerald Jennings declined comment and Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco called for the Governor to step down.

News 9 also told The Chronicle that reporters were stationed at Lt. Gov. David Paterson's home, and were also pursuing the psychological angle of the story.

Andrew Siff from WNBC news said he too was waiting to find out if Spitzer would resign and whether a change in leadership was imminent.

Republican state assembly man, James Tedisco reports on Channel 10 News that "Someone needs to stand up and lead us. Elliot Spitzer is incapable of that" "It's not about politics. It's about what's right and wrong" We need to get the circus out of office and move forward" "I want an apology from someone who broke the law."



Story above By Melanie Bova, Elizabeth Corey, Caitlin Cosman, Grace Gleason, Stephanie Greiner, Lauren Hernandez, Abby Ingraham, Dallas Jones, Kaitlyn Madden, Jason May, Jacob Millman, Jessica Silver, Michelle Warren, Andrew Whyte, and Kali Zigrino

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