Feds Say WDIV Reporter Lied to Get Into Vet Clinic

[Meddle]

"Federal authorities say a Detroit television reporter tried to use underhanded means to gain access to a Madison Heights veterinarian clinic where an FBI dog was being treated for mortal wounds resulting from a shootout with the leader of an Islamic fundamentalist group.

But television station executives and the repoter disputed that.

The owner of the Veterinary Emergency Service in Madison Heights said WDIV-TV [[Local 4) reporter Natalie Sentz told the manager that she had been sent to the facility Wednesday by the FBI to make arrangements for disposing of the dog’s remains.

“She came in and said, ‘I talked to Sandra and I’m here to make arrangements for the dog,’,” Richard Lanier said today, a possible reference to Detroit FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold. He based his comments on interviews with employees.

Lanier said the clinic manager, believing Sentz either was an FBI agent or acting at the agency’s direction, started down a hallway toward the emergency room with Sentz in tow....

Full article here:

http://www.freep.com/article/2009103...1030036/?imw=Y

[mauser]

Natalie Sentz is HOT !

[softailrider]

Natalie Sentz is HOT !

Yeah buddy, you ain't kidding!

[RealityCheck]

But Sentz has no sense of journalistic ethics.

And no, that phrase is not an oxymoron.

[Steve Wilson]

I've never met Natalie but can say from experience that it is not necessary to lie to some people, often they jump to conclusions and blurt out information to reporters. Then, the "that-reporter-lied-to-me" fast becomes a defense when the source is pressured by the boss later.

Having said that, if she did nothing wrong I do not see why she would not report what she saw and heard, assuming it is nothing that would risk the lives and safety of others. This part of Dave Ashenfelter's story makes no sense to me:

<<Sentz said she tried to get into the clinic to talk to Berchtold [[FBI p-r), was ushered in and eventually wound up in a room with a blood-splattered FBI agent who assumed she was Berchtold and began telling her what had happened.

When he realized she was a reporter, Sentz said he became upset and she was told to leave. Before leaving, she said, the agent asked her not to report what he had told her and she didn't.

“To this day, I haven't said what they said,” Sentz said.>>

Anybody here know why not?

[gnome]

1, I assume the dog wasn't dead-on-the-scene, otherwise why would you need to go to a vet and then into a treatment room?

2, I assume the dog was alive, but why would you transport a critically wounded animal from Detroit/Dearborn to Madison Heights for treatment?

3, There are vets in Dearborn, yes?

4, Is the reason there was a helicopter on the scene was to provide AirRescue for the dog?

The whole thing sounds goofy to me.

And as far as getting into places you shouldn't ... a clip-board, hardhat and ID tag turned around the wrong way will get you into just about anywhere. If you look like you belong, display a sense of confidence, most people just assume you belong.

[Retroit]

Anybody here know why not?

I can't speak for her, but let's suppose that the FBI agent gave her information that would be crucial in capturing or prosecuting members of this terrorist organization. Would it be proper for her to divulge this information? She may not have been misrepresenting herself, but the officer had a misrepresentation of who she was. And I think it shows her integrity as a journalist to be able to differentiate what she should and should not disclose.

Of course, this raises the question: If this information was so confidential, why didn't the FBI agent verify the identity of who he was about to give critical information to?

[MikeM]

2, I assume the dog was alive, but why would you transport a critically wounded animal from Detroit/Dearborn to Madison Heights for treatment?

I think that animal hospital is the only one in the area that is open 24-hours; it's frequently recommended if your pet has an emergency. Maybe because of the amount of experience they've developed there, they have become the equivalent of a trauma center for animals.

[mauser]

I've never met Natalie but can say from experience that it is not necessary to lie to some people, often they jump to conclusions and blurt out information to reporters. Then, the "that-reporter-lied-to-me" fast becomes a defense when the source is pressured by the boss later.

Ive met Natalie while working, but I can only say thats she is a nice and friendly person.

What Steve is saying is very true, and not only that, but it is ABSOLUTELY fair game to employ what is known as "social engineering" to talk your way into situations when working in the news.

Something the police and FBI know alllllll about. Those folks will say absolutely anything - true or not - to get information out of you. It is part of their job, and it has nothing to do with "ethics".

What she did was gutsy and badass. I expect we will see Natalie in the national media market before long.

She is not a bleach blond, so I dont think we have to worry about FOXNEWS hiring her away....

[pffft]

It's one thing to allow someone to assume you belong somewhere when you really don't, but if the Channel 4 reporter actively lied about who she was, that goes past ethical boundaries all journalists acknowledge.

[RealityCheck]

. . . if the Channel 4 reporter actively lied about who she was, that goes past ethical boundaries all journalists acknowledge.

Precisely the point.

Badass, aggressive, tireless, imaginative reporting = Good.

Misrepresentation, even passively by allowing mistaken assumptions = Out of bounds.

That means no sneaking into funerals as "a friend of the family" or someone "who spoke to the widow yesterday." No saying "I'm calling from police headquarters," even if that's where the press room desk and phone are. No deception of any kind -- at least not by legit, ethical news-gatherers.

Real case: Mike Martindale of The News recently was interviewing extras during a You Don't Know Jack shoot at the Oakland Courthouse when a crew member, believing he was just portraying a reporter, directed him onto the set for the next scene. He identified himself rather than take advantage of the mistaken perception.

That's how pros practice journalism, just as pffft said.

[Retroit]

...it is ABSOLUTELY fair game to employ what is known as "social engineering" to talk your way into situations when working in the news...

There are so many easy stories in this city, is it really necessary to use questionably unethical practices? Just 2 days ago, 4 [[or 5) of the richest men in Detroit publicly admitted to bribing Kwame Kilpatrick into resigning. A reporter does not have to resort to falsely identifying herself [[to interview a dead dog, no less) in order to have a news story?

[REL]

Anybody here know why not?

Perhaps out of, I dunno, sensitivity? These agents just lost "one of the team". Maybe she didn't spill what she heard out of respect for the agents and the fact that they unintentionally said what they did. If that's the case, then the reporter pulled a class act, in my opinion.

This could have been an innocent misunderstanding. She may have walked in, said a few key words & names, which got jumbled in the moment. Picture the staff at a random vet hospital that's not used to the excitement of what happened that day. Some people get caught up in the moment, especially when you throw in a bunch of freaking-out FBI agents around you. Adrenaline does funny things to people, and can heat up a situation very quickly.

As Mr. Wilson said, you'd be surprised at what people blurt out in front of reporters, especially in the heat of the moment. In such circumstances, people often feel foolish about doing so later on, and sometimes look for a way to blame it on the reporter.

There are three sides to every story. Who knows, she may have fibbed, but we weren't there.

Bottom line: that was someone's dog, friend & law enforcement partner. That dog gave it's service [[and eventually it's life) to help all of us sleep better at night. My sincere condolences. And if this story tugs at your heartstrings, please consider making a donation to your local shelter.

[pffft]

Re "interviewing a dead dog" ...exactly. What was she going to do inside, take photos of a dying, hero dog?

She could get all the info she needed outside the front door.

[Meddle]

She could get all the info she needed outside the front door.

Yup. Or by phone.

But I have to agree on the absurdity of flying a dog. Doesn't make fiscal sense to me. Those flights cost about 4 or 5 grand normally.

Then again, I guess I don't know who flew the bird. Was it a DPD bird or a private service?

[sirrealone]

They also invest tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of human hours into training the dog, so what we could consider excessive for a house pet might not be so unreasonable for a service dog.

[maxx]

It's one thing to allow someone to assume you belong somewhere when you really don't, but if the Channel 4 reporter actively lied about who she was, that goes past ethical boundaries all journalists acknowledge.

How do you suppose we would ever find out about abuses in the prison system if reporters hadn't lied about their identities and gotten admitted as prisoners? Not that anyone cares any more about the prison industry and why it is growing or what goes on in our prisons.

[buildingsofdetroit]

Most journalists learn about Food Lion and Chiquita in their schoolin'. Two incredibly infamous cases involving such misrepresentation, especially the first, though I'd say the sneaking in that case was far more noble than seeing a dead dog. Look 'em up.

Food Lion: http://journalism.unr.edu/latestnews...-eat-the-meat/

[NatalieSentz]

I’m fairly certain none of you have been waiting with baited breath for this. However, considering this thread still appears when my name is googled. I may as well allow readers to know what really occurred. Note: I fully expect one of two things: silence, or creative comments from people hiding behind a screen name while accusing me of lying.

To put this to rest, let me jump right to the end. The FBI agents I spoke with were flown in from national. That’s why they didn’t know what their PIO looked like. I doubt if they even knew her name before the clinic lady passed them the note she wrote while speaking with me.

I’m sick of telling this story. In turn, what you’re about to read is going to be super dry and boring.

Disclaimer aside, here it goes...

My phographer, Alex, and I were across town working on an H1N1 story when the desk called and said a helicopter landed in the middle of the road a few towns over. We were the closest crew to that location so we were the ones they sent. Note: I was irritated with the switch because I had a great interview with a guy dressed up as Santa clause and pleading his case as to why he should get the swine flu vaccine first because he works with children. Highly entertaining.

I digress...

All we had was a cross street. When we drove up, all we saw was a line of people with pets outside a vet clinic. We parked the WDIV live truck in the clinic’s parking lot. Right when we got out, a man who had been eating at the next door restaurant came up showing video he shot on his phone of the helicopter landing.

He said they took a dog in on a stretcher. I recognized the helicopter. I have no idea how I knew it was FBI. I’m a little odd with random stuff.

By the time we finished shooting video on our camera of what he had on his phone, most of the people in line at the vet clinic had gone back inside.

I went up and talked to a guy with a sick dauchhound[[sp?).

Now, things you have to know before I continue: I was wearing an electric blue coat. I was walking with my mic in hand and giant WDIV logo [[mic flag) attached.

The entire front lobby of the vet is surrounded in glass. Our live truck was parked in the parking space closest to the entrance.

I literally walked up to the door and the lady inside said, “Sorry, I can’t talk to you, Natalie” and locked the glass doors with clients looking at me from inside. Yes, she knew my name!

I then went back to the live truck and called the assignment desk. Corey, the desk person, said she already called Sandra Burkhold and she didn’t answer. Corey said she is either on her way to the vet or already inside.

I told Alex I’d be right back and went back to the front entrance. The clients inside gave me sad looks, shook their heads, and let me know they weren’t allowed to let me in. I loudly begged them to get the lady again so I can explain that I need to speak with someone who may be inside.

The clinic lady came back and unlocked the door. I told her I was looking for Sandra Burkhold and she’s either on her way or already there. She told me to hang on then disappeared. She came back with a posted note and asked me to repeat myself. So, I did.

She left for a minute then came back out and said, “They’re in there.” and pointed down a hallway. I started walking down and opened a door. She called out, “No, keep going down.” I opened the last door.

There was one man right on the other side of the door. Neither of us said anything at first. I looked to the left to see where Sandra was standing. Nope. Just 3 more guys. Everyone was really quiet.

All of a sudden the guy in front of me reached for my hand to shake it. He then stopped before touching me and apologized for having blood on his hand. I said, “It’s okay. I’ve seen blood before.”

He then started talking.

The first thing he said was, “They Killed our dog.” He then rambled about different places and people and everything that was happening. He then stopped and said, “Please Don’t tell anyone. You’re only one in five who know this. You can imagine if this gets out and gets into my guys heads!”

I said, “Okay. I can keep it from going online, but a lot of people saw the helicopter land and it’s only a matter of time before more news people are here.”

He said, “Wait. Sandra?”

I said, “No, I’m Natalie.”

He asked, “Well, who is Sandra.”

I was baffled and said, “She’s your PIO!”

He asked, “Who are you?”

In his same loud voice I said, “I’m a reporter!”

His eyes turned the size of dinner plates.

And the he pointed at me and started screaming, “They said she was FBI! They said she was FBI!”

He and the rest of the guys started saying, “You’ve got to go, you’ve got to go” while pointing down a hallway that led to the side entrance.

I was pretty freaked out as well and walked a little faster than normal. When I got to the door, the man called out to me again and said, “Hey! Please don’t tell anyone.” I told him, “I don’t want your guys to get hurt either.”

As I walked outside, turned right, and started back toward the truck, I ran smack dab into the clinic lady again. She was picking up pieces of stuff that came off the building when the helicopter landed and trying to put it back on the building.

I immediately said, “I didn’t tell you I was FBI!” She was super calm and barely looked at me before saying, “It isn’t everyday a helicopter lands outside the building.”

Ugh.

I went back to the live truck. My boss called and asked what was happening. I said I didn’t know. She pressed me further. I said a dog might be dead. She was pissed that I “didn’t know more.” We sent back the video of the helicopter landing and went back to doing my H1N1 story.

A day or two later I was on a story with my photographer Ted Pregitzer in Detroit’s Westside when the assignment desk called to say some guy named David Ashenfelter wanted me to call him. The desk didn’t seem to know who he was and said he was a newspaper reporter. I figured he was someone I met on a scene and wanted to hang out or something. So, I’m not even sure if I wrote down the number, or where I put it if I did.

All of a sudden, there’s a picture of me looking like I just got off a broomstick on the front page of the Detroit Press saying I posed as an FBI agent!

I’ve never been so livid in my life. I called two of the four agents in charge of the Detroit branch and lit them up with endless rants. I finally got it out of one of them. I kept saying, “Your guys.,,,rah rah rah!!!”

His response, “Natalie, those weren’t our guys!”

They were flow in from National to do the raids across the Detroit metro. And I kept my promise to not say what they said.

My credibility, the only thing you truly have as a reporter... gone.

And for what? Yes, I was invited to and attended that years FBI Christmas party. I even spoke with Sandra [[who was tipsy) while there. She was pissed because after I left the clinic, she had to wait 3 hours to be appropriately vetted before going in. I can’t believe I actually laughed out loud while she was complaining about it. I apologized of course.

So, there you have it.

Feel free to call or email with questions.

Natalie Sentz
507-219-1714
nsentz@gmail.com

[aj3647]

I can't speak for her, but let's suppose that the FBI agent gave her information that would be crucial in capturing or prosecuting members of this terrorist organization.

If an FBI agent just casually volunteered that information to a stranger he just met, then he would be out of a job.

[NatalieSentz]

But Sentz has no sense of journalistic ethics.

And no, that phrase is not an oxymoron.

Read what I wrote and call me any time.

507-219-1714

[NatalieSentz]

If an FBI agent just casually volunteered that information to a stranger he just met, then he would be out of a job.

Exactly. So instead of getting fired, they fabricated a story. The men I promised to keep safe by not sharing what they said - decided that their precious jobs were more important than my credibility.

They told a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper reporter that some low-life pup reporter weaseled inside the clinic and posed as an agent. Of course, those FBI “sources” remained anonymous. Cowards.

I could have easily been given a promotion just by going live and telling viewers they were idiotic enough to speak with me without even asking my name beforehand. Don’t even get me started with how many pats on the back I could have had by revealing the names of their targets and locations.

No. I stupidly kept my promise and went back to covering an H1N1 story that barely made it into the third block of the newscast.

Why? Because I’m a really good person. Dumb at times, I’ll agree. But I guarantee I’m more ethical than 99.9% of the media industry.

So, thanks National FBI guys. That was awesome.

Oh, and to whomever still somewhat believes I’m lying... go look for the story on Detroit Free Press Website. They removed it at midnight the day it was published. There was no way for them to remove it sooner because of the way their website was designed at the time. That’s why Ashenfelter could only make edits until the story could be taken down.

Feel free to ask him why it was removed.

Too little too late, however. Even NewsBlues picked it up and raked my name through the mud on several different occasions because of that story.

Thanks a lot.

[Scottathew]

Ms. Sentz, thanks for sharing your side of the story.

[Dumpling]

That there was a sick Dotson the man had in the clinic.

[aj3647]

Exactly. So instead of getting fired, they fabricated a story. The men I promised to keep safe by not sharing what they said - decided that their precious jobs were more important than my credibility.

You shouldn't expect fairness from many of the people who post on this forum. The fact that you are a journalist is reason enough for them to slander you, purely for their own ideological reasons.