I recently testified before a legislative committee
on behalf of one of our clients. The legislation involved the balancing of
private property rights with the need for environmental protection. It also
raised issues about legislative intent, due process and the breath of
administrative rule making.
In a crowded hearing room in the basement of the
State House, the committee heard more than two hours of contentious and largely
contradictory testimony. A lot of lawyers spoke, as did a herpetologist, a marine biologist and several bureaucrats.
Those few legislators who remained until the end of the hearing seemed awfully
confused. They appeared to be sympathetic to the rights of property owners, but
weren't sure how to rein in a regulatory program that had gone awry.
I mention all of this, because after the hearing, I
was interviewed by a reporter from a local television station about the matter.
She asked me several questions about the proposed legislation and why my client
supported it. I answered her questions the best I could, trying not to be too
legalistic or technical. She thanked me for my help and then packed up her
camera and went to interview the folks who opposed the bill.
Although I didn't see the report on the news that
evening, our client did and later sent me the link to the story on the
station's webpage. After watching the report, something struck me. While the reporter
tried to present both sides of the issue, the 1 minute and 28 second report didn't
make clear what the issue was. Quite
simply, if viewers weren't already familiar with the controversy before
watching the news, they surely didn't understand it any better afterward.
That wasn't the reporter's fault. She did the best
she could with the time she was given. I guess that’s the news business today. But
if two hours of expert testimony didn't clarify the issue for legislators at a
hearing, a TV news story of less than 2 minutes wasn’t going to do it for someone
watching at home. Little wonder the citizens of Massachusetts don’t understand
the relevance of what goes on at the State House to their lives.
