Fair and balanced - and forgotten
If you watched the Greta show Thursday night, you might have seen Christine Jeanbart and Zanni Meguerian plead for help to find their sons.
(Greta was on vacation. Some other fair and balanced lady was sitting in.)
As I've reported a few times this week, Meguerian and Jeanbart's ex-husbands, who are brothers, took their children and might be headed for their native Syria.
Well, the Greta show called me Thursday and asked me to go on the air with the women. I'd "set up" the story for the mothers' interview. I said "sure."
A car -- don't know if it was a limo -- was supposed to pick me up at 6:30 p.m. I waited outside my South Bay home. I waited. And waited. And I called the show. I text-messaged. I got no response. I waited a little more. I started to get kinda sweaty in my suit. I ran back inside to go to the restroom. I went back outside and waited.
The show started.
I called my friends. Was there breaking news? Had I been bumped?
Nah. It was Caylee, Caylee, Caylee, Caylee.
I finally gave up. I sent a message to the producer: "Thanks for wasting my time."
Turns out the producer got a phone call while he rode the train home in New York. Someone wondered where I was.
He called me. He seemed a bit panicked. I explained I hadn't been picked up. He was sorry. He called it inexcusable. He was angry with the limo company.
Oh well. So much for my closeup.
I do hope the national TV exposure helps bring the kids home to their moms and I will continue to monitor the case myself.
And, I'll get my spot on TV a little later on this year. Stay tuned.
Ok, time to watch Keith.
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About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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I actually watched the show with Christine and Zanni.....and I thought it could have been done so much better....and perhaps for longer. You could tell that Zanni was not done saying what she needed to say and wanted to say so much more....but unfortunately they did not give them enough time to say what was needed to be said. I felt bad. For 36 minutes we had to watch the Caylee story and how her mother was reported to be in a bar while she stated that she was actually searching for her child....for 36 minutes? Come on. We have 2 worried women who are actively seeking their children, asking for the public's help....and they get about 7 minutes of air time? Where is the justice? Fair and balanced? I think not.
I couldn't agree more.
And I don't want people to think I was just trying to get on television. They asked, and they screwed up. I think I could have helped explain the story. Their anchor obviously didn't know much about it.