By Mark David Blum

Over the years, local channel 3 and I have had our “issues”; mostly over my reporting of Doppler’s treatment at the hands of station officials. Nowadays, it is Wayne Mahar with the belly who looks like he should add a few more sit ups to his daily pump it up routine.

Yesterday for reasons not worth discussing (because the story was killed; but I did not find out until later), it became my primary interest to see the local news on Channel 3. One problem; I was at the New York State Fairgrounds and Channel 3 has a dismal and minimal presence thereat. Even cable news 10 provides a big screen television for fairgoers to see news and information. Channels 9 and 5 do not hesitate to share their local broadcasts with fair going audiences. Only channel 3 sits quietly in an out of the way corner of Chevy Court and has only a 15” television monitor aimed right into the sunlight.

So, the problem becomes where and how can I see the local news on channel 3.

Not wanting to be one of Wayne Mahar’s playthings and pad his audience of aging and desperate attention seekers, but really needing to hear their broadcast, I found me a perfect sittin` spot. In the shade, off to the side of the broadcast booth, but barely within earshot of Matt Mulcahey and Jackie Robinson. If I was very attentive, I could hear their broadcast and listen for what I came to hear.

Through at least two broadcast sessions and two commercial breaks, I sat there and listened to them overhype the Fair. That’s expected since real news is something their reporters don’t often air. Suddenly, Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll makes an appearance and takes a seat next to Matt. A fine older woman who had followed my lead into the shady lawn commented on how long it took Mayor Matt to primp and preen and adjust and get into his role.

Just as the Matt and Matt show was getting started, someone whom I assume to be the show’s producer, came over and installed a detachable board wall right in front of my sittin` spot. Attaching it tightly, he then affixed another above it such that there was a floor to ceiling plywood wall shoved right in my face.

As he was putting the last part in place, I inquired of him whether I should take it “personal” that he was putting up the wall. His response, en toto ”nooooo”; as if to say DUH. The woman seated next to me suggested perhaps they were walling off the whole booth to shun noise or sun. OK, giving the benefit of the doubt, I got up (since I would no longer hear) and walked around the booth. Not another board went up.

Was it me? Was it Matt the Mayor or Matt the Broadcaster? My wife knows Jackie Robinson well enough that the Great Wall of Shame could not have been her idea.

So Matt … and Matt … whichever of you finds lawyers in general or me in specific to be so offensive that you built a wall between us … proves how truly disconnected from those to whom you are supposed to be pandering.

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I was able to find out later that the Channel 3 reporter that I cussed out that afternoon learned his lesson.

When I reported this story to my friends, I began to refer to it as the Channels 3’s Great Wall of Shame. After all, it is the media that walled itself off from the very public it allegedly serves.