Geraldo Rivera: More Surveillance

By Walt Belcher
Media General News Service
Feb. 23, 2006

TAMPA - Geraldo Rivera says the proliferation of surveillance cameras and personal video equipment is not only changing television news but also is affecting human behavior.

“And I think that’s a good thing,” the TV journalist said during a visit to Tampa on Monday.

“If people know they are on camera, then they might think twice about doing something that will get them in trouble,” he said.

“I’m all for it. I think every street should have a camera,” he said before taping his syndicated news program, “Geraldo at Large,” from a studio at Tampa PBS affiliate WEDU, Channel 3.

On a February ratings sweeps road trip to major TV markets, Rivera combined business with a family visit this past weekend.

Rivera, 62, wife Erica, 31, and their 6-month-old daughter, Solita Liliana, also stopped off to visit his 85-year-old mother, Lillian, in Sarasota.

His other children - four from previous marriages - were there, too.

Rivera’s “At Large” series, a product of Fox News, airs at 7 p.m. Monday through Friday on Fox-owned WTVT, Channel 13 in Tampa.

WTVT was unavailable on Monday, so Rivera’s crew rented a studio at WEDU. (Fox’s Greta Van Susteren also uses WEDU for her “On the Record” series when she is staying at her Clearwater getaway home.)

Rivera’s lead story Monday was based on a video that shows guards beating a teenager at a Panama City, Fla., boot camp for juvenile delinquents.

The boy, Martin Lee Anderson, died in January after the incident, but the Bay County medical examiner ruled his death was “natural,” caused by complications from a sickle cell trait.

“At least he didn’t rule that he died of acne,” said Rivera. “We have some serious questions about the relationship between the medical examiner and the county sheriff.”

A videotape that allegedly shows guards beating Anderson was made public in response to a lawsuit brought by The Miami Herald and CNN.

Rivera said “almost everything that happens now is caught on camera.”

“From cell phones to cameras mounted on police cars to home movie cameras, we’re getting stories that wouldn’t have been reported before,” he added.

The cameras are still catching enough questionable actions to provide the nation’s news media with sensational stories.

Crime is a big part of “At Large” content. “Half of our stories are about crimes,” Rivera said, noting that Florida has been a major source of crime news.

A second story on Monday by “At Large” reporter Phil Keating involved questions about the death of a 71-year-old Sarasota man, Murray Cohen, in 2003. Authorities ruled that he died of “natural causes,” but Cohen’s son says his father was murdered.

“At Large” also tackles some of the major breaking news stories of the day as well as some lighter human interest stories.

35-Year Media CareerRivera, who has been a part of the national news media for 35 years, took on “At Large” in October. The series replaced the canceled “A Current Affair.”

“It’s been successful, so we’ve been renewed for the 2006-2007 season,” he said. “And we’re reaching more of the country.”

His TV career began in 1970 when he was a lawyer representing a New York Puerto Rican activist group. A news director at the ABC station was so impressed by the way Rivera conducted himself in interviews that he hired Rivera to cover the Latin community.

Rivera went on to work for ABC News, including eight years on “20/20” as an award-winning investigative reporter.

Butt Of JokesIn 1986, he hosted a prime time special, “The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vault,” which involved the live opening of a vault found beneath the abandoned Lexington Hotel in Chicago.

There were rumors the infamous gangster had stashed away millions, but after a crew blasted away a 7,000-pound concrete wall, all that was found were a few empty gin bottles.

That incident made Rivera the butt of a lot of jokes and for a while was a defining moment in his career.

But he pressed on and launched a syndicated talk show that ran for 11 years. He then returned to TV news, working first for NBC and then for Fox News Channel. He still does a “Friday With Geraldo” segment on Fox’s “Bill O’Reilly Show.”

When he was reporting for Fox News as a war correspondent, he made nine trips to Iraq.

“I won’t go back unless there is a compelling reason,” he said.

Rivera has always said that he has approached every story with passion, and he still has a lot of fight and passion left.