Editorial: Tabloid television told to take a hike

Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998 | 10:57 a.m.

The search and rescue team's discovery of the teenager was extraordinary enough. But almost equally amazing is that members of the rescue team have agreed to (ital) decline (end ital) any interviews with tabloid television shows. The search and rescue team, which was started 47 years ago and undertakes missions across the West, has been deluged by interview requests.

"I'm looking forward to it all dying down, but now we're starting to get calls from all the talk shows, 'Leeza,' 'Hard Copy,' 'Inside Edition.' But we're turning those things down. It's not dignified," Randy Katai, one of the 25 members of the all-volunteer rescue team, told a reporter. Anyone reading the Associated Press story certainly had reason to do a double take; it seems there is an endless list of people looking to benefit from someone else's misfortune.

It's refreshing to see individuals willing to forego interviews with tabloid television shows, which often pay individuals for their stories. For the members of the rescue team, basking in the limelight isn't desired, they apparently get enough satisfaction knowing they've helped someone in jeopardy.