Fargo News Crew Assaulted by Man with Screwdriver

A Valley News Live reporter and a photographer were attacked while setting up a live shot in Fargo.

A reporter and a photographer for Valley News Live were attacked while they were setting up for a live shot on Monday (May 3) night. The reporter, Nachai Taylor, said that she and photographer, Michael Downs, were approached by a man who had a screwdriver in his hand when he attacked. If you watch the video of the incident, you can see that the man stabbed at the camera with his screwdriver.

According to Valley News Live, Taylor and Downs were getting ready for the live shot, on a public sidewalk, when the man drove up to the pair, stopped on the curb, and came after them. It is reported that the man owns the building that was being recorded for a story. He is being pressured by the city to demolish the building due to over $200,000-worth of fire damage. Get the full story here.

Why do people attack the messengers?

As someone whose job entails talking about happenings in the community, I can't understand why people feel comfortable attacking (physically or verbally) reporters, photographers, and other people in the media. Whether the public likes it or not, the news is news and someone will report it. That does not give someone the right to treat individuals in the media terribly.

Disliking someone in the media is not grounds to attack the person. That media person is just doing their job, like every other hardworking American.