UPDATE 9:56 p.m. EDT: After being shown legal precedent in the Supreme Court case of Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner, a 5-4 decision by the Court in 1972, I am willing to concede that even though malls are open to the public, they can still be considered private property. However, as I wrote previously, I was not harassing anyone or recording audio without permission of my subjects. If I was turned down by a person, I would have backed off without a fight. And again, no one at the station ever thought this would be a problem when we decided on this assignment.
Even if you take this Supreme Court ruling into account, I still object to General Manager Michael Sullivan's refusal to talk to any of my bosses at WCBM about the situation and to his idea that I can't stand on a public sidewalk in front of "his" mall and ask people questions. On the contrary, this Supreme Court ruling gives me all the legal precedent I need to stand on the sidewalk in front of Towson Town Center and ask all the questions I want to ask. I also reject his idea that mall customers don't want to be asked about their opinions on certain issues. On the contrary, a great number of people love having a microphone in front of their mouth so they can express their opinions on any subject. In my experience, if you tell someone they might end up hearing their voice on the radio, they're more than eager to talk.
ORIGINAL POST 2:30 p.m. EDT: No I'm not being investigated by Eric Holder and the corrupt Department of Justice, but today I was kicked out of the Towson Town Center and off its premises for trying to conduct "man on the street" interviews with mall goers.
I'm interning this summer with AM radio station WCBM Baltimore and today for my first field assignment I was dispatched to the Towson Town Center to conduct man on the street interviews gathering the reactions and opinions of the public to the trio of scandals currently rocking the Obama Administration: the Benghazi cover up, IRS targeting of Tea Party and Conservative groups and DOJ wiretaps. After successfully interviewing three very accommodating ladies in the food court I was approached at random by a security guard who asked what I was doing. Next I was told I needed permission to talk to people in the mall from the manager's office. This didn't seem right to me and I pointed out that the mall is a public space and I was getting consent from people before recording any audio. The guard offered to take me down to talk to his bosses so we went.
After being kept waiting for 15 minutes, Michael Sullivan, the mall's general manager, finally came out to see me. I identified myself, stated my purpose and was told I couldn't be there because the mall was "private property," not a public space and that he "owned the mall." "It's like coming into my house," Sullivan told me. "I invite shoppers in to shop here but I don't invite you in to ask them questions." He next asked for the specifics of my questions and then insisted that the customers wouldn't want to be bothered by such questions.
I offered to call my bosses back at the station so that we could all talk it over and attempt to resolve the situation. He wouldn't hear of it. I asked him if I could leave the mall and conduct my interviews outside on the sidewalk. He told me I couldn't do anything anywhere on the mall's property which went "all the way to the curb," including the parking garages and the sidewalks in front of the various stores and restaurants. I then asked him where I could go if not on "his" property. He wouldn't answer.
My bosses at WCBM couldn't believe it once I got back and told them I had been kicked out. Like me they agree that the mall is a public space, even if it has an owner. If the mall truly was "like [Sullivan's] house," then I wouldn't have been able to get in to begin with. Yet I walked right in through Macy's and up to the food court without knocking on any doors, ringing any bells or passing any "no trespassing" signs. I wasn't harassing anyone nor did I break any laws. And if the customers wouldn't want to be bothered by my questions, then how come three ladies were more than willing to talk to me after I explained what I was doing? Lastly, I'd be more than willing to check any right of way maps Sullivan wanted me to, but I know his property doesn't go "all the way to the curb," especially on the side that borders Dulaney Valley Road (MD-146), a state funded and maintained throughfare. That's a public sidewalk and I could stand there if I wanted to. I just didn't want to force anything more today because Sullivan is at least twice as large as I am and could probably crush me no problem.
Despite all this, some good things came out of this experience. I still got an interview done before I was kicked out of the mall. And because I got kicked out of the mall, we have a second story to talk about here at the station in addition to the man on the street clips I gathered today. It sort of worked out. If you're going to be up, tune in from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. EDT on Friday, May 31st on AM 680 or wcbm.com where these stories will be covered at some point during the show. Should be fun as always.
Jimmy Williams
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