<Begin Segment 17>

AI: I wonder if I could ask you: what do you think about the media coverage more recently? Now this is November, almost two months later, and there has been some shifts in the media coverage.

FY: You know, I, believe it or not, for the past several weeks, I stopped reading, stopped watching the media. It just, it's not healthy for myself, selfishly looking at -- it's just -- I just stopped. I was tired of looking at this kind of a threatening headlines and this repeated hate that's shown on the, or apprehension that's shown on the media. I just -- and I feel better not watching it. And it sounds like I'm running away, but no, I'm familiar with the media. I know what they do, and I'm sick of it. If there's any law to be, legislation to be passed, certainly the media should be controlled so that it -- they don't exploit the public by creating, coming out with sensationalism and, and this is the media that's -- I point my finger up at, and I say it's wrong, what they're doing.

AI: You mentioned just now the legislation. Of course, we have seen some changes in legislation since September 11th, also. Would you care to comment on that?

FY: I'm, unfortunately, I'm not that familiar, but I'd like to go back again at the early days of television, at least in Seattle, between Channel 4, 5, and 7, there was a kind of a common understanding among the people in the news media that they don't exploit tragedy. Now we find a situation where this is all we have. We have, we have the tabloid format right in television now, going for pure sensationalism. Anything that would incite the people to view it. And this is sick. Not good.

AI: If you could envision a change in the media for the positive --

FY: Oh, well...

AI: Could you foresee that?

FY: No, it's -- no, I can't. No, I... sorry. I think we, we would get into another chapter of... [laughs]

AI: Is there anything else that you'd care to comment on?

FY: Well, like I say, the tape is running short. I enjoyed this conversation. I'd like to see this type of thing continue. What it will do to the present society, I don't know. But at the same time, this type of documentation, I think, will certainly be of interest to people in the future. It will portray the life of what we have today. And maybe they can benefit from it.

AI: Thank you, Frank.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2001 Densho. All Rights Reserved.