Update on 5/20/2016: The following article talks about technical problems with the broadcast. Today, the New York Times posted a version without technical problems. You can see it here: https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/videos/10150812143494999/
The executive producer of the New York Times for Facebook Live said “one of the highest levels of engagement yet in both comments and emoticons.”
May 11th, I had the distinct pleasure of being part of a new live journalism series, called “The Whistleblowers“, led by Gretchen Morgenson, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. It was exciting to be part of this new technology and to be the very first whistleblower to be profiled.
Of course, being first has advantages and disadvantages. The interview itself went well, the technology did not. It was out of synch and consequently watching it was painful, with many viewers saying they had to close their eyes. At the end of the interview the NYT producer over Facebook Live, Louise Story, posted that there were significant technical issues. That the NY Times is at the mercy of Facebook to get it fixed is ironic.
Still, with hardly any audio and out of synch issues, the good news is by the end of the interview 37,000 people were watching, over 695 comments were made during the interview and 534 shares resulted in 1733 likes. Considering how bad the technology was, it was great that people cared enough about the topic to get involved. You can watch this inaugural episode of The Whistleblowers by clicking here.
Ironically, because of the nature of my comments directed to the failures of the Department of Justice, The SEC, Citi and our government, some viewers commented that it was a conspiracy to keep viewers from watching and commenting. I doubt it… but it still it makes one wonder!
I talked about what had occurred at Citi during my watch, my reporting on this in an attempt to stop the fraudulent representations given mortgage backed securities. I mentioned my testimony to the SEC, giving them 1,000 pages of evidence which they buried, and how further they refused to respond to multiple requests under the Freedom of Information Act to release the documents, saying the testimony was “confidential” and “trade secrets,” even though the fraudulent representations given to the purchasers of the mortgage backed securities had been printed off the Internet.
I mentioned the Congressional Commission (FCIC) forcing me to change my testimony, that the Department of Justice in spite of their many public promises to do so, have still not held any of the guilty parties accountable. I also told viewers that the government had full knowledge of the scope of Citi fraud and yet still bailed them out! And I referenced that Citi’s very profitable business model paid significant incentive compensation to all involved which attributed to the greed that caused the decision makers to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to my consistent warnings.
And I introduced Bank Whistleblowers United and the platform of actions which we submitted to presidential candidates which any incoming or present president could act on to restore the rule of law to banking.
And, I expressed hope for the future. My hope for the future has grown, in spite of the technical failings of this platform, that so many would tune in and get involved is hopeful and may mean Americans are starting to get angry and voice their concerns. As a result, newly elected officials might pay more attention to their constituents, and do what’s right and put accountabilities in place.
One can only hope…
Update on 5/20/2016: This article talks about technical problems with the broadcast. Today, the New York Times posted a version without technical problems. You can see it here: https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/videos/10150812143494999/
Related Articles
The DOJ Lemon Award – Go Directly to Jail!
Bank Whistleblowers United D.C. Press Conference Hits a Home Run!
Bank Whistleblowers United… Restoring the Rule of Law to Banking
Department of Justice – Encouraging Whistle Blowing or Blowing Smoke?
Situational Ethics: Heads or Tails!
Richard Bowen is widely known as the Citigroup whistleblower. As Business Chief Underwriter for Citigroup during the housing bubble financial crisis meltdown, he repeatedly warned Citi executive management and the board about fraudulent behavior within the organization. The company certified poor mortgages as quality mortgages and sold them to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other investors.
