“The press has no respect for its own profession, there is no sense of journalism…They have no respect for the country,” Fladell said. “They are self-serving, incompetent journalists that don’t have–”
It was at this point that Shatzman stood up and shouted: “I totally disagree! I’m a member of the press. I’m not going to sit and listen to this crap! I’m leaving.”
“If you think that’s great, there’s not going to be here to cover anything. You won’t have a godda** bit of coverage!” the reporter added.
“What he’s saying is true!” a member of the audience hollered.
Before finally leaving for good, Shatzman advised the audience to ignore what Fladell was saying because he is “full of you know what.”
Fladell, sometimes referred to as the “Prince of Palm Beach,” did not get flustered, using the disruption to argue that some members of the press have no interest in having a debate or cross-examining differing viewpoints. Fladell later talked about the hostility directed at the Tea Party.