TV medical correspondent charged with solicitation of minor

[Steve Timko]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Prosecutors say Dr. Bruce Hensel, former medical correspondent for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, has been arrested on suspicion of contacting a 9-year-old girl with intent to commit sexual acts.

The district attorney’s office said Wednesday that the 71-year-old used a messaging app to request suggestive photos from the daughter of an acquaintance.

An attorney for Hensel could not be located. Hensel did not speak to reporters after being released Wednesday afternoon on $5,000 bail.

Investigators with the Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at Hensel's Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 16.

For three decades Hensel was the chief health, medical and science editor and correspondent for KNBC. He won multiple Emmys.

He’s a practicing physician who is board certified in two specialties, internal medicine and emergency medicine.

[Tom Wolper]

It's a horrific story and I don't want to make light of it but what the hell is that last sentence doing in the article?

[Steve Timko]

On Wed, Nov 13, 2019 at 9:04 PM Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:

 

He’s a practicing physician who is board certified in two specialties, internal medicine and emergency medicine.

It's a horrific story and I don't want to make light of it but what the hell is that last sentence doing in the article?

Oh! Oh!

:::::waves hand eagerly:::::

I know! Ask me.

Because the term doctor gets bandied about routinely. Dr. Phil, for instance, is not a physician. He has a doctor's degree in psychology but isn't even a licensed psychologist.

 So this is AP doing the responsible thing and saying, yes, he is a physician and these are the areas in which he practices.

[Tom Wolper]

On Thu, Nov 14, 2019 at 1:18 AM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

Because the term doctor gets bandied about routinely. Dr. Phil, for instance, is not a physician. He has a doctor's degree in psychology but isn't even a licensed psychologist.

 So this is AP doing the responsible thing and saying, yes, he is a physician and these are the areas in which he practices.

So they should say where his practice is. That lets the reader know he's an active physician. Mentioning his board certifications is irrelevant.