Media outlets paying for information in Jaycee Lee Dugard kidnapping case

At week’s end, the Antioch street where Jaycee Lee Dugard lived after she was allegedly kidnapped as a child 18 years ago by Phillip and Nancy Garrido was swarming with media. Satellite trucks parked in driveways, and cameramen and photographers tromped on lawns and knocked on doors up and down Walnut Avenue.

Neighbor Damon Robinson was in his backyard, talking with reporters across a chain-link fence, while another group lined up in the side yard, behind a clothes line, waiting to interview him.

Robinson eventually spoke with reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and The Times about the years he’d lived next door to the Garridos and about the time that his former girlfriend, Erika Pratt, had called 911 to tell authorities about her suspicions that something was seriously amiss in the gray cinder-block house.

Suddenly, a British reporter pushed to the front. He told Robinson that he worked for a media outlet in London and his deadline was fast approaching. He offered to write a check for $2,000 on the spot if Robinson would stop talking to other reporters and give him "an exclusive." Robinson complied.

In the days since, locals who knew the Garridos said they have repeatedly been approached by reporters -- American and foreign, print and television -- who have offered thousands of dollars for information and photographs of the Garridos, Dugard, now 29, and the two daughters she bore Phillip Garrido, ages 15 and 11.

The money can be tempting for some who live in an area pummeled by the foreclosure crisis and the sagging economy.

Manuel Garrido, who lives in nearby Brentwood in Northern California, at first spoke freely with reporters about his son’s past. But now he says he wants to be paid. "No more free information," said Garrido, 88. "Other people are getting paid.”

The elder Garrido said he had received $2,000 from one news outlet for an exclusive interview. "From now on, it’s going to be more than $2,000," he said. "You’re making big stories, and you are getting paid for it. Here I am suffering, so I should get some money out of it."

He said reporters have been hounding him ever since the story broke last Thursday about his son allegedly kidnapping Dugard from her South Lake Tahoe neighborhood when she was 11 years old and holding her for 18 years. Phillip Garrido, 58, and his wife, Nancy, 54, were arrested and charged with 29 criminal counts in the case.

Concord resident Marc Lister, who knew Phillip Garrido and had some of his promotional business materials, said he sold one of Garrido’s own business cards, featuring a photo of Dugard, to a media outlet for $10,000.

Lister said he does not consider the money a payout. He said his mother, a retired teacher who died in 2000, housed battered women for years at her Walnut Creek home, and he plans to use the money to help the cause.

Lister, a retired insurance company worker who described himself as a "devout Christian," said he does not feel guilty about charging the news media for information, because it would benefit the less fortunate.

"I’ve got morals," he said. "This would make my mom proud."

Cheyvonne Molino, 35, who runs an auto wrecking yard with her husband, said Phillip Garrido printed their business cards and often stopped by with his daughters. After his arrest, Molino said reporters hacked into her Facebook page and stole photos she had posted of Garrido’s daughters, who had attended a party for her daughter’s 16th birthday on Aug. 15.

Now reporters are tying up her phone lines and filing in to her office to look for more photos.

On Monday afternoon, a television crew stopped by her office with an offer to pay for information. Despite rumors to the contrary, she declined.

"This is people’s lives," Molino said. "As much as I need to pay my bills, I can’t be greedy. I’m a good Christian woman. You’re not supposed to sell this."

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Maria L. LaGanga in Antioch and My-Thuan Tran in Los Angeles

Photo: Journalists and news media gather outside the home of Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy Garrido on Walnut Avenue in Antioch, Calif., last week. Credit: Arleen Ng / EPA

Comments

[eve]

None of these people should receive any money. Most if not all of them are complicit in this in some way. They either knew he was a danger and did nothing preferring to believe, like his family members that it was LSD use in his youth or else knew there were children at a sex offenders house and did nothing or saw an obviously disturbed man who had supposedly three daughters.

[Carol]

The very end of journalism. What kind of valid information can be got for money, much less with such rapidity. No contemplation, no evaluation, just accept as fact the first thing a paid neighbor says.

[chad]

I noticed the article doesn't state The Times' policy on paying for interviews. Could someone at The Times share that with us?

[Don't be stupid]

Why not?
Makes me wonder how much these reporters paid other reporters to tell them that they had to pay for interviews. It's a ponzi scheme of reporting. I blame the president of course.

[EGoritz]

Bless you, Cheyvonne, for not wanting to profit from someone's tragedy. The people who are receiving payoffs from news media will probably over-exaggerate anything they tell the reporters, and so again, our trust in the media will be diminished. If anyone should receive money, it is Jaycee Dugard, and those funds should be set up in a trust fund.

[some dude]

It is certainly an unsavory practice to charge journalist for money, but they are only REQUIRED to talk to the police during the investigation. Anything other than that is really fair game. Like I said, unsavory, but not illegal or horribly improper.

[Ginger]

Yellow Journalism is alive and well, somewhere William R. Hearst is laughing, while Edward R. Murrow, David Brinkley & Walter Cronkite are spinning in their graves. Real journalists do not pay for news, they dig out the truth and report it objectively. And yeah L.A.Times, what is your policy on paying for "stories/sources"?

[Don]

The media trying to make money on a distrubing story. Nothing new here. This story is sad that I say hang that couple, and let the victims heal.

[Hubert Schmitter]

A lot of people knew about the two little girls and Jaycee. WHY was the parole officer the last person to learn about them???

The man was ON PAROLE. He was suppose to have given up a lot of his rights when he was convicted. This parole system is not working PERIOD!!!

[mmm66]

There are no journalist left. All of the outlets have a POSITION on a subject and now they are buying information Congress needs to establish some guidelines as to whbat constitutes the press they regulate everything else. Then those that scream about their freedom will have to meet a standard. They certainly won't police themselves.

[MiLa504]

Garrido was released 39 years early?? and was not AGRESSIVELY monitored by his PO and Local LE?? Garrido drove 150 miles to kidnap Jaycee with a GPS on his ankle?

He registered as a Violent Sex Offender with Local Law Enforcement and officers responding to his name/address weren't aware of his Violent Offender Status? Local Law Enforcement or PO weren't talking with his neighbors during any contact with him to make sure this Registered Violent Sex Offender was not offending or behaving inappropriately with children or other women in the neighborhood?

A lot of good manditory Sex Offender Registration with the local Parole Board and Local Law Enforcement is doing in a file at Police Headquarters.

Parole for Violent Sex Offenders requires Regular Random home searches and no one knew he was attempting to build hidden structures in his yard? 18 years and they weren't aware the structures existed? Why Not?? Why bother with Registering as a Violent Sex Offender if this is the outcome?

The PO and Local Law Enforcement should have been talking with neighbors. Some of the neighbors did call LE, but their complaints were not fully followed up, even when they disclosed the Violent Sex Offender status to LE
instead of the other way around! LE didn't even step inside Garrido's house, when he is a registered sex offender with Local LE.

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE UNDISCLOSED PAROLE VIOLATION IN 1993?? I HOPE THEY PAYOFF A CLERK AT THE PO's OFFICE AND PRINT THAT STORY!

[Calvin T. Velander]

Journalism is dead, yet I don't know what's worse. Paying for the information in order to "make new" vice simply reporting it, or as the elder Garridos says:

"From now on, it’s going to be more than $2,000," "You’re making big stories, and you are getting paid for it. Here I am suffering, so I should get some money out of it."

His son sure didn't fall far from the tree!

[Tim Adams]

Let's begin with this question:

To what extent is the coverage received by this story commensurate with the story's newsworthiness?

I think that only a fraction, a minute fraction, of the coverage is warranted. The rest is pure sensationalism: feeding the ugliest side of the public's hunger for the sensational, bringing readers to advertisers at all costs, and so on.

In that case -- if it's really a perezhilton or a tmz story masquerading as a news story -- doesn't anything go, so to speak? Why should there be any rules? Why shouldn't the neighbors just make up thumping lies to be dispensed for compensation to pandering reporters?

I'm sorry, but I can't help hoping that the neighbors hire agents to ask for as much as they can possibly get. That might make such "news" less attractive to media outlets in the future. Probably not, but I can hope.

[Leslie]

The implications that this has for journalism is just huge. So all credibility for non-tabloid and real news journalists just goes straight out the window. Disgusting and despicable.

[JohnRJ08]

The media is sickening. If a network has to pay for an interview, it's not a story that is worth telling.

[Mike]

Ive done over a hundred doses of LSD 25 years ago following Grateful Dead around, and since then raised a family of three, sent them to college, ran my own business, never had a brush with the law, and wouldn't ever consider doing something so disgusting and heinous as this man did to this poor little girl. Blaming the drugs is not taking responsibility for ones own actions. Millions of people have used LSD and never committed these kind of despicable crimes. Anyone who blames a drug they took is not taking responsibility for their own actions. This liberal Democrat says death penalty for both this man and his wife. I would gladly stick the needles in his arm and push the plungers if given the chance.

[Leslie]

great point Chad, I would love to see The times' policy, as well-LA?

[Nice]

Sounds great, I hope they charge these vultures as much money as they can get. What can you say about a media that goes into a frenzy over a single missing girl returning alive while remaining absolutely silent on victims of U.S. and Taliban aggression towards children. Orphaned child amputees are literally being bought and sold like cattle in Afghanistan, that's not newsworthy though, is it?

The main reason someone would want to delve into the personal lives of kidnap victims like this is that the are morons.

The neighboors aren't the bad guy here, the kidnapper is the bad guy, the media is the bad guy, and their customers, people reading this tripe, are the bad guys.

BTW, LSD is about the most unsexual drug out their, if you want to associate a drug with sex crimes, look no further than your precious alcohol America, you retarded drunks.

[james]

Yeah, thats the kind of "devout christian" that makes me want to outlaw religion.

[nObama]

Congress passing more laws is DEFINETLY not the answer. Journalist need to be accountable for the biased crap they spew. The internet USED to be the place for unbiased news, but those days are long gone.

[Pablo]

It's ironic how so many people criticize these folks - some of whom live on the margins of life - for accepting money, yet they have no qualms about people who make seven- and eight-figure salaries selling advertising space and pretending to be news reporters.

[Don]

That guy was not a christian. Yeah Jesus told people to kidnap kids. James I think your bigot statemates are scary.

[LA Native]

It is no longer journalism nor is it credible information when the media starts paying for it. what ever happened to ethics and morals in our country??

[lagirl]

Before you bless Cheyvonne, she was on Anderson Cooper last night talking about how things weren't all bad for these young girls - AC had to stop her 5 minutes into it as she seemed to almost defend this monster. She's enjoying her spotlight regardless.

[bkny]

My opinion is that the paparazzi, the media, the reporters, make millions on exploiting people and their stories. So the little guy who supplies them with information that they can use should also be paid. If the reporter and the publication he/she works for is printing the story for free to inform the public out of civic duty then they should not be charged for the info. But we all know that is not the case. Just like any business pays for supplies, so they should pay for the supply of information.

[lagirl]

Why doesn't piece say who paid besides a British paper? Did the Times? We have every right to know who is paying so we can judge what we see and read on that merit.

This act isn't illegal but it is highly unethical and every sound media outlet knows this.

p.s. Garrido Senior sounds like a gem. Surprising that Junior came up to be such a stellar citizen.

[NV]

outrageous to ask/offer $2,000 for your story !?
how about the moral values of those entites that have filled up this webpage with advertisements ???

[Tabeth]

Dear Friends in the USA,

how can we catch Bin LAden in Afganistan or Pakistan if we can't find criminals like these for 18 years within our own house???

Tahnk you

[thecanimalshusband]

What about the children?

[NinaK]

So, the perpetrator's father wants to get paid for giving information about his son. Wow, what a greedy, selfish old man. The son is probably the way he is because of his father's treatment growing up. Ultimately the father is no better than the son as far as principles go. The reporters are paying "informers" for what? Some people will readily make up things to get money. This is a very tragic event and reporters should exercise restraint!!

[The Music Elitist]

The news media are scum. I have no issue with people taking money from them in exchange for information.

[concerned]

If these young girls were visiting this store with their Father, didn't anyone ask why they weren't going to school? They went to a Birthday party with other children didn't anyone wonder what was going on? Did they seem OK?

[Kevin]

Why shouldn't they be paid? The news wants information, they have it. They want money, and the news companies have it. Seems like a pretty straight forward deal to me.

[bobby]

doesn't surprise me that it was a journalist from UK that first offered money for an interview.

[Merry]

I saw the link to youtube with the heading "Garrido Girls Are Normal" THESE CHILDREN ARE NOT GARRIDO'S --- these children are Dugard children. Just wait--some POS attorney will try and capitalize on their biological link to the man who begat them. (I cannot say "fathered" them!) May he rot along with that scumbag wife of his. There is no hell hot enough for these animals.

[Eric]

Please note that the media uses these stories to sell eyeballs to advertisers. The media that asks someone for an interview and uses their time, possibly taking their quotes out of context (has happened to me) is not going me any favors - all so the media can make a profit off the freely provided information and time of others.

I no longer see a big problem in compensating people for what is fundamentally their own story, not the media.s

[HK]

I think this is just like the Princess Diana incident. LA Times can distance themselves from those who are paying, but still can talk about the incident. Even better, they can be on higher moral ground, and diss other media outlets. Sounds snooty and a case of sour grape at the same time. A way to go, LA Times!

[Joe Shea]

Whenever someone is tangential to a sensational crime, they are subject to enormous stress and a lot of time-consuming attention despite their being tangential to it, i.e.. having no role in its commission. Who repays them for this stress, which is typically generated by the demands of the commercial media that hope to boost tv and radio ratings numbers read by their advertisers, and newspapers that also hope to boost circulation and advertising? These organizations in turn dramatize if not sensationalize crimes, which creates a further human and financial cost - if only for more burglar alarms, more police, more fences, and more usually groundless fear for one's well-being (studies say there's a strong correlation between tv-watching and fear of going outside one's home). There is nothing in this situation which mitigates against payment for those who provide useful information that does not impinge on investigations or offend normal people due to depictions of sexuality, nor represent an undue invasion of privacy. I am glad to see people who are having trouble paying their bills and keeping their homes get a few more cents in their pockets for sharing innocuous observations. information and photographs and videos they own or have been given or have made. Yet media's obligation to ensure that payments have not diminished the quality of the information provided is an essential one, and such decision-making needs to be self-policed through an organization's editors, ombusdmen and the like.

[KAC]

I agree with you James, what kind of "devout Christian" sells a card with a picture of the completely innocent victim in order to continue the cause for battered women. Uh...hypocrisy? All in the name of religion...how mortifying.

[Wendy Dial]

Both kidnappings were in S. Lake Tahoe. Wasn't Garrido a prime suspect when the second one happened?

[Brian Oliver]

Stories of the case may make for compelling news events, however, if these news organizations can afford to pay $2,000 for an interviews, then the executives at these agencies are certainly well off enough to donate thousands (if not tens of thousands) to the trust fund set up to help Jaycee, her daughters and her family. As a follow up story, I would like to see the news header "ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN and others donate $250,00 to the Jaycee Dugan Trust Fund".

[HOMERUN]

C'mon folks...republicans use torture--water boarding to get information---or get what they want to hear...what else are you going to get from torture...so paying for exclusive information is harmless or do you want to use torture to get information you want to hear ?

[Caroline]

One person who has spoken far too much is the former stepfather. (After all, the biological mother and this man have separated.) It is not his purview. If anyone should speak, it is the mother, and she seems to have chosen not to. The fewer comments that are made the better it will be for all the victims.

[JohnRJ08]

When people know that money is being paid for "interviews" there is a natural tendency to spice up the details and embellish, if not worse. One sensational interview could lead to others, so the incentive to 'over deliver' is plain as day. But the networks don't care about that. In fact, they probably hope for a sensationalized interview that breeds some controversy. That ads up to ratings. When television journalism became a profit center for networks, everything changed. And not for the best. News departments should NOT be subject to the pressures of the ratings game. That has led to a catastrophic deterioration of the quality of journalism across the board.

[KD]

The media has been behaving unethically for years--nothing new. One of the most egregious and timely examples of this is their treatment of Mr. Jackson. From Wikipedia.com:

"Two tabloid television shows accepted confidential leaked documents from the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services for $20,000.[9] A number of Jackson's former employees—most of whom had worked at his ranch—sold stories to the tabloids of alleged prior sexual misconduct on Jackson's part, instead of reporting their claims to police. One couple initially asked for $100,000 claiming that Jackson sexually caressed Macaulay Culkin. They were prepared to expand upon this allegation for a fee of $500,000, whereby they would allege that Jackson put his hands down Culkin's pants. When the story broke, Culkin strongly denied the allegation, and did so again in court.[30] A former security guard made various allegations about Jackson, saying he was fired because he "knew too much",[32] and alleged that he was ordered by Jackson to destroy a photo of a naked boy. Instead of reporting this to police, Hard Copy accepted the story in return for $150,000.[32] Afterwards, Jackson's maid, Branca Francia, alleged that she "quit in disgust" after seeing Jackson in a shower with a child, but did not inform the police. It later emerged that Francia was actually fired in 1991, but nevertheless sold her story to Hard Copy for $20,000.[32]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_child_sexual_abuse_accusations_against_Michael_Jackson

[Sancho]

About 98% of you all would stand in line to have a check for two grand written out to you for an interview about something.

As my dear ole dad used to say...Quit your whining!

[joe]

Garrido was sentenced to 50 YEARS for the first rape/kidnap case. He was released after 10 years. When the head of the parole system was asked on Larry King (another loser) why, the jerk danced around the answer and said that Garrido had served his time. How does 50 YEARS COMMUTE TO 10 YEARS FOR THIS TYPE OF HEINOUS CRIME?????? This state has NO SYSTEM!!! It's a total joke to give anyone the death penalty in California. They end up sitting there laughing at us while we pay for them to get the protection death row provides from the general population. Throw them all into G.P and let them all kill each other. And the washed 'actor' we have for a governor wants to release 1,000's !!! California is a JOKE!!

[L.A. Times Administrator]

Hi chad,

Per our ethics guidelines, The Times does not pay sources for information.

If you'd like more information on our ethics guidelines, they're available for you to read here:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2007/07/los-angeles-tim.html

Hope this clears up any confusion; thanks for commenting!

[nick]

For this newspaper, which now so prominently fills it blank webpage space with a plethora of advertisements for penis size enhancement products, to masquerade as holier-than-thou, compared to the Londan Daily Mail or the New York Post is completely and utterly laughable.

News reporting is a business - it always has been. Papers and websites exist to sell advertising,- not as a public service.
NBC pays Matt Lauer, a so-called journalist, $13 Million a year to attract viewers and increase ratings for only one reason - to sell advertising.
CNN and MSNBC and FOX pay all those know-it-all pundits and "experts" for their opinions for only one reason - to sell more advertising.

If some poor lower middle class working or unemployed person can get $2000 for telling the same story to one media outlet before the others, why shouldn't they take advantage of the opportunity ???

Of course we hope that the information is true and correct, but THAT is the journalist's job to confirm, after all.

Everybody in the news BUSINESS is making money off the story, some far more than others.

How can the LA Times or The New York Times, or any other self-described "professional" organization simultaneously report the "unethical" behavior, while using the very subject to heighten their own reports ??

All of the media outlets reside on the very same slippery slope - some are just more honest about it than others.

TMZ and others are not the devil - they just don't waste time claiming to be God.

[Eileen Appleget]

The father of this Psychopath is no better than his son. The apple does not fall far from the tree. What respectful parent would even talk about their child's past to the media, feeding the frenzi, and then demanding money to do so! Shame on YOU! This beast is still your son. No wonder he's so messed up!

[ValenciaMom]

I now suspect, if I look up the word "opportunist" in the dictionary, I will see a picture of Manuel Garrido, Phillip Garrido's father. Disgusting!

The fact that some in the media are paying money for these interviews and juicy tidbits, which is appallingly unethical, does not justify ANYONE, no matter how unfortunate their circumstance, from making money from such a sad, tragic situation. One poster here felt that these folks deserved their compensation due the stress that they were under by being "tangential" to the crime. I'm sorry but what a load of codswallop. Those people are not the victims - Jaycee and her daughters are.

[Steve S.]

Someone help me. A story written by a news media known for exploiting the misery of victims throughout the southland to sell advertising, "exposing" citizens and the reporter's competition for engaging in an exchange of money for information?

Those reporters at the scene should be lucky they didn't get sprayed down with water as they trample on private property.

[Tara]

Garrido's own father, Manuel, says he "suffered" and now wants to sell his statements? Maybe that's where his son first learned about 'morality'--at his father's knee. scum.

[Ashley]

This is so annoying how people know that the things Garrido was bad. They shouldn;t be taking any money. The reporters are also very annoying but i underdstand its their job. Well its a good thing they found Jaycee and her girls. I just wsh that the years that follow she can recover

[VforVendetta]

I guess history keeps repeating and we will continue to be animals as we all are. City of Blacksburg, Virginia had an economic tsunami when the Virginia Tech shooting happened and now its the turn of Antioch, CA.

What a world, What a society and Amazing Humans! Alas we never learn; Goodness we all are animals!

[Pollynkorect]

It is no more "immoral" for people to take money for interviews than it is for media to accept advertising revenues. Journalism "news" is now little more than a flimsy excuse on which to drape paid advertisement. The powerful private citizens who own and advertize in media outlets have been dictating and censoring our news for decades -- highlighting & concealing news to promote their political agenda. "Media" is just an extension of the corrupt, dishonest and manipulative people who own it They let us know only what they want us to know, and conceal that which they don't want us to know. I say: More power to poor people for taking money for interviews!!

[John Homar]

People are too damn greedy. I think that some of these people are making some things up to get money and some are telling the truth. I'm sure that Robinson is telling the truth. I surprising what people do. What I really want to know is how did she escape from her kidnapper, and why didn't she yell for help when her kidnapper was away from the house. This is a very curious case.

[tucanofulano]

The writer of the piece may be naive, or just inexperienced.
Payment for information and/or permission to use photo images or take videos, etc. is common practice , is the norm, as it always has been for centuries. I wouldn't trust a skinny cook, and I certainly wouldn't believe a story offered freely and often.

[Blank]

When a person suffers a tragedy, his or her true selves, their real essence comes out. Most people are eager to share their tragic tales, and often feel more comfortable unleashing their anguish to strangers. Perhaps victims would ask for money if they sense desperation and insincerity from reporters. If a mob mentality, media in this case, descended upon an individual and stood in line for this person’s story, the humanity of the witness could be sucked out. They could become opportunistic. Could be compared to those who normally would never steal, but might loot a stereo or two during a riot. Editors should understand his phenomenon and not join in on the frenzy, but let reporters find an unusual, unique angle and go with it.

[Mr. Hearst]

What's the problem with accepting money or paying it? You want the scoops, get out the wallet.

[Avi]

western society leaving very lonely by the name of privacy.
try to leave different .know your neighborhood for the good and for the bad.you find live much more secure and happy.

[LA Expat]

Nothing is ever mentioned about Garrido's wife yet. Hasn't anyone done any background research on her? It would really interest me.

[K]

There is a new facebook group for people who want to request that the media leave these victims alone.

Go to facebook and do a search for

Jaycee Dugard leave her alone

[Timber]

Well, this story is on one level real news, but past a certain point is nothing but a media feeding frenzy. Don't blame the neighbors. They are in fact putting up with a lot right now, as that picture attests, and very little of it is strictly speaking in the public interest.

[jack]

I have discovered something about the the property of Phillip and Nancy Garrido. Does anyone want to buy it?

[AntiochRoger]

You know you people who sold Jaycee Dugard's picture or the picture of the two girls and released the name of the girls are on the same level as Phillup Garriedo, you are all sick, your capitolizing on one of the most sickest crimes ever in Americian history, he has distroyed the lives of a entire family,you are taking away from a chance of a normal live for that family. So cash them checks and let God deal with all of you, If you were half way decent, you would donate that money back to the Jaycee Dugard trust fund. If not look your self in the mirrior and and tell your self how sick Phillup Garrido is.

For you that dont know the Jaycee Dugard Trust fund address is c/o Viewtech, P O Box 596, Atwood, CA 92811

[rushmore]

Way to get the story behind the story. You make other journalists look lazy.

[anon]

Why didn't you mention the journalists (or media outlets) who paid for the stories? The media keeps bringing up the names and children of the victim...

[alpierce]

It just makes me think there is something fishy about the whole affair when I sense anyone is charging for interviews. Dugard has a press representative. The Aunt was on CNN just now and they said the family hired a pr rep. Someone in that family is looking to get paid off big time for this. I wouldn't believe anything reported about this if there is cash involved.

[carlosbrewer]

If anyone has had any luck with any of these companies, could you please post it for the ones that cannot find one to work with you. We've almost lost once and just got a second chance that want last long so I need to get something done now, so if anyone knows the right number to call, i am sure a lot of people that hasn't found them would appreciate it but check out http://www.obamamortgagerelief.org/.