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Week's Letters |
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LA TV |
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OTR |
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A media critique... and then some!
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To join the OTR email reminder list, email me at BRUIN74@aol.com. |
A SHAMEFUL PIECE OF WORK
The story on KCOP-TV by Natalie Pujo started out like this "Major banks have banned some 16 million black and Hispanic customers. Some say it's all about bias. Whatever the case, there is a way around that problem now."
The point of the story was to feature a small community bank which serves those customers who the big banks no loner accept. The Reverend James Stern runs the bank, and he was one of those who ended up on the Chex System, which lists people who've bounced checks and are considered bad risks. According to the report, 90 percent of banks use the Chex System. Pujo reported that 80 percent of those people on the Chex System list are black or Hispanic, and that Stern has filed suited against the banks, claiming bias. Pujo named some of the alleged bigoted banks...Bank of America, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo. Yet NOWHERE in the story did she talk with a representative of those banks. She let Stern call them racist, but never let the viewer hear their side.
She never asked Stern if those black and Hispanics on the "bad risk" list had in fact bounced checks. She never asked him if he had any evidence that white customers who've done the same things were kept off the list. She said that Stern said a motive for the banks was to get these minorities to use expensive check cashing services, some of which are owned by big banks. But again, we never got to hear the banks' side of this.
While the point of the story may've been to highlight a man who's trying to help people who've been rejected by big banks, the story couldn't be told without explaining why this man believes those people have been rejected. But the story SHOULD not have been told without letting the banks defend themselves against a serious charge, with no hard evidence to support it. The only evidence I saw was that which bolsters the argument of those who say there is a liberal bias in the news media. Shame on KCOP and Natalie Pujo for letting this completely unbalanced story hit the air.
ACTUALLY HEARD ON L-A AIRWAVES....
You'll recall the story last week about the statue being built of Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) to honor bus drivers in New York. First I'll tell you what the writer certainly meant to say. Next I'll tell you what actually came out on the air.
"They're honoring the memory of Jackie Gleason in Manhattan."
What was written and read on the air: "They're honoring the member of Jackie Gleason in Manhattan."
Then again, maybe now we know why Alice put up with Ralph all those years.
SO THAT EXPLAINS IT
An OTRian wrote in to give me a little background on Ford CEO Jacques Nasser. He was born in Lebanon and grew up in Australia. So that explains the French first name, the Arabic last name, and the accent.
CAN SHE GET THE NAME RIGHT?
This is a little strange. KCAL'S Sandra Mitchell pronounces her first name in the standard way. But each time I've seen her do her lockout on a live shot, anchor Pat Harvey will say "thanks Sondra." Maybe Harvey has an old best friend named Sondra, who knows? But when you hear a reporter clearly pronounce their name one way, why would you consistently pronounce it another way? Unless...is it possible, the anchor isn't even listening to the reporter's live shot? Even if that was the case, it's pretty hard to miss the last five seconds when it's being tossed to you. On the other hand, if Pat Harvey worked at KNBC, and she pronounced Michelle in the standard way instead of the way MEchelle Ruiz says her name, I'd be sympathetic to that. Sure, Ruiz has a right to pronounce her name any way she likes, but this "MEchelle" stuff...it just sounds awkward to me, unless it's coming from Paul McCartney, and he's singing it.
MORE ON NAMES
Then there are the anchors who like to abbreviate the names of reporters. I noticed Rick Chambers at KCOP was really on a roll the other night. Peter became Pete, Natalie became Nat and Tony became Tone. Pretty soon, I'm afraid Hal will become Ha. It's not a big deal, but when I watch the news I expect anchors to call reporters by the names they use on their air.
THE A D L IS RIGHT
Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League has it right. It's not that Joe Lieberman should never have mentioned his religion. It's a matter of degree. Lieberman has simply overdone it. Here's a brief excerpt of the letter from the ADL to Lieberman: "we were troubled by your suggestion that, "As a people we need to reaffirm our faith and renew the dedication of our nation and ourselves to God and God's purpose" and your argument not to indulge the supposition "that morality can be maintained without religion." To even suggest that one cannot be a moral person without being a religious person is an affront to many highly ethical citizens."
THIS WEEK'S POLL QUESTIONS
I'd like to get your take on this, and see if you think Senator Lieberman has gone overboard in talking about religion while running for Vice-President. Also, I thought I'd try the reverse of last week's question for LA readers. This time, I'd like to know which station does the worst job presenting the news.
BEST SNL PERFORMER?
I'd also appreciate some emails from you to help me with a poll question for next week. I'd like to know who you think is the all time best regular performer on Saturday Night Live. There have been so many over the years, I don't want to arbitrarily pick out ten for you to chose from. So please drop me an email and give me up to your top-five favorite SNL performers. You can email me at BRUIN74@aol.com. Last week's poll results are down below.
WORST BOSS STORIES CONTINUE
I'd like to hear more stories about your worst boss of all time. I would like to make them a regular Friday feature as long as you're willing to share your stories. Remember you can name names, or not...its up to you. Just keep it accurate and therefore not libelous.
ANOTHER BIRTHDAY
Thanks to those of you who emailed me with a birthday greeting last week. Yes, last Thursday I turned 48. I went out the celebrate the weekend before. But I couldn't help but notice how uneventful this birthday was. I worked just like any other Thursday. But, it made me think about what it was like to have a birthday when you're young. You have that special feeling all day. And when you're young, you have these markers to look forward to. When you turned 11, you were only a year away from Junior High. Later you could look forward to getting closer to 16 so you could drive, 18 so you could vote and 21 so you could drink. When you're 48, the only age marker to look for is 65 for social security, and I'm not looking forward to that. You know, maybe there's something to be said for raising the retirement age to 67.
ASK OTR
Dear OTR: If euthanasia was legalized in California, do you think that might bring an end to Women 2 Women on KCBS?
Wondering
Dear Wondering: Probably not. After all abortion is already legal in California, and that hasn't helped.
INSIDE LA TV
Another main anchor bites the dust, AND, why was anchor Kelly Mack spending time in the KNBC's general manager's office? When you're finished with the main page, head over to Inside LA TV on the menu, for a very hairy story.
WASTING TAXPAYER MONEY
In California, car owners are getting another reduction in their annual license fees. You'd think the simple way to handle this would be to send a bill for what the car owner owes after the reduction. But no. Governor Gray Davis is making political hay out of this, and it is really ridiculous. The way it will work is all car owners will get their bill without the reduction. Then after paying it, they will get a refund check in the mail. The LA Times reports this refund will cost 44 million dollars to process and mail! And, the state controller's office will have to buy news computers and other equipment to handle this massive refund. Davis says the only way people realize they have been given a tax cut is if they get check in their hands. So obviously the priority isn't giving drivers a tax cut, it's make SURE they know they got a tax cut. Why there could not be a note to that effect in the original bill, I don't know. But for the cautious man that Governor Davis is known to be, this could be a good campaign issue against him in two years, especially if the economy should take a nose dive. Either way, good economic times are no reason throw money away needlessly.
LIVE HEAD-ON CRASH
I'm glad to see there was no big hubbub after KCAL showed a head-on crash live last week during a police chase. Though if anyone died in it, I wonder if the reaction would be different. As it happened, I couldn't help but notice how calm KCAL reporter/pilot Gary Lineberry was. As this speeding car runs wrong way into an innocent driver, and I can't believe what I've just seen, Lineberry calmly says "It just TC'd right there." Forget the broadcasteze violation, I couldn't believe how detached he managed to remain. Normally, KCAL has Larry Welk flying, who covers car chases like he's doing play-by-play for the Lakers. If Welk were flying that night, no doubt KCAL would've been buying a new VU meter the next day.
TOO MUCH ALLEGING
It looks like some news folk don't quite understand how to use "alleged" in news stories. Of course the point is to avoid pronouncing someone guilty of a crime before they're convicted. So if we say the "alleged killer", we really are saying the police or the DA's office are alleging this person killed someone. Yet, in a story last week, Helen Kumari of KCBS said "police say they allegedly stole a car." Well, if you say "police say they stole a car" it is redundant to also say "allegedly." While sometimes it works better to use "alleged", I think the more you can write "police say" instead, the more conversational you're going to sound.
POLL RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
| Question 1: How would you like to see the tax system change? | ||||
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votes | percent | ||
1.) Eliminate the IRS as we know it, and go to
a flat tax. |
24 | 39% | ||
2.) Eliminate the IRS as we know it, and go to
a national sales tax. |
21 | 34% | ||
3.) Fine tune the current system. |
16 | 26% | ||
4.) Undecided |
1 | 2% | ||
| Question 2: Would you support a law which sentences drug users to treatment programs instead of prison? | ||||
|
votes | percent | ||
|
1.) Yes |
47 | 73% | ||
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2.) No |
7 | 11% | ||
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3.) Undecided |
10 | 16% | ||
| Question 3: Which LA TV station does the best job with news? | ||||
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votes | percent | ||
|
1.) KCBS |
0 | 0% | ||
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2.) KNBC |
7 | 16% | ||
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3.) KTLA |
7 | 16% | ||
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4.) KABC |
17 | 40% | ||
5.) KCAL |
3 | 7% | ||
6.) KTTV |
8 | 19% | ||
7.) KCOP |
1 | 2% | ||
8.) KMEX |
0 | 0% | ||
9.) KVEA |
0 | 0% | ||
10.) KRCA |
0 | 0% | ||
It's worth noting that clear majorities favor some radical changes in the way society does its business with taxes as well as drug users. If folks at KABC-TV stuffed the ballot box this time, at least they were far more subtle than last week. I did ask for people not to vote for their own station, and I appreciate those of you who played by the rules.
WILMA AND BETTY COME TO KNBC
Last week, I complained about KNBC doing "Mayberry News".....the moving of a house from one part of town to another. I suggested that Kelly Mack and Michelle Ruiz were like Aunt Bee and Clara Edwards. I think I may've missed the mark. Later in the week, they did that story about the guy who decided to skydive into his wedding ceremony, and then crash landed (but wasn't seriously hurt). Michelle commented there was something to be said for a simple wedding, and Kelly said the guy was lucky he didn't get his head knocked off. Then they both giggled, sounding just like Wilma and Betty from the Flintstones.
REDUNDANCY OF THE WEEK
Who: Everyone
Where: Everywhere
What: "Marriage penalty"
BROADCASTEZE VIOLATION OF THE WEEK
Who: Miriam Hernandez
Where: KABC-TV
What: "He struck her and fled the scene."
How about: "He hit her and drove away?"
OTR T-SHIRT WINNER
Congrats to Jamie White of Sacramento, winner of last week's contest. She was the first to name Minnesota and Massachusetts as the answers to last week's question.
YOUR OPINIONS
Remember, the latest letters are now added on Fridays. In the latest...newscasts need to learn what drag racing means, more about those recurring nightmares that many of us have, and did I say "little girl" too many times? Please head over to the letters section on the menu.
Remember, OTR needs your opinions. Send them my way to BRUIN74@aol.com.
Ron's disclaimer: Like all reporters I have opinions. I do the best I can to make sure that nothing I say here has any effect on my objectivity in covering stories.
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