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A media critique... and then some! 2/09/01 - Friday Friday Letters have been added, including one from KCAL anchor Pat Harvey. Links to Recent Issues 02-05-01 Monday's OTR 02-07-01 Wednesday's OTR 02-02-01 Friday's OTR

To get on the OTR email reminder list, email me at BRUIN74@aol.com.

LA TV COMES UP SHORT IN STATEWIDE AWARDS

The Associated Press awards which cover California and Nevada (known as APTRA), were announced this week, and it doesn't look too good for LA TV.  By my count, there are 26 awards to be given out to major market TV stations in California. LA stations have won only nine of the 26.  That number could reach ten, if KCAL wins the best hour newscast against co-finalist KTVU. That will be announced at the awards ceremony next month in Las Vegas.  

KCOP is the biggest LA winner with four APTRA awards. They've won for best news writing, best sports segment (congrats to Michelle Bonner), best serious feature (reporter-Christina Penza), and their team coverage of the Lakers Riot (Peter Thorne, David Rose, Michelle Bonner, Rick Chambers, Lauren Sanchez and Marc Weiner). I remember watching them, and in particular, I remember Peter Thorne doing a real good job.

Hal Fishman won two awards for KTLA. One for best commentary, and the other as Best News Anchor/Anchor Team.  So Hal singled handedly beat Paul Moyer and Colleen Williams. Pretty impressive.

Drew Griffin and Larry Greene won one for KCBS for Enterprise News with a story called "Reversing Alzheimer's."

KCET won for best regularly scheduled feature..."People, Places, & Things:  Art Features."

Best Web Site went to KNBC.

The judges awarded NO winner in the Reporter of the Year category. On the plus side, that will make the OTR Best LA TV field reporter poll even more important!

In radio...KNX won 7 awards, and is a finalist for Best Newscast more than 15 minutes.

KPCC won four awards, including Best News  Less than 15 minutes.  Judges found their serious feature entries so impressive, that rather than picking one winner, the four reporters are being honored with a special award "Station Commitment to Excellence in Serious Feature Reporting." 

And oh yes...almost forget they won for Best Editorial, something done by some guy named Fineman. Yes, I am pleased to say that like the Golden Mike folks, my commentary on the exceptionally poor TV coverage of the KABC live van accident has been honored again. I suppose I should find a copy of it and put it in OTR, so at least you'll know what I said.

This is as good a time as any to let our non-media readers know what the rest of us have learned.  Awards feel real nice...but that's about it. They really don't get you anything. They don't get you a better job, they don't get you more money, they don't even ensure that you'll keep the job you have.  And there is no evidence that I'm aware of that they attract viewers and listeners. And of course such things are quite subjective. A different set of judges could come up with a very different list of winners.  And while my commentary points out very serious flaws in local news judgment in a big story, I don't believe for one minute that will make local news managers re-evaluate how they handled it. 

Nevertheless,  honors given by your peers mean you've done some good work. So to all the winners...congratulations.  Now, get back to work.

For a complete list of winners...you can go to www.aptra.com.

BRUIN TIE ALERT

Yes, it's happened again. UCLA beat USC in basketball last night.  That means that KCAL weather anchor Carl Bell will again be wearing the classiest tie he's ever worn on today's 3:30 news. Last month, Carl was getting over a cold, and pretended (I'm hoping it was pretending) to wipe his nose on my UCLA tie. If I wasn't so poor, I would've had it dry cleaned when I got it back. 

I'm glad Carl was willing to do this bet again. He even said he expected to lose. Let me tell you, nothing takes the fun out of something like this more than when somebody says "you're probably going to win." Nevertheless, when I see Joe Bruin's smiling face on that tie today, it will certainly be a fine moment for all UCLA grads. And since Carl publicly admits to having attended USC, he's probably immune to embarrassment.

OTR INTERVIEW WITH KCOP NEWS DIRECTOR LARRY PERRET

(#1) OTR - When you came to KCOP as news director, did you have a game plan right
from the start, or has it been a matter of trial and error?

Larry - "I had a game plan. Prior to joining the station, I watched many
KCOP-TV newscasts. Also, since I’ve been in this market for many years, I
was aware of the station’s history. It was quite clear to me that we had to
take a different approach. We have six other VHF stations doing the news.
And doing it well. Building a “better mousetrap” is not the answer. Doing
another version of the content the other six stations provide – and then
waiting for the numbers to improve – is not the answer either. I know from
attending dozens of focus groups over the years that the viewers are telling
us we all look the same, sound the same, ARE the same. I believe there are
three things, which can be altered when designing a newscast. People.
Production. Content. (And then you’ve got to promote the heck out of it.)
Content is crucial. Everyone talks about differentiation – but few are
willing to truly target an audience. Obviously, we need to cover the major
stories of the day – locally, nationally and all over the world. But beyond
that, I believe we need to enterprise stories that are relevant to our
audience. Since UPN primetime varies considerably from night to night, we
do a different newscast every night. Our discretionary content varies
depending on the day. For example, our Monday news audience is more
traditional. Our Thursday audience (after “WWF Smackdown”) is wildly
different. We try to be relevant to the audience we serve. Certainly,
there is always “trial and error” involved too. But I think we’re in a
unique position to experiment and try something new. My goal is to provide
a newscast that contains a lot of content that you won’t see anywhere else.
Content that is provocative, compelling and relevant. It’s not for everyone.
But a targeted newscast won’t ever be for everyone."

(#2) OTR - Explain your job please. How much of it is setting a direction, and how
much is getting in the trenches ...like changing the story rundown, or
reassigning stories?

Larry - "Every News Director handles the job differently. I’m not a
micro-manager, although sometimes that’s required. Essentially, I believe
you hire great people. And great people make great things happen. Sure, I
change rundowns and story assignments. But clearly, News Directors provide
leadership. My people know what’s expected of them. They know where we’re
going and how we plan to get there. They know why I’ve set that direction.
After that, my job is to let them do their job. Of course, I provide my
managers with daily feedback to make sure we’re all on the same page."

(#3) OTR - Could you describe the daily process of how KCOP chooses what stories to
cover?

Larry - "We’re similar to every shop in town. We have a daily conference call
and editorial meeting. Since we’re unique in that we only do one hour of
news each day, we can really think about how we want to deploy our
resources. We have a content plan. Our special projects unit provides our
daily enterprise effort (Unit 13) and other discretionary content that
varies day to day. For example, “Smart Deals”, “Better Body”, “Tuesday Test
Drive”, “Car Connection”, “Relationships”, “What’s Up With That”, etc.
During our daily editorial meeting, we discuss how we want to deploy our
General Assignment reporters. We’re always looking for enterprise stories –
beyond the news of the day – which will distinguish us from our competition."

(#4) OTR - Ratings are up for KCOP from a year ago. How much of your success do you owe to your lead-ins, and to promoting stories which are designed to appeal
the audience which watches UPN prime-time?

Larry - "Both. Lead-ins are crucial to achieving ratings success. In this
fractionalized TV news universe, lead-ins can make you or break you. But if
the content doesn’t appeal to that lead-in audience, you’re toast."

(#5) OTR - How would you describe your typical news viewer?

Larry - "UPN primetime tends to be urban, male, ethnic and younger (18-34).
But we also have our share of the key demo (A25-54). Depending on the
night, we also have our fair share of women. The trick is to try to attract
as many of the key sales demo (A 18-49 and 25-54) and be relevant to the
overall lead-in as well. It’s tough to do."

(#6) OTR -Every stations, including yours, does stories which are designed to
promote prime-time shows on your network. Does that bother you?

Larry - "We do it – but less than other stations. Since we don’t have early
newscasts it’s not as important to us. It doesn’t bother me as long as
there’s a legitimate reason to do so. One obvious example is “Survivor.”
It’s become part of our popular culture – so why not talk about that?"

TO BE CONTINUED...NEXT FRIDAY

YOUR OPINIONS

They are very important to OTR.    And remember, unless you say otherwise, I will assume your comments are for cyber publication.  You can reach me at BRUIN74@aol.com.  In today's letters, we hear from KCAL anchor Pat Harvey about the Sandra/ Sondra problem.  Also, one letter Greg Weissman wonders if AFTRA could be doing something to help those losing their jobs at KNBC?  And XTreme radio play by play man Geoff Nathanson explains last Sunday's tape delay.  Just head over to the Letters section on the menu. 

DON'T FORGET

We've got our polls going. Do you support President Bush's decision about involving churches more in government programs, and who is the best LA TV field reporter.  Head to the Poll section on the menu. We'll have some finalists on Monday.

OTHER CITIES

I just wanted to make another attempt to get some of you in other cities to contribute to our "other cities" page. If you can just let us know what you're seeing on your local news every now and then, I'll add it to the page. Thanks very much.

COMING MONDAY

A lead "investigative story" in one local newscast which was laughable. But, there have been some good moments in February too. We'll get to some of them too.  And being a good lawyer doesn't mean you're a good talk show host.

OTR - ONE YEAR AGO THIS WEEK (2-07-00)

 

CRASH COVERAGE----A SICK OBSESSION

So that no one thinks I'm clueless about what news is, let me say right from the start that the crash of Flight 261 was a big story. Let me also make clear that I feel very sorry for those who died in that crash and their families. It has to be a terrible way to die. My concern, as usual, is proportion. LA tv news in particular treated this story like it was biggest crash of all time. It was so OVERDONE. It was as if that was the only story worth reporting last week. Right from the first day, we learned that it looked like a stabilizer problem. But with the time devoted to it, you'd think it was more mysterious, like the Egypt Air crash. On Monday night, 20 minutes into their newscasts, KCOP and KCAL were still talking about it. KTLA, to its credit had moved on by then, realizing there really is other news going on. On KNBC at 11, Paul Moyer interrupted Bob Petee who was in the air near the crash scene, to go to a new conference where he said there would be new information. Maybe they were just too late, but the first thing I heard the official say was all he could do at that point was "rehash" what we already knew. This was fitting, because so much of this sort feeding frenzy mentality results in rehash, along with some speculation, of course.

It seemed like this crash was everyone's lead story ALL week! Don't tell me that crash, tragic as it was, was the most important news in all of Los Angeles everyday. It was like another version of the JFK Jr. crash, which was like the Princess Diana coverage. The news media, and tv news in particular, seem to just love to wallow in the grief. Show us those candles on the beach one more time. Let's go to another memorial. Let's show live news conferences, no matter how long they go, no matter how much worthwhile information they give us. When KNBC promoted a soundbite with a family member of a crash victim, anchor Kent Shocknek told us it was going to be "emotional." No kidding! What's the point of covering a tragedy if you can't see some emotional relatives? Let's wallow some more. On the other hand, to their credit, all tv cameras I saw never approached a relative while walking on the beach or at their hotel. One reporter specifically mentioned they were respecting the families privacy. Maybe that comes from fear of public wrath, as opposed to ethical principles, but at least they're learning.

On the first night, I was relieved when KCOP finally got off the crash, and went to their reporter in New Hampshire to talk about the primary the next day. Believe it or not, after the reporter did his piece, anchorette Lauren Sanchez (who gets less impressive the more you watch her), asked the reporter if there had been any reaction to the plane crash! What in the world would she expect? Comments that all of the candidates are against fatal plane crashes? Why not? Lets try to get everyone to wallow in it.

On Saturday, five days after the crash, with no news to report on it, guess what led the news on KABC? Yes they had not one but TWO memorials to show us. Double wallowing. After that, they went live to reporter Lora McLaughlin for what was supposed to be the latest on the investigation. However, she reported that out of respect to the families, authorities weren't releasing any new information that day. But what the heck, after two memorials, maybe it's time for a rehash. It's as if the plane crash was a drug, and the news departments had become addicted. Gotta have more, gotta do more. The crash, the families, the grief.....we must wallow.

MINORITIES IN TV (2-7-00)

Steve Harvey(the tv star, not the newspaper star) was pretty funny last night at the American Comedy Awards. (The show airs next month on FOX). He explained that on his show they try real hard for ethnic diversity. They try to find a white person for each episode. But he said, it's just so hard to find talented white people. They're looking at starting an outreach program.

Anyway, I asked OTRian and tv writer Steve Marshall if he would give us his thoughts on the controversy. Here's what Steve has to say:

The move by NBC to add more minorities to the writing staffs of its shows can only be regarded as progress -- even if they are doing so with a gun to their heads. The track record for networks' employment of minorities is shameful at best. The only time we could count on seeing minority faces around the writing table was on so-called "black shows." And that was only because the stars of those shows made it clear that this is how it was going to be.

Now, with the NAACP threatening an economic boycott, NBC has risen to the occasion and announced their plan to add one minority to the writing staff of each returning or "second season" show. Tokenism? Of course. But anything that advances the goal of leveling the playing field, even by a little, is a good thing.

But since it is the NAACP that is holding the figurative shooting iron to NBC's temple, what do you want to bet that those minority faces will all be black? Don't look for a dramatic increase in the number of Asian or Native American writers contributing to "Must See TV." Those minorities have yet to develop the clout and organization of the NAACP. And it's highly doubtful that NBC, or any of the networks for that matter, will add a minority writer simply because he or she is talented and deserving of the job. --Steve Marshall

QUIZ SHOW WINNER...NEWS OR PROMO?

KNBC managed to find time last week to let us know that the biggest game show winner of all time had happened on 21. Some guy won 1.6 million dollars and it just so happens, 21 airs on NBC. In referring to "Who wants to be a millionaire" anchors called it "that other show." Kent Shocknek said he didn't want to sound like too much of a company man, but that he thinks 21 is much better than that other show. Well maybe Shocknek might actually sound like a journalist, instead of a company man, if he tried calling "Who wants to be a millionaire?" by its name, instead of "that other show." Can you imagine Tom Brokaw doing a story about ABC, and calling it "that other network?"

MIKE MYERS...ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS (2-7-00)

I covered the American Comedy awards last night, and like all of these events, the arrivals line is a bit of a zoo. Some stars, like Steve Martin or Goldie Hawn took time to talk some media, but ignored others. Now if they just don't have the energy to answer the same questions to a dozen different reporters I can understand that. But Mike Myers, who is as hot as just about anyone in Hollywood these days, was good enough to talk to everyone who wanted to chat with him. Not being in character, he was just a nice, somewhat shy guy, trying to do his part. He didn't have to do that. But credit him for not letting success go to his head.

WHERE DO THESE GUYS COME FROM? (2-7-00)

After watching the celebrity still photographers at a number of these events, I must say that some of them are a different breed. No, not all of them...maybe not even most of them...but they seem to have more than their share of rude whiners. Just watching these guys bitch because not enough celebrities are spending enough time posing for them gets old real quick. I've known people from all types of field of journalism, and if you can consider these paparazzi as journalists, they certainly have the most ill-mannered people of any field. I can certainly understand why some celebrities hate these guys. Some of them make it real easy.

PROMISE BUT DON'T DELIVER (2-7-00)

This happens with promos all the time, doesn't it? Last week, Access Hollywood said they would tell us which member of the Ally McBeal cast would be missing for a while, and why. Well they later told us that it was Lisa Nicole Carson, but all they could say was that she was in the hospital. They never told us WHY she was there. Granted, it's her decision not to release that information to the public. But once again, I felt misled by a promo. I know, it won't be the last time either.

Newsweek -- 36 issues The savviest, most insightful, most readable news magazine. Only $0.55 per issue. That is 80% off. GIFT: Rand McNally Trip Maker

OTR IS PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY   Letters to the editor are updated Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

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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