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Need something shot, produced, edited, reported, uplinked/downlinked in SoCal? JDnewsie Productions: 818.766.7122 jdnewsie@aol.com www.jdnewsie.com |
A media critique... and then some! Banned in Beijing, Baghdad, and at KCAL TV.
Tuesday Letters are UP- one reader is concerned about a reporter hugging a subject on the air, another one isn't happy with KNBC's newest reporter, and more. Inside LA TV - a reporter who's tried to stage soundbites, and more about KCAL and OCN. Links to Recent Issues 07-16-01 Monday's OTR 07-18-01 Wednesday's OTR 07-20-01 Friday's OTR |
To get on the OTR email reminder list, email me at BRUIN74@aol.com. |
IT WAS ONLY A RUBBER FIRE
It seems like some spot news stories have become a drug for news departments. Once they decide to cover them, they can't seem to stop. On Friday afternoon, a rubber recycling plant caught on fire. There were no injuries, no evacuations, but of course lots of concern. And yes, there were lots of flames and big clouds of black smoke. Between five and five-thirty, from what I saw, it was wall-to-wall coverage on KCBS, KNBC and KABC. Was this story so BIG that it warranted that sort of attention? Too often now, it seems that covering a breaking story for a couple of minutes, and then coming back for updates, isn't good enough. Why couldn't you go to other news, and then if neighbors were suddenly going to the hospital choking on toxic smoke, you could come back. But no, you've got to stay with it, talk to an official on the phone, and keep that video coming. It was like a police chase, without the chase. Just substitute flames and smoke for cars. But in this case, there was farm less drama. And as I watched the fire, I though why should I care about this? How does this affect my life? Granted, if homes were being destroyed, and lives were lost, you'd have a serious and major story. But that just wasn't the case. So I was left with the feeling that all three stations were playing a newsy game of chicken. Who wants to be the first to dump out of all those flames? If for example, KABC had left the fire at 5:10, I wonder if KCBS and KNBC would've kept going till 5:30. The half-hour point seemed to provide a natural break, and with it clear that firefighters had it under control, from what I could see... stations went back to covering other news. But as news directors and producers look back at their coverage, I hope they ask themselves how well their viewers were served for that half-hour. I would suggest there were more important stories out there to be told.
USING THE WRONG BOGUS PICTURE
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As we all know by now, Kevin Pullum escaped from the LA County Twin Towers Jail by using a picture of Eddie Murphy from a Dr. Doolittle ad on a bogus ID badge. For some reason, when KABC does the story, they don't show the picture of Murphy which you see on your left, which seems to be used by everyone else. They show a picture of Murphy with a big smile on his face, which you see above on the right. If everyone else can get the correct picture, why can't they?
GOOD IDEA
Last week KTLA asked an inmate who was just released about how Pullum managed to escape. True it was just speculation, but I think it was interesting to hear what an inmate thought about it. As I recall, this guy figured Pullum must've gotten some inside help. In fact, I think it could've made for a good full blown package. It would be interesting to hear not only what inmates thought about the escape, but also whether they had ever considered trying. Of course, I realize some people who just got out of jail have no interest in being on TV. Maybe that's why the story didn't go any farther. Still, that one soundbite was more interesting than a lot of other things I see on the news.
WRONG OPENING VIDEO ON KNBC
This was so embarrassing, but at least Kelly Mack was paying attention. In the tease at the start of their 11am newscast, KNBC showed a picture of a young boy who had died. Over his picture, Mack read "He's one of LA's most wanted fugitives." After she read that she noticed that the wrong video was running, and so she quickly ad-libbed "not this little boy." Good recovery, but still, what a screw-up!
RUSH IS REACHING
Without Bill Clinton to bash, I suppose it must be tougher for Rush Limbaugh to keep it interesting. And he really seemed to be reaching, when he tried to suggest some anti-conservative bias in the coverage of Gary Condit. Limbaugh seems to think the fact that Condit is a Democrat isn't being mentioned much, but he also believes that the news media are falsely calling him a conservative, just to give conservatives a bad name. Sounds a like a talk show host desperately looking for a anti-conservative hook where there just isn't one.
To me, it seems the only time I hear Condit called conservative is when he's called a "conservative Democrat." The American Conservative Union gives Condit a 44 rating on a scale of a 100, based on 25 votes in 2000. He voted with conservatives on NEA funding, partial birth abortion, missile production, and the estate tax repeal, among other issues. He has a lifetime conservative rating of 48. So you could fairly call him a conservative on many issues. Overall, he seems to be a moderate. But as Democrats go, you could say he is conservative. Remember, he was a member of the Gang of Five in the California Legislature, a group of Democrats who voted against Willie Brown on some key issues and tried to help get Brown out of the speaker's chair. Condit is no liberal. Voters in his district voted for both George Bush and George W Bush for president. If Limbaugh is looking for an anti-conservative bias in the news media, there have to be better places to look.
YOU CALL THAT A SCANDAL?
At the start of the KCBS 11pm newscast Friday night, they teased "a new scandal for the Bush twins." When you hear an LA TV news station use the word 'scandal' you have to wonder if the story will live up to the tease. It probably won't surprise you that it didn't. In fact it turns out the story only involved one of the Bush twins. But what's a little inaccuracy when you're talking about the first family? Anyway, it turns out Barbara was not properly dressed when she went to have lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. She was wearing a denim jacket with pants, and apparently the British press have criticized her. But by using the word 'scandal' to describe the story, viewers were given an impression of something more serious than it really was. I mean we've heard the word scandal associated with Watergate, Iran-Contra, and Monica Lewinsky. Does KCBS really think Barbara's choice of clothing deserves the same description?
BOB AND RAY AT KABC?
It was Bob and Ray who used redundancy as part of their comedy routine. They would be proud of Leslie Sykes and Garth Kemp. While a fire was burning yesterday in Riverside County, Sykes said that the winds were blowing at 19 miles per hour, right before she threw it to Kemp, and then asked him what the winds were like. He answered that they were blowing 19 to 20 miles per hour. I guess that's one of the hazards when you have to ad-lib.
POLL RESULTS - READERS DON'T BELIEVE CONDIT
| Do you believe Gary Condit is withholding information related to Chandra Levy's disappearance? | ||||
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votes | percent | ||
1.) Yes |
104 | 83% | ||
2.) No |
11 | 9% | ||
3.) Undecided |
10 | 8% | ||
UNDECIDED LEADING IN THE GOVERNOR'S RACE
| For Californians, right now...who is your choice for the next governor? | ||||
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votes | percent | ||
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1.) Gray Davis |
23 | 19% | ||
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2.) Richard Riordan |
40 | 34% | ||
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3.) Bill Jones |
13 | 11% | ||
4.) Undecided |
42 | 36% | ||
Since I forgot Bill Simon last week, we'll do the poll again, and this time we'll put him in there. As I said last week, it may interesting to see how many votes he takes from the others. A reminder to supporters of all candidates, just one vote per reader. Also, I'd like to ask all readers from around the country how you will be spending your tax refund. Please head to the poll section on the menu.
THAT KCOP CASUAL TALK
Again, it beats broadcasteze. But yet, sometimes I think the writing at KCOP is a little too casual. In telling a story about a jewelry robbery, Rick Chambers said "The jewelry store wants its stuff back." I don't know. I just feel like 800 thousand dollars worth of jewelry isn't best described as 'stuff.' I know, you just can't make me happy, can you?
AN INSIDE LOOK
Hal Eisner asked me to talk about why I do what I do, and how I feel about it. So, if you haven't had your fill of yours truly for the day, feel free to head over to www.HalEisner.com. I've always tried to show some of my personal side here, but you may learn a few things of interest from Hal's web site. What you'll see is actually my second draft. For the first one, I had written the word equivalent to War and Peace, and I still hadn't gotten to OTR yet. But I figure what the heck; when I get some time I'll take the unabridged version and use it for About Ron on this site. Since there may be starving readers in Asia and Africa, I'd hate to be wasteful with words.
MY SKED
OTR is up early today, because I'm working later today. I'm also working tomorrow, which means it'll be up later than usual on Wednesday.
BROADCASTEZE VIOLATION OF THE WEEK
Who: Sophia Choi
Where: KCBS
What: still burning "at this hour"
I haven't heard this one lately, and I'd be happy if I never heard it again. Yes, "at this hour" sounds very broadcaster, very formal. But why not, "now"?
Put your hand on the monitor and count to three...one, two three...HEAL!!
YOUR OPINIONS
They are always welcome. You can reach me at BRUIN74@aol.com. Unless you say otherwise, I will assume your comments are for publication.
OTR ON THE ROAD
As this web site evolves, it seemed like a good idea to offer my services for speaking engagements at colleges, service clubs or anyone else interested in the OTR gospel. Of course one of the great advantage to speaking in person is that you get far few typos. If you check the OTR On the Road page on the menu (Netscape users CAN now access it too), you can see learn more. You can also read what some well known OTR readers have to say about this web site. If you are interested, you can email to OTROnTheRoad@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.
OTR's main page IS PUBLISHED MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY. Letters are added Tuesday - Friday.
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