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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.
Wednesday Letters are UP. Inside LA TV - a reporter who's tried to stage soundbites, and more about KCAL and OCN. Links to Recent Issues 07-23-01 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. |
DAVID CRUZ OKAY AFTER TAKING THE WRONG MEDICATION
This was a day KNBC morning anchor David Cruz will never forget. While speaking from his hospital room late today, he told OTR that he started feeling woozy around 6:20am. Soon he was slurring his speech. When he walked off the main set to their interview set, he stumbled, and had to be caught by Christopher Nance to keep from falling. He did the interview, but Cruz tells me he can't remember a thing that he asked. Kelly Mack talked to the show's executive producer and they called an ambulance, which took him to the hospital. What with the slurring speech, some people thought he had a stroke.
Cruz has had heart bypass surgery, and so he take lipitor to keep his cholesterol down. This morning, he picked up another dose of medicine from his neighborhood pharmacy like he's done many times before. He routinely took one pill out of the bottle and an aspirin, not realizing what he had really taken. While in the hospital the doctor asked to see Cruz's bottle of pills. What he found was that the bottle was filled with not only lipitor, but also something called Watson 748, which Cruz says is in the Valium family. The drug was put into his pill bottle by accident at the pharmacy. It was a 2 milligram dose, which Cruz says is normally prescribed for people with anxiety problems who're at home or in an institution. It is not a dosage you would give to someone who is out and about. Of course he is very lucky that he wasn't driving when the effects of the pill hit him.
He was so 'out of it', Cruz says that when the doctor asked him who the president is, he couldn't answer. When the doctor asked him who was Bill Clinton's vice-president, Cruz says he answered "I don't know, but I know he can't dance." Almost sounds like he's ready to be a guest on Jay Leno's Jaywalking segment.. I only make light for the moment, because David himself was laughing about that as we chatted on the phone. But obviously, as he also pointed out to me, this was potentially very serious. Suppose that mistake was made on someone less capable than Cruz; it could've killed them.
So to those who may've been watching Today in LA this morning, David Cruz is fine. Because the drug he took was so strong, they've kept him in the hospital for the day. It sounds like he'll be back to work tomorrow or Friday.
IT'S NOT TV'S FAULT
It's not like I hesitate to blame local TV news. Whatever reputation I may be developing is based on blaming TV news. But when the LAPD suggests that TV news did something terribly wrong in their coverage of a chase Monday night, I must object.
Yes, the news media became part of the story, but that was the doing of the chasee, Ruben Sierra. He's the guy who crashed through a guard gate at KTLA, looking to talk to someone in the newsroom. (Since he was wanted on suspicion of murder, I am guessing he was looking for Warren Wilson, the reporter of first choice for guys looking to turn themselves in). KTLA called the police, who found Sierra traveling down the Hollywood Freeway. Sierra eventually began driving around the Rampart police station, and when finally cornered, he gave up peacefully.
While circling the police station, Sierra saw KCAL reporter Dave Clark on a street corner, who was there for an unrelated story. Sierra stopped his car, and began talking to Clark, telling him that he believed the police wanted to kill him. How could Clark not listen to what this man had to say? Afterward, police suggested Clark leave the area, which he did, but was then followed by Sierra. I don't know how long he followed Clark, but soon enough, he was back circling the area. He briefly talked to other reporters too. Now if reporters went out in the street and stopped Sierra, asking him to talk, THAT would be wrong. When onlookers gave Sierra water and a cigarette that was wrong. And while it is true those people wouldn't have been outside if the chase had not been broadcast live, it would be unfair to blame TV for the actions of some of its viewers.
I think Hal Fishman's commentary that police should be more aggressive in stopping chases sooner may be something for them to consider. I realize their job is tough, since the whole city is watching, and they can easily be criticized for being too aggressive or not aggressive enough. I trust them to take a look at their procedures and make their best judgment. But don't blame the news media for this one.
WHO'D HAVE BELIEVED IT?
When I got a phone call yesterday morning from KCBS assistant news director Larry Laurent, I was sure he was calling to complain about something I'd written here. But what the heck, I've asked to them to take their complaints directly to me, so what should I expect?
Much to my surprise, he was calling because KCBS wanted to interview me to get my thoughts about the Monday night chase. Even more surprising, I checked the news right away and found that hell had not frozen over. Seriously, I figured KCBS was so upset with things I've written here, they would never want acknowledge me as a legitimate media critic. I was wrong. Like KCOP, which has called on me before, KCBS was able to put aside my critical comments about their news, and discuss an important issue. It showed some class, I want to give credit where credit is due.
THE WRONG REPORTER FOR THAT SORT OF STORY
If there is some new understanding between KCBS and me, I guess we might as well put it to the test. On their 11pm last week, KCBS led with a story about neighbors who were upset with a zone change which meant plans for a new development in an open field . This was an area where many people ride horses, and so this anti-development demonstration was done by people on horseback.
On the one hand, I give KCBS credit for leading with a story like this. Neighbors upset with a new development is pretty common, but sometimes it is important to spotlight these issues. After all, a lot of viewers may have similar concerns about where they live. No doubt all the people on horses gave the story acceptable visuals. But the problem was the clear bias shown by the reporter. Yes, there was Mike Boguslawski, wearing a cowboy hat, riding a horse with the demonstrators. If you were the developer, would you sense that you're going to get a fair shake in this story? In fact there was no attempt to talk to the developer, until the next day. And then, Boguslawski reported that Ted Stein was out of town. In that second day story, he covered a planning commission meeting in which the development was approved. Also in that story, Boguslawski listed some of the political contributions made to James Hahn, Councilman Hal Bernson and others. So when Boguslawski finished his story, he said "For now the well-connected developer won...."
Having a consumer reporter take a side against some unfair business is one thing. Having him take a side in a neighborhood planning dispute is quite another, and VERY inappropriate. For a real news story, which this was, you need a real and objective reporter. Neither KCBS or Boguslawski was well served on this one.
CHRIS-CRAFT SALE TO FOX FINALLY OKAYED
Below is part a news release issued today by the FCC
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Washington - - The FCC announced today it has approved the application of Fox Television Stations, Inc. (FTS) to acquire the 10 television stations held by Chris-Craft Industries and its subsidiaries BHC Communications and United Television, Inc. (The stations to be acquired are listed below.) The approval was granted with conditions requiring the licensee to comply with FCC rules on television duopolies, the 35% national television audience cap, and newspaper/broadcast cross ownership. The FCC said that FTS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fox Television Holdings, Inc., which in turn is controlled by Mr. Rupert Murdoch. The broadcast licenses of the Chris-Craft stations will be held and controlled by FTS, while their non-license assets will be held by a new Fox subsidiary (Newco) that is ultimately controlled by News Corporation. Newco will operate the stations pursuant to an operating agreement with FTS. In its order, the Commission finds that the proposed company structure complies with its previous decisions regarding alien ownership of Fox entities. The transaction will also result in Fox having an attributable interest in television stations with an aggregate national audience reach of 40.91%. The Commission’s rules prohibit a party from owning stations that have an aggregate national audience reach in excess of 35%. The Commission granted Fox a 12 month period of time to come into compliance with the national ownership rule. However, since the 35% national ownership cap is currently the subject of review in the D.C. Circuit Court, the Commission said it would delay the effectiveness of this part of the order pending final disposition of the court case.
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CONDIT ALIBI?
If I'm missing something here, you'll have to tell me. Much
was made recently that Gary Condit had a great alibi, because
he was having lunch at the White House and meeting with Dick Cheney
on May 1st, the last day that Chandra Levy was heard from.
Since no one knows what happened to her or when it happened,
how can Condit's time at the White House be an alibi? Maybe Levy
disappeared at 6pm that night...or 7 or 8? Who knows?
I believe this whole Levy/Condit story is legit. But like all
big ongoing stories, reporters are so interested in getting
something new, sometimes tidbits are blown out of proportion. And
sometimes old news is repeated as something new. In fact, when I did
a search on the Condit alibi story, I found that it was first
reported in May that he had lunch at the White House that day.
The Cheney connection is what I recall being reported in the last
couple of weeks, but I'm not sure how different that is from the
original story reported in May by the New York Daily News. By
the same token, a day after everyone reported that the police wanted
to interview Condit for a fourth time, KCAL was reporting it as if
they had missed the story from the day before. While the CBS Evening
News was embarrassingly slow to get on the story, reporting
something where there is really nothing new to say isn't a good idea
either. I guess we're in feeding frenzy territory, which is not good
for anyone.
WEIRD NEWS JUDGMENT
Sometimes the love affair that TV news has with fire stories is just too much. Sunday night, KNBC led their 11pm with a routine brush fire...playing that ahead of the capture of jail escapee Kevin Pullum. Pullum has been big news since he got out of the LA Twin Towers Jail by using bogus ID badge with a picture of Eddie Murphy. The LAPD found him on skid row, with the officer who caught him available for interviews. How could they NOT lead with Pullum?
TALK ABOUT DEJA VU
I was checking out the 11pm newscasts last night and saw KCBS weatherman Jim Castillo doing a live shot in Pasadena, where 'N Sync was having a concert. He was surrounded by a bunch of screaming young women to the point he was very difficult to hear. So I figured I'd switch to check out KNBC. There I found Chuck Henry doing a live shot from the same place, also surrounded by a bunch of screaming women. So, if you're doing a live shot outside of a boy band concert, are screaming women a requirement for the reporter? And by the way, just what are these women screaming about? The concert was over, wasn't it?
COMING FRIDAY
We start a one-on-one interview with Dateline correspondent Josh Mankiewicz.
BROADCASTEZE VIOLATION OF THE WEEK
Who: Patricia Del Rio
Where: KTLA
What: ...has claimed the life
Do you know anyone who says that?
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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