A media critique... and then some! 9/28/01 - Friday Friday Letters - very unusual talk on a local morning show, local air talent criticized, and much more. COMING MONDAY - what local anchor was  seen out of town, with an out town news director? Links to Recent Issues 09-24-01 Monday's OTR 09-26-01 Wednesday's OTR 09-21-01 Friday's OTR OTR can use your help to keep publishing. If you like it, feel free to send ten dollars to Ron Fineman PO Box 42364 Bakersfield, CA 93384    OR you can send $ electronically by clicking on the PayPal logo Thanks to our latest contributor, Robert Boles.   My sincerest thanks to all of you who have contributed so far.   Your help is very  much appreciated! Send your opinions to BRUIN74@aol.com.

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

PROTESTS ALREADY

The United States has  not shot one bullet or fired one missile in response to the terrorist attacks, yet the protests have already begun.  I don't question anyone's right to protest of course, but I am concerned with the values of some of those protesting. During an anti-war rally at Berkeley, one Cal student says one of the speakers said "the real terrorists are in the White House." 

Those people who have suggested a non-military response haven't offered anything than I can see as a resolution to what happened. Does anyone think that a good heart to heart talk with Osama Bin Laden will change anything?  I can understand those who want to make sure we don't end up in another Vietnam.  I imagine we all feel that way.  There were a lot of reasons to protest US involvement in Vietnam. After all, no Vietnamese came to our shores to attack us. We jumped in a civil war and took the side which seemed much more divided and less determined to win.  It was all part of our communist paranoia back then, yet we weren't willing to do everything we could militarily to win.  Though given the sentiments of most Vietnamese, I doubt all the military might in the world could've "won" that war.  All of those American lives lost, and we ended with the same result if we had never sent in troops, and  had allowed the original elections to go forward in 1956.

So as you can see, I understand that the United States has made mistakes.  I can appreciate all of those demonstrations in the 60s and 70s. But what we have now is quite different. Our country was attacked. If we don't try to cripple Al-Queda and other terrorist groups, we can certainly expect more. So it is troubling to me that after these people murdered thousands of Americans on our soil, the first reaction of some people is "don't fight back." How many more innocent Americans should die before we should strike back?  

 I can appreciate that Bin Laden and millions of others don't like US presence in the Middle East.  After all we do support non-democratic governments in Saudia Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere. I'm not comfortable with that. I'd like to see us push toward democratic rule in all countries. But is that realistic?  With the exception of Israel, you don't find democracies in the middle east, whether they are friendly with the United States, or not.  The repressive Shah was overthrown in Iran, and look what replaced him.  Is it wise, is it in our interests as the world's last superpower, to just abandon our allies there?  Even if we did that, you have to wonder if terrorists would suddenly leave us alone.  The fact is, the United States is going to keep influence around the world, including the middle east.  Maybe we can use it more intelligently.  But, we've been attacked, and it could easily happen again.  President Bush is right on this one. Right now, there is nothing to negotiate.  As always, agree or not, your opinions are welcome at BRUIN74@aol.com. 

BAD TEASE ON FUMES STORY

This letter dovetails with what I was talking about in Wednesday's OTR.

Ron,

I was downright shocked by the way KABC teased the "Mystery Fumes" story Wednesday night. It was during the "credit squeeze" that precedes the 11pm news. 

Laura Diaz barks, (not verbatim) "Fears of a Biological Attack hit close to home: mysterious fumes in the LA Subway lead to evacuation..." I immediately flipped channels to CNN/MSNBC to see whether this "story" was legit. Of course, it was nowhere to be found.

So I flipped back to KABC... only to hear the real story.. which was in my opinion, grossly overhyped. This is beyond irresponsible; it is cruel. I genuinely got nervous when I heard that tease. What purpose does a hysterical tease like that serve, other than preying on people's fears?

I am a producer for a so-called "tabloid" magazine show... and that tease wouldn't even find its way onto OUR air. 

I urge everyone who works in the media to think carefully about what you write, and how you say it. It DOES have an impact. And while I've been impressed by the restraint most of the media has shown throughout this ordeal, I remind each and every one of my colleagues that this is a REAL STORY of GREAT IMPORTANCE to the masses. Don't cry wolf - the public is counting on us to be responsible.

I hope whoever wrote that stupid tease, (including Laura Diaz for reading it) slept well that night.

Jeremy Jacobs
Los Angeles

PART TWO OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH TERRY ANZUR

Terry is a veteran TV anchor, she teaches at USC, and she's been researching the history of LA TV news.

(3) OTR - I'd like to hear about some of the differences you found in your research if you were to compare just the content of local news of the early 60s, compared to today.

Terry - "The good old days were not so good if you were a woman, a minority or anyone other than an official authority figure, usually a white male. One example from the early 1960s is the Baldwin Hills Dam collapse, which wiped out an entire community of homes. In the aftermath, you could see people picking through the debris like zombies or applying for government loans because they had lost everything. Who was interviewed? The congressmen, city council members and federal functionaries who visited the site. A convention of California Republican women was covered with a long sound bite from the male politician who spoke to the group, the women were only shown modeling silly hats and they didn't get to speak at all. A live shot about a dangerous intersection where a child had died was just a long talking head with the local city councilwoman. Of course, virtually all the reporters and anchors were white men. Throughout the 1950s it was common for anchors and even reporters like Stan Chambers to do commercials.
So when someone made the effort to tell a real human story with real people, it really stood out. Clete Roberts' coverage of the Bel Air fire is classic reporting that would hold up even today. Bill Stout's writing is awesome, but sometimes it was covered up with film that didn't match what he was saying. 
One thing that seems funny today is the music. Most black and white news film was silent, so the news was "scored" with happy little ditties for the feature stories and somber marches for the more serious fare.
One bit of qualifying information: I'm not doing formal content analysis. I'm looking at "snapshots," defining moments that tell us something about the state of the art at a particular point in LA history. My intention is to write a book that will be a fun read for anyone interested in TV news, as well as scholars and students. "

(4) OTR - You mentioned the background music in the old stories. But these days, I am hearing more and more stations do the same thing. Do you feel like we're moving backward? 

Terry - "One of the broadcast news textbooks has a great line: using music in your piece is a way of announcing that you can't write. While this isn't always true, I think there has been a tendency to spice up stories with music and effects because we can. The CBS "blue book" used to have a rule that you couldn't use pre-recorded music in a news story. The only exception would be if the music was part of the event, such as a band playing at the scene of the story. That rule may be a bit extreme but it makes a point: that if you have a powerful story and write well, the words, pictures and natural sound should be enough."


(5) OTR - Based on the "snaphots" you were able to see from the old days, would you say that back in the 60s, there was more substance on the local news than what we see today?

Terry - "Back in the 1960s, news was not the huge moneymaker that it is now. Stations were in the news business because they had to do public service to keep their licenses. So there was a greater willingness to put on stories that people needed to know, not simply what would get the highest rating. There was more coverage of official happenings, like governmental meetings. But that doesn't mean it was better coverage than today. Just look at the Watts riot coverage and you'll see the extent to which TV news was completely out of touch with what was really happening in diverse communities. People who ran TV newsrooms in those days were newsmen -- the green eyeshade types -- who came from newspapers or radio. Things really changed when the TV generation took over and began listening to the market research."

(6) OTR - Could you tell us a little more of you noticed about the Watts Riot coverage? Also, would viewers be better off today if TV reporters covered government meetings so they could serve their role as government watchdog?

Terry - " You have to remember that in the early 1960s, newsrooms were all white and mostly male. At one point KTLA bragged of having the first "newsgal" on the assignment desk. So when the Watts riot occurred the news media became a symbol of the racial divide in the community. News cars were shot at and set on fire, so the only pictures came from the KTLA telecopter. And it was the only live coverage from the field. the rest of the white, male reporters are seen in the bunker-like command center. KTLA shared its live video with other stations but surprisingly the network affiliates chose to do cut ins instead of going with wall to wall coverage.
The commentary from the chopper included statements that might have seemed innocent at the time but sound racially biased today. At a news conference, community "leaders" threatened to burn any news car that ventured into the affected area because they had no faith in the fairness of the all-white press corps. I am just getting into this phase of the research and would be interested in hearing from any minorities who got TV and/or radio reporting jobs because of the riot. A movie was made about the LA Times mailroom employee who was pressed into service as a newspaper reporter because he was black... and I suspect there were similar cases in radio and TV.

The urban unrest of the mid 60s prompted the FCC to issue affirmative action guidelines for minorities, which were later amended to include women. But things didn't change right away. About a year later, the Deadwyler Inquest showed how much racial tension remained. A black motorist was shot and killed by a white LAPD officer -- with the man's pregnant wife looking on in horror. Authorities feared there would be another riot, so they gave permission for the coroner's inquest to be televised. It was the first legal proceeding to be seen on live television... the first time cameras were in the courtroom. All the reporters are still white men.

As for the need to cover government meetings, I think we are now seeing the price we have paid for several decades of entertaining the audience rather than informing. some people think the trend toward soft news began after the Vietnam War. Now we have the war on terrorism. Christians vs Islam is an old story going back to the crusades, but in the modern TV age you can trace it back to the taking of the Iran hostages during the Carter administration. There were plenty of commissions and reports warning of terrorist threats, but TV news was too busy chasing the "sexy" stories like Gary Condit. National and local media are equally at fault. I remember one night on KTLA News at Ten when we ran a background report on electric deregulation and what it would mean to consumers. We got killed in the ratings that night because our competition ran "Naked Cheerleaders: Where to find them on the internet." So there was no more reporting on the power situation until it reached the crisis point years later. "

NEXT WEEK - WE CONCLUDE OUR FRIDAY INTERVIEW WITH TERRY

NFL PICKS ( 4-3-1)

Last week I took the favorites, Green Bay, Miami, and Indianapolis, which all beat the spread. It was picking Kansas City which kept me from my first perfect week since I started doing this last year. At least I'm over .500...for now.  Here we go again.

49ers vs Jets +3

Broncos vs Ravens - 4 1/2

Dolphins vs Rams +6

Bucs vs Vikings - 2 1/2

AN OTR PARODY

The following was sent me by an anonymous reader.

BELOW THE RECORD


MORE ALLEGED MISUSES

After a while, you have to wonder why so many reporters and anchors still seem to have so much trouble with the word "alleged."   For example, reportedly during Monday night's alleged newscast at eleven PM on KCBS, conflicting reports say that alleged anchor Harold Greene reportedly said in an apparent tease that, "You're apparently watching, according to sources, the alleged station of the people."   Suddenly, I'm not so upset about the whole "alleged" misuse.  I'm kind of p****d off about the whole "station of the people" thing. 

BROADCASTEEZE VIOLATION OF THE WEEK

Who:    David Jackson.

Where:  His kitchen.

What:    "This stupid old toaster has CLAIMED my eggo!" 

Why:     Bought the Proctor-Silex toaster at a yard sale.

One, two, three…..heal that toaster!


DEADLY TELEVISION: IT'S HAPPENED AGAIN

We, in the news business, cover stories of death every day, but it's not often the case when TV news actually causes a death.   Last Friday, police responded to a 911 call at a home in Gardena.  Officers found 32 year old Kenny Molton, a mechanic, dead in his Lazyboy chair.   "It's happened again," said Officer Pedro Garcia. "It's the third time this month."  Molton's mother told police that Kenny had just finished eating the #2 combo from Jack in the Box when he sat down to watch TV.  "The batteries in the remote control were dead," said Molton's mother. "The TV was on channel 5 and that Hal Fishman guy was reading the news."  Police tell me that Molton couldn't change the channel and was forced to watch Fishman for an entire hour.  Molton died before the kicker.  According to preliminary autopsy results from the coroner's office, Molton died of extreme boredom.   

PART TWO OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH KTLA REPORTER SAM RUBIN

BTR:    What's it like interviewing all those celebrities?  How much preparation goes into those interviews?

Sam:    

BTR:   Sam, you there?

Sam:   

BTR:  Okay, what's the deal?  Sam?

Sam:   

BTR:   MISTER Rubin?

Sam:  Bingo!  I'm here.

BTR:  Did you get the question?   How much preparation goes into those interviews?

Sam:   Did you say preparation?

BTR:   Yes.

Sam:   LOL

BTR:   LOL?  This isn't a chatroom.

Sam:   :(    Sorry, I thought this CRAZYFAN7361?

BTR:    Back to your celebrity interviews?

Sam:   Uh, yeah. Well, I first go to a free screening of the movie, and then I go to the Four Seasons, eat free food and interview some celebs.

BTR:   It doesn't sound like a lot of preparation.

Sam:    No it doesn't, does it.  Next question.   

BTR:    That'll be all.



KOPPEL STEPPING DOWN FROM NIGHTLINE; END OF AN ERA

Ted Koppel  joined ABC News in 1963 at the age of 23. After working as foreign and domestic correspondent, he was named anchor of Nightline, television's esteemed Late-night news program in March 1980.  Now comes word that Koppel is stepping down from the highly-rated broadcast.   "It's a huge loss for television viewers," says Kippy Stevens, ABC News Executive Producer.  "Ted's contract was up and he decided to call it quits."   While Koppel's final broadcast will be this Friday, ABC executive Stevens says the network has already announced his replacement.  "Once Ted steps down, his hair will take over the broadcast.   There's still two years left on his hair contract."   Executives hope that older viewers will still turn in to see the hair, while attracting a younger demographic.  Stevens says, "We're thinking of doing some cross-promotion thing with Fantastic Sams."

KOPPEL LOCAL REACTION

Reaction to Koppel's replacement has been pouring in.  We received this e-mail from Bob Pettee's mustache:

Dear Ron,

I just love your column.  I'm saddened by Koppel's decision - pan right! pan right! - and I hope that he returns to the airwaves soon - pan right you moron - and we'll miss him on Nightline - zoom in, zoom in!!!

ANOTHER FIRING AT KNBC

After nearly two decades with KNBC, through earthquakes, brush fires, mud slides and riots, General Manager Paula Madison has axed another news veteran.  KNBC insiders tell me they were stunned by the move.  "We didn't see this coming.  This one's going to leave a bad taste in our mouths," says one KNBC insider.  I was e-mailed this memo put out by the station:

TO: KNBC Employees

DATE:  September 12, 2001

After 19 years at channel four, we've terminated the contract of veteran U-matic tape recorder "Sparky."   The ¾ inch recorder no longer serves a purpose in this newsroom, and we'll no longer need its  services.   We wish Sparky the best.

I'm told that moments after this memo came out, two NBC security guards escorted Sparky out of the building.  One KNBC insider says he saw reporter Laurel Erickson with tears in her eyes, but it turns out she had just found out she wasn't the lead of the 4pm newscast. 

OTR ONE YEAR AGO THIS WEEK (9-25-00)

KCBS GOING AFTER NBC

I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like this before, and I probably never will again; one network owned station complaining about the programming on a rival station.  But there he was, consumer reporter Mike Boguslawski sticking it to NBC for tape delaying all of the Olympics. He interviewed people who didn't like the idea, which couldn't have been to hard to find. He did his standup in front of NBC studios.  I must admit I enjoyed watching this one, which doesn't happen often with a Bogey story.  Yet, there was something very wrong with this.

NBC's decision to tape delay everything had to have been made a long time ago. At this point, I think we could all agree that the tape delay policy has been etched in stone (figuratively speaking, of course). But there was Bogey, yelling at the viewers as he often does, that they should call NBC to let them know they want to see the Olympics live!  To even pretend, to even suggest in the most subtle way that a bunch of phone calls could get NBC to reverse direction at this late date is pure nonsense. While's he at it, maybe he can get a letter writing campaign  going to the Chinese government to loosen up on its repression and adopt the US Bill of Rights.  

In the world of PR, Bogey probably came out okay...showing once again how he's in "your corner!" But anyone who took a moment to think about what he was doing, has to realize that Boguslawski was obviously more interested in being a cheerleader and kissing up to the viewers, than doing anything whatsoever for the TV consumer, or anyone else.

MAYBE IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY

All the world loves a cute animal story at the end of the newscast. Actually, I think if a producer goes more than one day without an animal story somewhere in their newscast, they could actually be arrested in some states.

Last week, one of the stories out there was this poor skunk which got its face stuck in a yogurt container. It was interest to watch the animal control lady put a blanket over the skunk so she could safely take the container off.  So I have no complaint with anyone running this story. My concern is the light hearted way in which KTLA (and probably others) handled this story.  Hal Fishman joked that yogurt must be the dessert of choice for skunks.  I would've thought that was cute too, except I remember seeing a story a while back about skunks and Yoplait Yogurt containers.  As I recall the story, animal rights folks were trying to get Yoplait to change the design of their container. It seems this is an ongoing serious problem for skunks. I guess skunks aren't the most sympathetic creatures out there, so I don't suppose Hal has gotten many angry letters. I'm guessing that if he was aware of the depth of the problem, he wouldn't have joked about it.  And if any of you are planning to write me an email about the inescapable logic of reporters sticking up for skunks, save your cyber ink.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRUTH

It's bad enough when newscast routinely do commercials for programs on their stations and disguise them as news stories. Sadly, everyone does it these days, and they manage to do it with a straight face as if it is really news!  But, major kudos to  anchor David Gonzales on KCAL .

After running an obvious commercial/story for To Tell The Truth...Gonzales joked about it. I don't remember the exact words, but it was something like "Imagine, we have a story on To Tell The Truth. And what do you know?  The show is going to be running on KCAL. Isn't that a coincidence."   What a breath of fresh air that ad-lib was.  And yes, it was appropriate for an anchor to try to tell the truth about hyping his station's new show "To Tell The Truth."

GOOD FOR RUSSERT

I know this is old news, but I forgot to mention it in recent issues. Just a thumbs up here to Tim Russert for asking the Lewinsky question to Hillary Clinton during her debate with Rick Lazio.  It was a very reasonable question to ask. In fact I think there are questions about Whitewater that would be reasonable questions to ask.

THEY HAVE THEMSELVES TO BLAME

The polls seem to be tightening. But if Bush loses,  let me say the Republicans have themselves to blame.  What am I talking about? 

Remember, Bush was the anointed one from the start.  Some Republican governors got together and decided that George W was their best chance to get back the White House. The GOP establishment went along, including the conservative base, and that was that.  But then came John McCain, who won in New Hampshire. Here was a guy who could attract the independents that Bush needed to win in November. Every poll showed McCain would do much better against Gore than Bush would.

So did the GOP rethink their strategy? Did they say, we didn't realize it, but John McCain is much more popular across America than George Bush is? No. They stuck their heads in the sand, and stuck with Bush. If McCain weren't so insistent on campaign finance reform, maybe the GOP would've reversed course. There was an excitement about McCain that I haven't seen for Gore or Bush.

If Bush wins, he could be a good president. But, we all know Bush isn't the sharpest knife in the rack. That may well be his undoing.  If McCain were the nominee, I'm guessing (and it can only be guessing) that he would have a nice lead over Al Gore right now.  I think McCain would've been our next president. So if Bush loses, let me be among the first to tell the GOP...I told you so.

 OTR POLL RESULTS

Al Gore has won our last three polls, so who knows, maybe the tide has turned for George W.

Question 1:  Who is your choice for president?
			votes	percent
1.) George W Bush			30	47%
2.) Al Gore			27	42%
3.) Ralph Nader			4	6%
4.) Pat Buchanan			1	2%
5.) Harry Brown			2	3%

Question 2:  Who is the best Saturday Night Live performer of all time?
			votes	percent
1.) John Belushi			23	38%
2.) Phil Hartman			20	33%
3.) Gilda Radner			17	28%

YOUR OPINIONS

They are an important part of OTR. Please send them along to BRUIN74@aol.com. Unless you say otherwise, I'll assume it is for publication.

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.