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A media critique... and then some!
Tuesday Letters are UP - Complaints against KNBC, Israel, advice on my windshield problem, a reporter comments on HazMat terminology, and much more. Inside LA TV - Heads start to roll at KCAL.. an LA TV veteran goes to Florida, and more. Coming Wednesday - an LA Times bias on the middle east? Links to Recent Issues 10-15-01 Monday's OTR 10-17-01 Wednesday's OTR 10-19-01 Friday's OTR If you'd like to send a contribution to help keep OTR going, you can send 10 dollars to Ron Fineman, PO Box 42364, Bakersfield, CA 93384 Or you can send $ on-line. Just click on the PayPal Logo. Thanks to our latest contributors.... two media members, who asked to remain anonymous. Your help is appreciated! *Given more than $10 |
To get on the OTR email reminder list, email me at BRUIN74@aol.com. |
REPORTER OF THE DAMNED - IS HE NOW THE STORY?
Okay, I've mixed a couple of different ideas in the headline, so I'd better explain. You may've seen Fox News reporter Steve Harrigan reporting on the video phone from Afghanistan. When it was dark outside, his eyes looked circles of light, much like the children in "Village of the Damned." It was spooky looking, but if the Taliban had ever seen the old movie, it just might scare them pretty good.
Now for the serious part. Earlier in the day, as Harrigan was reporting down in a bunker, a bullet flew by him, and he ducked down. He wasn't hit. Since there is a war going on around him, I don't think this should've come as a big surprise. So as the United States fights this war on Islamic Extremism, guess how KTTV teased their newscast that night? Yes, during prime time programming, Christine Divine popped up to say "A Fox News reporter comes under fire in Afghanistan." A bullet whizzes by a combat reporter, and THAT becomes the story? Of all the arrogance! The guy was not hurt. However there are people being killed in Afghanistan. This a war, remember? KTTV should absolutely ashamed of themselves for elevating a reporter on the job to being more important than the story he is covering. Ridiculous.
VISUAL MISINFORMATION
If you don't put video in a proper context, even if by accident, it can be like a visual lie. In particular, too often reporters are not properly referencing old video, and there is nothing on the screen to suggest it is file video. That was very much a problem in a story that John North did for KABC-TV last Friday. We learn at the start of the story that US special forces are on the ground in Afghanistan. We see video from Afghanistan of some building which is smoking, presumably after a US bomb hit it. Then we see video of US soldiers on the ground and jumping out a plane. It does not say "file" and North makes no reference to it. I imagine many viewers thought it was from the mission. The defense department video we later saw that was from the mission was grainy and far less clear, and the uniforms looked different. But at the time of the report, that video had not been released yet, so there was nothing to compare to. I don't believe there was any attempt to deceive in this one. But, I suggest it is unrealistic to expect viewers to automatically realize it was training video in light of the story's subject matter. Especially in time of war, accuracy is essential.
THE OLD STAGING PROBLEM
KABC-TV ran a story with video that was obviously from elsewhere. The point was to show how a parent can reassure a small child when they take a trip out of town. Though it was a feature story, that still doesn't mean it is okay to stage the video, which is clearly what happened in part of the story, if not most of it.
As it starts out, we see a father hugging his little girl on the porch as he is about to leave on a trip. The camera is also on the porch as the father is seen walking out of the front yard. Then the camera is on the sidewalk, and we still see the little girl waving, and then we see the father having walked just a few steps past the front gate. Unless there was more than one camera, only Superman could've accomplished this without staging. Photographers should never tell subjects what to do or when to do it, unless the viewer is told "Joe Blow did thus-and-such for our camera."
The story tells us that it is important for a parent to talk to the child on the phone when they're away. And what do you know....we see a picture of this child talking on the phone. At the end of the story, with the camera inside the house, the father walks through the front door, and the little girl runs up to hug him. I suppose it is possible that the photographer in this story spent a lot of time with the family involved and got some genuine shots. But to me... it all looked as real as some of the implants I see behind some anchor desks these days. I've long felt that staging video is a serious ethical offense. It is certainly useful to the lazy, and those who'd really like to be directing movies, instead of recording real life. Of course when you tape real life, it doesn't always come out perfect, and you just can't get every shot you'd like. But at least it is real. All video on the news should at least be that.
I THINK PAVLOV WOULD APPRECIATE THIS
I was checking on search engine referrals to OTR recently, and found that over the course of about an hour and a half, more than a dozen people came to this site after doing a search for "Jillian Barberie naked" or "Jillian Barberie nude." It seemed odd to have so many similar requests in that span of time. Then it hit me. I was checking on Sunday Morning, after she had done her weather report on the Fox Football Pregame show. Aren't guys just SO predictable? Show em a great body on TV, and the first thing they do is run to their computer looking for more, and I do mean MORE. To the best of my knowledge, that doesn't exist on the internet, but as the old saying goes...you can't blame a guy for trying.
OKAY, I'LL TELL YOU WHICH ANCHOR IT WAS
Doing this sort of little guessing game is pretty interesting. For those of you just tuning in, recently an LA anchor read half of a story, which their co-anchor had just finished reading. I was amazed that any anchor could be paying so little attention. The anchor stopped abruptly during the reading. I'm guessing a producer got in their ear to tell them what they were doing. I think the guessing is interesting, because it gives us an idea of who some local viewers think are not very bright. We had single guesses for Ann Martin, Jerry Dunphy, Harold Greene and Kelly Mack. Paul Moyer got three "votes", the same amount as the actual guilty party. I'll let one of the correct guessers give you the answer:
"Ron:
Call it a hunch but could the redundant story telling
be from Lauren Sanchez of the "Emmy award winning for
best newscast" KCOP?
If it is, I'm not surprised at all. I'm still
surprised that she's still working. If it isn't, oh
well. "
Jim Dang
Austin, TX
I certainly agree with Jim. Right now, I just wish someone at KCOP would teach her how to say "terror." She doesn't even try to use two syllables. With her, the word is "tear." I did spot another pretty good Sanchezism the other night. I'll try to remember to include it on Wednesday.
TIME FOR A NAME CHANGE, HUH?
I haven't heard what they're going to do, but I guess the old heavy metal group Anthrax has found their name has become a problem. Can you imagine a marquee which says "Tonight...Anthrax." How long before someone would call 9-1-1 and have the place shut down until a HazMat team could check it out? With three people dead, I realize this is NO joke. But I think we could all agree there has been a unreasonable over-reaction from a lot of frightened people. As for the rock group, I suggest they change their name to something more socially acceptable, like "Cocaine", "Rat Poison" or maybe "Suspicious White Powdery Substance."
WHAT DOES SUPPORT MEAN?
The LA Times reports that the Council on American Islamic Relations has drafted a statement calling for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. Other Muslim groups have declined to sign the statement, and so CAIR isn't sure if they should release it. Aslam Abdullah, editor of a Muslim magazine and member of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, says if Muslim leadership supports the bombing, "they may be speaking against their conscience." He has opposed the attack on Afghanistan right from the start.
Salam Al-Marayati of the Muslim Public Affairs Council says there is "strong sentiment" in the community to stop the military campaign. But they won't call for a halt because of fear of a backlash against Muslims.
The draft statement from CAIR stresses that they fully support efforts to bring the terrorists to justice. But tell me, how in the world can that happen without military action? It doesn't mean much to say you want to catch the terrorists if you're not willing to use necessary force to capture or kill them. Afghanistan had plenty of time to turn over Bin Laden and his people. They refused.
So it sounds like a lot of American Muslims are not speaking out against the bombing, not because they sincerely want to get the terrorists, but rather because they're afraid of the consequences of saying what they really believe. It is wrong that fear should keep them from being honest about their feelings, but it is understandable, given the climate. But I would also suggest it is sad that their commitment at fighting terrorism is not at the level of the vast majority of the rest of America. Makes you wonder just how strong their commitment really is.
SOME PROMO
The Fox Network had aired a lot of promos to let us know that Jeri Ryan has been added to the cast of Boston Public. But the line they keep running from the show is so worthless, I can't understand why they picked it. A student says "are you a real teacher?" And her 'witty' response is "are you a real student?" And that's the promo. David Kelley is such a good writer. Couldn't they have come up with something better than the equivalent of "same to you!"
By the way, no...she doesn't wear the above outfit in the show. Wait, I guess I shouldn't say that until we see what they do during sweeps.
LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS
| Do you think Osama Bin Laden has been sending coded messages? | ||||
 |
votes | percent | ||
1.) Yes |
63 | 64% | ||
2.) No |
36 | 36% | ||
| Do you believe Osama Bin Laden is responsible for the cases of Anthrax? | ||||
|
votes | percent | ||
|
1.) Yes |
25 | 33% | ||
|
2.) No |
18 | 24% | ||
3.) Undecided |
32 | 43% | ||
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
Has TV news overdone the coverage of Anthrax? Please head to the poll section on the menu.
THOSE LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU CRAZY
I was driving on the freeway a few weeks ago when it almost seemed like it was raining rocks. They came in two or three waves off of a truck, and finally one of them left a little crack in my windshield. I caught the name of a recycling company on the side of the truck, and managed to track them down. When I talked with my insurance company, 21st Century, they said they would deal with the recycling company to make sure they paid for the repair. I was supposed to wait for an adjuster to call me. But weeks later, I've had no call back from 21st Century or any adjuster.
If the crack can be repaired, the insurance company will foot the bill, which would be less than 50 bucks. However, when I called back 21st today, I was told if the windshield should need replacement, I first had to pay my deductible in getting it replaced. After that, they would consider calling the company which is responsible. Apparently this is how insurance companies typically do business. But when I asked the 21st spokesman to follow through on the company's original promise to pursue the guilty, without me having to pay out of my pocket, he told me that would be ILLEGAL. I asked him to tell me what law would forbid this sort of help. He couldn't name it. Apparently, it was company policy that he was talking about, something quite different than a LAW. Makes you wonder how many customers they've tried that "illegal" line on. Let me tell you, it is pretty insulting when they try it on you.
So here's the bottom line. I've paid 21st Century thousands of dollars in premiums over the years, but they won't get off their butts to make a phone call for one of their customers. So now, if I want to avoid out of pocket expenses, I've got to go after the company responsible for cracking my windshield. If you ask me, that SHOULD be the job on my insurance company. It's an LA area recycling company. We'll have to see if they'll be more cooperative than 21st Century. Thanks for letting me vent. I'll let you know how it turns out.
REDUNDANCY OF THE WEEK
Who: Jane Velez Mitchell
Where: KCAL
What: "...people killed in North Korea due to deadly flooding."
Well, if people are killed, I guess we've figured out that it is deadly.
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.
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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