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A media critique... and then some!
Wednesday Letters are UP Inside LA TV - Heads start to roll at KCAL.. an LA TV veteran goes to Florida, and more. Links to Recent Issues 10-22-01 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. Your help is appreciated! |
To get on the OTR email reminder list, email me at BRUIN74@aol.com. |
AN ANTHRAX STORY WE DID NOT NEED
Obviously it is our job to let people know when there are new cases of anthrax. This thing is insidious, and so far it has killed three people. However, the chances of the average Joe - the viewer - of getting anthrax are very small. So while we tell the stories that must be told, we also need to keep it all in perspective. We should not feed panic or paranoia. However, I believe KABC-TV fell into the trap last week. They carried a story about a home test kit for anthrax! As part of the story, they included a sound bite from a biologist who believed that false positives would be a problem with this kit. Anchor Marc Brown also explained that after you put the sample into the solution, it takes up to two days to get a result. I don't know what the turnaround time is in a lab for this, but if I really thought I might have been in contact with it, I wouldn't want to wait two days for a home test result with questionable accuracy. It just seems like someone is trying to make a fast buck during this scare, and I hate to see the news media give them an assist.
WANTED - GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
An observant OTR reader tells me that last week KNBC interrupted a soap opera to show President Bush live at rally at Travis Air Force Base just outside of Sacramento. During the live speech, there was a graphic which said "Sacramento." I'm told it was up almost the entire time. When it was over, anchor Michele Ruiz came on and said that Bush had just given a live address from Travis Air Force Base, and added that is in Northern California, just outside of Bakersfield. As our reader pointed out to me, Bakersfield is in no way Northern California. You can drive from Hollywood to Bakersfield in about an hour and a half. And even if she didn't know where Bakersfield is, there was that graphic which said "Sacramento."
Also in need of a geography lesson, KABC-TV's Lora McLaughlin. Sunday night, she reported that suspicious letters had been received, in Kenya, China and Nairobi. I guess she doesn't know that Nairobi is IN Kenya. Not exactly an obscure country and capitol city, is it?
Believe me, I realize that we all have a lot of
geography to learn. How many of us could find Uzbekistan on a
map before the last month? How many of us even heard of Turkmenistan
before all of this? But there are certain areas of the
country and of the world that any LA reporter should already be
familiar with. I would include Bakersfield and Nairobi among
them.
OTR RETURNS TO
KCAL
<--OTR
PUBLISHER PLEASED TO HEAR THE NEWS
It's almost like the bad dictator has been overthrown, and freedom of the press is restored. Okay, a bit of an exaggeration. But just days after former interim news director DaVida Plummer left KCAL, her ban of OTR has been reversed. Yes this ole yellow screen can now be seen in the KCAL newsroom again. I don't know if this was Nancy Bauer Gonzales' decision, or someone else's. But certainly, there were a lot of critical messages in here about KNBC during her reign, and she never banned OTR there. After all, what self-respecting journalist would ban a publication just because they don't like what it says? And just think, maybe when the Northern Alliance takes over in Afghanistan, we can be restored in Kabul too!
NEWSPAPER BIAS
Before I explain the bias I saw in LA Times Middle East reporting, let me give you a couple of examples to set this up. In Sunday's paper, reporter Dan Morain did an excellent story about all of the public appearances Gray Davis has been making since September 11th. His office will even try to deceive the news media to get coverage. For example, Morain points out that since September 11th, Department of Fish and Game officers stepped up their boat patrols in the San Francisco Bay, LA and Long Beach Harbors. So when Davis made that announcement last Thursday, Morain wrote that Davis "announced" that he had ordered Fish and Game to increase patrols. He put quotes around the word "announced" to make it clear that it was not a true announcement, since it was old news.
There was another article about a former group of South Vietnamese which wants to overthrow the government of Vietnam. The article says the group considers itself to be Vietnam's legitimate government in exile, complete with a "cabinet" that meets frequently. Again, the word in quotes clearly implies that it means something different than the standard definition. Obviously, it's not a real cabinet.
Now, here comes what appears to be anti-Israeli bias. In reporting about Israel's current invasion into Palestinian territory, Tracy Wilkinson writes... Aides to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon insisted that they were exercising "self-defense." Yes, Wilkinson put "self-defense" in quotes. In other words, she doesn't believe it is self-defense. You can make a case that Israel has gone too far this time. Or you can make a case they have a right to go after the terrorists who keep killing their citizens including a Cabinet Minister. But my point is, it is NOT up to the reporter to make that judgment. If Sharon's people say it is self-defense, she should report that, as well opinions from Palestinians who feel differently. But her putting "self-defense" in quotes shows her bias, however subtle, which is obviously inappropriate and unprofessional.
OH THAT LAUREN!
Okay, I told you Monday I'd have another Sanchezism for you. In this one, she had taped a story about soldiers training in Fort Polk, Louisiana. She said "A reincarnated Afghanistan is the battleground." I didn't even think the country had died yet. I think "recreated" might be the word she was looking for.
On the more serious side of errors, while anchoring she said "Tonight our troops are waging a brutal ground war in Afghanistan." Granted she was reading what was written for her. But I don't believe there is any way you can say that the special operations ground force mission last week was BRUTAL. The Pentagon says our troops didn't even run into any enemies. Once again, we hear an adjective, which amounts to an opinion. But I don't think any reasonable person would use the word brutal, if you don't so much as shoot at the enemy. Possibly the news writer was assuming that any ground war must be brutal on all sides. But given what was actually going on, as far as we know, the adjective was wrong.
COURAGEOUS?
One night last week, you couldn't watch a newscast without seeing Lisa Beamer. She is the wife of one of the men who fought against the hijackers on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. In a couple of stories, I heard her called "courageous,' but I just don't think that is the right word. Her husband was most certainly courageous. Sadly, Lisa Beamer is a victim. I'll agree that she has shown grace, but 'courage' seems off the mark. Once again, the news media seem to confuse being a victim with being a hero, or in this case, courageous. For that matter, I don't think it was newsworthy that she decided to fly across the country. Her flying isn't going make anyone who's afraid to fly, any less fearful. I just had the feeling that she was enjoying the attention more than she should've been. Some of you may want to blast me for saying that, but that's how it struck me.
KNBC NOT GETTING IT RIGHT
A story read recently by Diane Diaz said the beating of Rodney King touched off riots. Of course that is not the case. It was the lack of criminal convictions in the first trial for the officers which touched off the riots. Diaz should be old enough to remember that.
MILK STORY POORLY DONE
KTTV was doing a story that was pretty questionable to start with. It was a "got milk" poetry contest for kids put on by the Milk Advisory Board. Media manipulation anybody? Okay, maybe there are some funny or clever poems to hear. But the way the story was put together, all we heard was the words "9-1-1" from one of the contestants. The anchors joked about how the story really didn't make much sense, saying they'd only heard the punch line. But how can you go to the trouble cover an event like that, and then not present something which might prove that it really wasn't just a free commercial for the milk people?
SPEAKING OF COMMERCIALS
It's always fun to talk about the really stupid or annoying commercials. But let me say a good word about a clever Intel commercial. These bald headed Martian like creatures get their hands on a computer, and they bring up a picture of a pretty woman. One of them gets to work on her image...getting rid of her hair, and therefore making her look more like them. That brings smiles, oohing and ahing to the creatures. Pretty good stuff.
BROADCASTEZE VIOLATION OF THE WEEK
Who: Laura Diaz
Where: KABC-TV
What: ...reaching into a "motorist's" car.
What's with news writers and anchors? It is so tough to say "driver"?
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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