Ron Fineman's ON THE RECORD

A media critique... and then some!

11/16/01 - Friday

GO BRUINS!

Friday Letters are UP

Coming Monday - What LA TV station

is stopping its Thanksgiving Dinner tradition for

its workers? And which entertainment reporter

made a questionable claim of celeb friendship,

while an OTR source says the opposite is true?

Links to Recent Issues

11-12-01 Monday's OTR

11-14-01 Wednesday's OTR

11-09-01 Friday's OTR

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Please read the following letter from an OTR reader. It shows a serious ethical problem among some local stations.

"Ron,
    In my profession, I often find myself in front of the glaring lens of a
television camera, for the most part while we pull a lifeless body out of
the twisted wreckage of a car or patch up some gang-banger who was on the
wrong side of a drive-by. But, in the past few days, I have been walking the
picket line with my fellow emts of our sister union in Glendale as they
strike against our company. We've had some sporadic news coverage, and what
I have seen has been nothing short of appalling.
    As we walked the picket line, each and every news crew came to us and
asked us to do something specific for the camera, whether it be chant strike
slogans, walk in a certain direction, or where to stand to get the best
shot. One crew from a Spanish language station even asked us to chant in
Spanish for him while we walked the line in front of the camera.
    Now maybe it's just me, seeing as my degree and background is in print
journalism not television, but isn't this a blatant violation of
journalistic integrity and ethics? I know if I ever pulled anything like
this back in my newspaper days, my editor would have had my job for it. But,
from what I see, this is a common practice for television crews. I know the
argument that a story such as this is not characteristically "news" as we
asked for the coverage, and that asking them to do something a little
different doesn't really compromise any ethical guidelines, but I feel that
it creates an unrealistic representation of what really happened. It makes
people wonder whether anything they see on their local news is factual or if
it was staged for the camera.
    There are times when I entertain the thought of testing the waters of
television news, but then I see things like this and think twice about it.

Ken Koller, EMT-D
kenkoller@msn.com
http://www.westarm.bc.ca/~waynej/Ken_Koller/fireline.html

Ken says the stations involved included KCBS, KCOP, KMEX, KVEA and the station which asked them to chant in Spanish was KWHY. He is right. What he described is a serious violation of ethics. Is it NOT the job of TV news personnel to tell subjects in a story what to do! If channel 22 viewers hear these people chanting in Spanish, how would they know it's a fraud... done only at the suggestion of the news department?

If there is a demonstration it is the ethical obligation to accurately record what is seen and said, without any prompting from those who are covering it. If the protestors are not chanting...so be it. If they're not marching in the most visual location...too bad. Sadly, what viewers of those stations saw on the news was not an accurate snap shot of a job protest, but rather a news story mixed in with the way the TV stations wanted it to appear.

So, do not these stations have rules of ethics when it comes to staging stories? Surely it cannot be okay to tell demonstrators when you want them to chant, or where you want them to march, just for the camera. Granted, many protestors will start chanting on their own when they see a camera. But that is the decision of the protestors.

I've not heard the argument before that any event where coverage is requested isn't real news. Sounds like a rather foolish rationalization to justify unethical behavior. But given what Ken described, you have to wonder what else we see on KCBS, KCOP and any other stations which may be compromised. Ken also tells me the demonstrators did what they were asked to do by the TV crews. They wanted the coverage.

I welcome your input on this subject, and would especially like to hear from anyone in the TV business.

You may recall earlier this year, I questioned whether Jeanie Buss was the right person to be honored by Big Sisters. Today I got the following email:

"To whom it may concern:

Your site was forwarded to me by a friend who did a search on my name.
I don't really care to defend any of MY life choices to you but if you
have any questions, feel free to ask me directly.

I was not aware of the converstaion that took place between you and Rita
Hollingsworth the night of the Big Sister event. It would have been
fine with me to have a conversation with you that night."

Jeanie Buss

I figure I'll send some questions to her. If you have anything you'd like me to ask Jeanie Buss, drop me an email at BRUIN74@aol.com.

There it was...a full page ad in the LA Times yesterday, paid for by The Red Cross. The ad says in part "We regret that our program over the past eight weeks has not been as sharply focused as the people affected by this tragedy deserve and as our generous donors intended." It also says "The Red Cross's original plans for the Liberty Fund proposed other programs, including a strategic blood reserve, community outreach and expanded services to military families. These lifesaving programs will continue but will be funded from sources other than the Liberty Fund."

I would imagine Congressional hearings had something to do with this decision, as well as the pressure coming from Bill O'Reilly and his viewers. I know some have a different view on all this. But based on the changes discussed in the ad, I must believe this is an example of a member of the media helping to accomplish something positive.

(5) OTR - With your show, anchors are free to suddenly interject while Sam Rubin is
doing an interview. You can be interrupted too at certain times. Obviously,
not a traditional newscast. Going back, how tough was it to adjust to doing
such an unusual show?

Carlos - "When to interrupt is an art and usually it's to make a point, make fun of
Sam or just to comment. It was difficult at first because I came from such
a traditional news background. The news program evolved into a
news/entertainment show and we had to adjust but no one told us to do it
just happened naturally."

(6) OTR - Suppose you feel someone has interrupted at a bad time...or maybe Sam
feels like that. Do you folks tells each other after the show without
causing hurt feelings? In fact, do you all normally have post-mortems to
discuss the shows on a regular basis?

Carlos - "We have meetings everyday after the program and to be honest with you I
don't recall a single instance when one of us felt badly about being
interrupted. Has Sam complained to you?"

(7) OTR - No, Sam hasn't complained. I just figured in a free flowing show like you
have, it would be easy for someone to accidentally get carried away from
time to time. Without violating any confidences, could you give us a little
behind-the-scenes look at how those post show meetings go? Maybe an example
of something that changed on the show, based on one of those meetings?

Carlos - "We get carried away all the time. We're just like a conversation among
friends that can, at times, get a little weird. On this program it's
required that you have a thick skin, if you don't you will suffer. Our post
meetings aren't about apologies, we just move on to the next day. It may
seem that we just go out there and fly by the seat of our pants but in truth
we have all worked very hard to prepare a good program for our viewers. We
discuss segment ideas, potential guests and the latest trends. Our
producers work long hours and make us look good. As far as changes, we are
constantly evolving. We add more news here, shorten a segment there. Our
goal is to give our viewers the latest, most accurate information and hold
their interest along the way."

(8) OTR -You were working the morning of 9/11. What was that like for you? Did
you make a conscious effort to be a calming presence for the viewers, or
does just come automatically?

Carlos - "To be honest with you I couldn't believe what I was seeing. For the first
time in my career I couldn't find the words to describe what we were all
seeing. I was horrified and I just let the images speak for themselves. My
job that morning was not to alarm but to inform, not to exploit but to
reassure. As you know during breaking news facts are difficult to come by
so we tried to make some sense out of the fragments of available
information. I don't make a conscious effort to be a calming presence, I
believe in all the confusion the viewers want a steady and thoughtful
presentation."

(9) OTR - I want to ask you about the first email you sent to OTR, in which you
publicly criticized Hal Fishman. Most people are afraid to publicly
criticize people in the business, let alone those who work at the same
station. Did you get any grief at work for that? And would the news business
be better, if more people were vocal with their opinions?

Carlos - "I don't recall being critical of Hal, rather I disagreed with his position
regarding car chases. He's convinced they're legitimate live news events, I
don't. Everyone has a point of view, I'm a bit old school on that score and
believe I need to keep my opinions to myself. I have, however, on occasion
editorialized on issues where I believed I could not keep quiet. I am
careful to say they are my opinions and I am ready to take my lumps should
criticism follow. The news business has a delicate ego and many don't like
to hear criticism, I, for one, welcome it."

(10) OTR - Actually, the letter I recall had something to do with Hal not sharing
the spotlight very well with Lynette, based on a comment I had made. Anyway,
I thought your comment showed uncommon courage, so I wanted to bring that
out. Btw...I often that the morning crew and the night crew are like two
different worlds, and that there is certain amount of dislike between the
two. Any truth to that?

Carlos - "Sounds like you want dirt. Sorry, no dirt. Though I believe Hal isn't
always in agreement with how we do things in the morning we get along great
and I find his experience helpful and valuable."

(11) OTR - No dirt expedition. I've really heard that the two shifts don't much like
each other. Anyway when the day comes for Hal to retire, would you want to
be his replacement?

Carlos - "At first there was some resistance from the night folks. We were getting
all the attention and they weren't used to sharing the resources, but that's
eleven years ago. Today there is good synergy between both shifts. We
don't talk about Hal's (you know what) he has a long term agreement and
plans to stay on for quite a while. Would I want to be the main guy at KTLA
or elsewhere? Yes."

1-2-1 last week. Can we talk about IFs? Okay, never mind. But for the second week in a row, I defeated The Amazing Christina (1-3), proving my supreme dominance of all prognosticators on this web site. I'm ready for the hat trick. Might be nice to get over .500 for the year too.

Let me also add as a bonus pick that UCLA will give USC a thorough whipping tomorrow. Now I'm trying to come up with something Bruin for Carl Bell to wear on KCAL on Monday afternoon. Might as well do a final score prediction. UCLA 31-17.

"Between a rock and a hard place" is a good description for Florida Secretary of State Kathryn Harris. As a Republican and Bush supporter, it would be pretty unrealistic to expect her to allow the deadline for the re-counting of votes to be extended beyond what the law says. Even if she thinks it would be fair to get a full hand recount, how likely is she to go against her party on this?

I heard talk show host Larry Elder suggest that she will be even more unpopular among Democrats than Linda Tripp. I doubt that. I think most of them realize she is doing what she has to do. Now, if she goes the other way, then she would be far more unpopular among Republicans than I believe she will be among Democrats for sticking with her party on this.

I wish Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes would say that she believe Democrats will cheat in favor of Gore in the hand recount. She danced around saying that yesterday, the same way James Baker has, but never had the guts to say what appears to be on her mind. What with people representing both political parties taking part in the hand recount, I'm not quite sure how the "mischief" that Baker has warned about would happen. I'm not at all convinced that the canvassing board, which makes the final call on disputed ballots, would be unfair. The GOP makes hand recounts sound un-American. If hand recounts are so bad, why did George Bush sign such a law in Texas? Why hasn't Jeb Bush pushed to change the law in Florida? Maybe Bush's big mistake was not requesting hand recounts in Republican counties.

After all of this, I think the good news is that whoever wins will govern from the center and will work hard to win over the rest of the country. Certainly if Gore wins, the rightwing talk show hosts will bitch about him for four years. If Bush wins, comedians will have a four-year field day. I just hope that whoever loses will NOT be nominated again by his party. Would you like another Bush-Gore choice in 2004?

Or at least one of them....Jay Leno had a couple of envelopes made up which were sent to Bush in Gore. In LARGE letters they said "You may already be President." You got to love it!

All of this chad talk has brought back the name of actor Chad Everett, who apparently is the only Chad anyone can remember. But how about Chad Stuart? Yes, half of the English duo Chad and Jeremy.

I don't have to tell you how often I complain about broadcasteze. This non-conversational writing is like a cancer to good news writing. Anyway, I thought I'd do an about-face, and point out a case where I would have expected broadcasteze, but instead heard good writing. In referring to a car accident, KNBC's Paul Moyer said "someone ran him down and simply took off." Well done. All too often, the writer would have written "someone struck him and fled." Who knows? Maybe the OTR crusade for better news writing is making some progress.

Once again, I must protest the misuse of the word "hero." KNBC's Colleen Williams referred to some high school football players who were suspended as "high school football heroes." I realize that the word hero is used, and I would suggest often misused, when it comes to great athletes. But even if we agree that great ballplayers are sports heroes, how did we make that leap to a bunch of high schoolers? Do all the ninth graders want to grow up and be like those 12 grade football players? Once again, it sounded like a little sensationalism to try to sell a story.

Just a couple of days ago, I got a letter in the mail which was dated October 16th. Rick Lazio was asking me to send him money to help defeat Hillary Clinton. It must make Lazio donors feel good to know that there money was so well spent...sending out a mailer that arrives one week after the election.

You may recall seeing the story last week when the former presidents gathered at the White House. As President Clinton was speaking, one of the networks showed some video of the audience which seemed to be listening. There was former President Bush, Barbara Bush, Bill Clinton....Bill Clinton?! Wait a minute...he's the guy who was speaking! Yes, in some editor's wisdom, some cover video which included Bill Clinton was shown while he was heard speaking. It wasn't just a stupid mistake, it was kind of spooky too...watching Clinton listening as Clinton is speaking...like there are two of him. As a less than creative news writer might say...it looked like Rush Limbaugh's 'worst nightmare.'

There it was on KCAL news last week. As Jerry Dunphy introduced John Ireland to do sports, Dunphy brought up UCLA. Specifically, he suggested UCLA stands for U Can Lose Again. Can you imagine the nerve! John Ireland, who happens to be UCLA grad suggested that Dunphy co-anchor Sylvia Lopez may've put him up to it. Yes, she apparently went to the University of Spoiled Children, the University of Second Choice. No doubt if Dunphy were 75 years younger, Ireland would've challenged him to a duel.

But let the Trojans and their dupes have their fun. They have won only ONE conference game this year. They know what fate awaits them on Saturday. It's just a question of what the score will be. In fact let me make a prediction. UCLA 45-17. If I'm wrong...I mean if I am REALLY wrong....you will see a very embarrassed picture of me on next Monday's issue of OTR. But more than likely, you'll see KCAL weatherman Carl Bell wearing my beautiful Bruin tie on his Monday weathercasts at noon and 2pm. The funny thing is, Carl doesn't know just what my UCLA tie looks like. "Camera 1? Let's get a real nice close-up!" Let's let all of LA know. It's a fashion statement he won't soon forget.

I know many of you who are college football fans around the country are having your big game this weekend too. By the way, I want all of you to know I'm not the only Bruin who feels strongly about this SC game. LA Times TV critic Brian Lowry sent me this "I'm a Bruin as well. May the Trojans die with festering boils. And you can print that, too."

If you watch the TV show....tell me, doesn't this new blonde lawyer character remind you of Holly Hunter's character from Broadcast News? You know, that smart mouthed southern belle? A couple of things disappoint me about her character. For one, she seems to encourage that stupid Sorkin banter which drives me nuts. For another, it seems obvious that there is going to be some romantic involvement between her and Rob Lowe's character. It's just too predictable. Unless I'm wrong...in which case it wasn't. Since she plays a Republican, I do like the fact that Aaron Sorkin has decided to give a positive portrayal of someone who's not a Democrat. Let's face it, if you watch the news right now, it's hard to find a Republican who you can admire. For my GOP friends who read OTR...you've got my email address (BRUIN74@aol.com). Fire when ready!

If you can patent the following phrase, you could make real money. It is a staple of TV talks shows all over America. Ready? "You get the last word" or "You've got the last word." You could probably put a child through college on CNN's Capital Gang alone.

They are an important part of OTR. Please send them along to BRUIN74@aol.com. Please remember to include your first and last name. 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.