Ron Fineman's ON THE RECORD

A media critique... and then some!

11/23/01 - Friday

Friday Letters are UP

Coming Monday - a picture of a reporter

who one reader says is "tacky." Also a

KTTV reporter checks in on how Thanksgiving

went.

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11-19-01 Monday's OTR

11-21-01 Wednesday's OTR

11-16-01 Friday's OTR

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I see in Shoptalk that the San Francisco Chronicle reports there is controversy over suggested guidelines by the Society of Professional Journalists regarding the war on terrorism. Some of the guidelines include:
-- "Use language that is informative and not inflammatory."
-- "Seek out people from a variety of ethnic and religious
backgrounds" in covering mourners at the terrorist attacks,
military personnel, and "all types of arts, business,
society columns and all other news and feature coverage."
-- "Avoid using word combinations such as 'Islamic
terrorist' or 'Muslim extremist' that are misleading
because they link whole religions to criminal activity."
SPJ suggests phrases like "Al Qaeda terrorists" or
"political Islamists."

"The new guidelines, rooted in an effort that began with the Bay Area chapter, suggest that news outlets work to counter stereotypes and inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims, Arabs and other groups. Stephen Hayes, a columnist for the conservative political journal The Weekly Standard, blasted the guidelines as "absurd." "They come perilously close to calling for racial and religious quotas in both news photography and composition," he wrote."

"Hayes' criticism was just the beginning. SPJ received critical e-mails from people around the country, and a scathing letter from a group called the Coalition for
American Citizens in Hartsdale, N.Y. "Your action through the release of these guidelines makes your organization willing to be an accomplice to terrorism
through misinformation," the coalition's founder, William Bongiorno, wrote. "I guess you have guidelines also for making sure journalists get the 'unbiased' opinions of
former Nazi officers also."

I can agree that it is reasonable to not simply make this an "us vs. them" story. Some of what is suggested sounds a lot like common sense to me. But I would disagree about using the terms Islamic Terrorist, or Muslim Extremist. Those terms accurately describe what our country is fighting. For the Society to suggest avoiding those terms is one of the worst examples of political correctness replacing accurate reporting. And based on all the coverage I've seen, I'd say TV news has bent over backward to paint Islam in a positive light. In fact based on an LA Times article which I quoted not too long ago, I would say that TV news has largely avoided mentioning the number of American Muslims who have not supported the US bombing in Afghanistan. In terms of news coverage, I would think that Muslims would have little to complain about.

Yesterday, I was assigned to cover the Laugh Factory's annual event, where they serve free Thanksgiving dinner and put on a free comedy show. Owner Jamie Masada has been doing this for 22 years on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. You'd think this would have been a very pleasant event to cover, wouldn't you? Check out the amazingly arrogant attitude of one of the comedians who Masada asked me to interview. And no, this was not a comedic put-on. What got this man so mad? He got upset when I asked him what his last name was. His name is Paul Mooney. Here is part of this 'lovely' holiday interview.

Mooney: Yeah, please, you're boring me. but go ahead. You guys are too funny, you should know about what you talk about. Go ahead.

Mooney: If I were Jewish you'd know who I was. We won't get into that. Go ahead.

Mooney: The event is the event. I am the event. I've been doing it for 20 years. What do you want from me? How many times have you been here?

Later on, he assured me that the hostility was real, "as real as you only coming here once in 20 years."

Of course I suppose the fact that I've only been reporting in LA for less than five years doesn't much matter to a bruised ego. As a reporter, you're going to run into jerks occasionally. That is part of the job. Suggesting that I have some Jewish bias on comedians was obviously bigoted and ignorant. But think of what a terrible representative this guy is for what is a terrific event. I know insecurity and hostility are not foreign to comedians. But you'd think for an event like this, you'd want someone with far less anger, or at least the ability to hide his disappointment that after all these years, he remains less than famous. Jamie Masada seems to be such a generous and classy person. He really needs to pick spokespeople who better reflect his attitude, and his event. Mooney was much closer to sad, than to funny.

I'm taking a poll on what line of work you are in. If you haven't gone to the Poll section on the menu this week, please do.

(12) OTR - You may've seen the article in the Times, in which Marcia Brandwynne
said it was a mistake to let Sharon Tay appear on the KTLA Morning News, modeling
some sexy clothing. I'm wondering if you folks on-set had doubts about it
while it was happening or thought it looked bad. Also, I'd be curious to
hear your general thoughts about some women in TV news using sex appeal as part
of their job.

Carlos - "To be honest I'm sick and tired of questions regarding the "good looking"
people on television. It's an issue as old as TV itself. Barbara Walters
and Jane Pauley were only "window dressing" adding sex appeal to the male
dominated newscasts. There was even an argument that Dan Rather was picked
because he was better looking than Walter Cronkite! Most people on television
are pleasing to look at, it doesn't diminish their skill or ability to
perform as journalists."

(13) OTR - If I may ask again, did anyone on set ever question whether it
was a good idea to have Sharon Tay appearing like that?

Carlos - "For more than ten years the KTLA Morning News has been leading the way in local morning television. We are copied all over the country and we believe
we do it better than anyone else. Our viewers see us in a variety of roles.
I sung and played guitar with famous rock bands like Chicago. Mark has
dressed up in an Elvis costume and Sam has been a daisy on a Rose Parade
float. We have all stretched our roles beyond the typical "news anchor" and
it has worked to our benefit. Sharon has modeled a variety of times and
Emmet has been seen shirtless (Oh my!) in workout segments. It is all part
of what we do and if you like it, you watch and if you don't you go
someplace else."

(14) OTR - With Jane Velez Mitchell being taken off the anchor desk, I believe that
makes you and Giselle the only regular Hispanic anchor team among the
non-Spanish LA stations. Is that a big deal to you, or do you feel like news
talent integration is such that that sort of fact is no long very
significant?

Carlos - "I think KTLA hired the best person available in Giselle. She was a great
fit and we all enjoyed our two-day tryout with her. The fact that she is
Latino is a bonus. There have been great improvements in local news
integration, however, the networks after years of improvements in racial
diversity have all but abandoned people of color in their upper ranks."

(15) OTR - What do you think is going on? Are the networks purposely avoiding the
hiring of minorities in those positions?

Carlos - "I have been told directly by high ranking network executives that the
decision-makers believe that the audience will not accept a person with a
Hispanic surname in a position of authority. Names like Amezcua, Garcia or
Fernandez are still viewed with some suspicion and that American viewers
have been slow to warm to Hispanic or Latino authority figures. This
thinking by network big-wigs has slowed the progress of many aspiring
newspeople who don't fit the current network anchor model. When Tom steps
aside, Brian will likely move in. When Dan hangs it up I'd bet money on
John Roberts and the list goes on. You have to go deep in the bench to even
find a Latino in the mix, if at all. Even worse is cable. 24 hours of news
on dozens of channels and Latinos are nowhere! Aaron, Paula, Shepard same
ol' same ol'. America is diverse, American television is not."

(16) OTR - Might part if it be a numbers games too? Meaning, there are a lot of
Hispanics on LA TV news for example, because there are a lot of Hispanics in
LA. Nationwide, the percentage is much smaller, so the representation is
less. Then again, black anchors do seem more visible than Hispanics
nationally, though I believe the populations are pretty close. What do you
think?

Carlos - "I think it can be dismissed as purely a numbers issue. I would like to see
someone like Antonio Mora, for example, filling in for Peter Jennings. I
would also like to see guys like Carlos Del Valle get a shot at high profile
NFL games. It has been my experience that network presidents and other
executives are reluctant to give Latino men a shot at a high profile
position. I was once told by a network executive friend of mine who is part
of that so called, inner circle, that being Latino was good for me at the
local level but hurt me at the national level. I don't usually make an
issue of my ethnicity and if you watch the KTLA Morning News with any
regularity I rarely mention it. I am troubled, however, by the lack of
male Latino faces and encourage network executives to give us a shot, I'm
sure they will quickly see that America can accept and trust a
Hispanic-American network anchor or sportscaster."

(17) OTR - I've noticed that you seem to be in the majority of Hispanic anchors and
reporters, who do NOT suddenly put a Spanish accent on words or names with
Spanish origins. As an OTR reader, you know that some folks are put off by
it, and also wonder why other ethnicities don't get the same treatment.
Anyway, I'm just wonder how you feel about the pluses and minuses of doing
that?

Carlos - "I work in an English speaking medium therefore I speak English. I even
pronounce some Spanish words with an English accent if you will. I do on
occasion have fun with my Spanish and correctly pronounce Spanish words. I
think it's completely up to the individual newsperson as to how to do it. I
prefer to be understood and if my Spanish speaking skills are required I
hablar en Espanol."

(18) OTR - Thanks for taking part in our Friday interview. If you have any closing
thoughts, memories to share, predictions to make...whatever, now is the
time.

Carlos - "I appreciate OTR and the opportunity I have on a regular basis to read what
people are saying about what we do for a living. I also appreciate the many
comments from my media colleagues. I feel very fortunate to be living and
working in Los Angeles and to have had a modicum of success here. I also
want all OTR participants to know how much my colleagues at KTLA mean to me.
Mark, Sam, Sharon, Jennifer, Eric, Gayle, Willa, Bill, Kurt, Bob, Emmet,
Marcia and most recently Giselle. Our producers and technical staff really
make us look good. What a joy it is to get up each morning and start my day
with these talented people! And to my friends who have left, Lenn, Michele
and Barbie I feel blessed to have worked with them. Thanks. See you on TV."

Alright. Back over .500 again! I went three out of four last week, and ohhh, the one I missed, (Chargers +9), was sure close, since the Raiders won by ten. Can you feel the momentum building? You feel it, don't you! 4 for 4 is coming. For me that is. The Amazing Christina managed to go one out of four, which puts her at 3-9. Apparently feeling no embarrassment, she is ready to try again this week. Turns out she and I have two picks which match. Sooo...I will predict she has her first .500 week. At least I sure hope so.

Last week, veteran KTLA reporter Warren Wilson and a newspaper reporter were interviewing a killer, after he was sentenced to life in prison. The murderer, Gabriel Gomez, had never revealed where he left the body of his victim. During the interview, he agreed to say where he left it. So, Wilson, the newspaper reporter, Gomez, and Sheriff's detectives took a trip to a very large park, where he claimed he dumped the body in October of last year. The victim was the wife of the leader of the group Los Lobos, and so this was a high profile case.

Her body was not found, and now authorities believe it was a wild goose chase. But, on the night when the search began, everyone was taking this seriously. I didn't see everyone's story that night, but the only TV reporter I saw who mentioned Warren Wilson was Warren Wilson. Doing the story for radio, I mentioned his involvement, as did the LA Times the next day. If any other TV newscast mentioned him, I missed it...which certainly could have happened.

Let me ask you. Was it ethical for competitors to leave out his involvement, just because Wilson works for a different station? Believe me, I can understand why other TV stations would want to do this. Especially for those stations which do their news at 10pm, the same time as KTLA, it would be like an invitation to turn to channel 5. Yet, by Wilson's account, his questioning of this killer directly lead to this search in the park. How do you tell your viewers all relevant facts, and leave that one out? When a competitor is involved in an accident, or is charged with a crime, TV stations will cover that, as they should. But I think this is a case where a reporter legitimately becomes part of the story, just by doing his job. If you have any thoughts on this issue, please send them along to BRUIN74@aol.com.

Most if not all news operations have ruling against staging, but it happens. For those of you aren't in the news biz, let me at least give you my definition of it. Staging happens when a person does something or says something on camera, at the request of the reporter or photographer, while the viewer is led to believe the action or statement is spontaneous and independent. So, to use an example from a former news director; suppose I'm doing a story on a widget maker, but on the day I go to see him, he's not making any. It's perfectly ethical to ask him to make widgets just for the camera, as long as the viewer is told..."Joe Blow demonstrated for us how he makes widgets." But, if the viewer doesn't know Joe Blow was performing for the camera, that would be staging.

While doing a pre-game story on the USC campus last week, there was a crew from Fox Sports. At one point, there was a USC official giving a tour to prospective students. The reporter asked him to talk about the UCLA rivalry. Unless the viewer was told the official mentioned the rivalry at Fox's suggestion, it was clearly staged news. Viewers weren't seeing what was really happening, but what Fox Sports wanted to see happening. Since I didn't see the piece on the air, I can't be sure it wasn't presented that way. Though if it was, I'd be pretty surprised. Fox Sports was also interviewing students. One time, three girls simultaneously told the reporter that "we are going to kick UCLA's ass," or words very close to that. He then asked them to say it again, because one of the girls was laughing. He wanted them to be more serious. It was more theater, than feature news. While interviewing another student, after she answered a question, he had her repeat the answer twice, just so the cameraman could zoom in on her answer for a different camera angle. So, in that case, the viewer would be seeing a re-creation of the student's original answer.

Again, IF the viewers knew these answers were like lines from a script, or re-created that's fine. But IF the viewers think it's real, even if its a fun sports feature; they are being deceived, and that is wrong.

Over the years, I've seen reporters and photographers stage the news, telling subjects what to do, in all types of stories. It may make the work easier, but it is a major scam that most viewers probably never even know is happening.

The Sacramento Bee has fired a reporter for plagiarism, and for making up quotes! Here is a part of the editor's column published today, explaining why reporter Dennis Love was fired.

"In a Sept. 12 Page One article on Vice President Al Gore's record on gun control, Love wrote: "The Senate vote -- 50 aye, 50 no -- had taken place only three hours after a teenager shot six classmates in a Georgia high school and a month after the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado that left 15 dead. Gore, amid much media attention, rushed to Washington from the Midwest to cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the bill."

"'It was one of the most symbolic acts in the history of gun-control legislation,' says Warren Deering, a Washington-based author who writes frequently about gun issues. 'With that vote, Gore solidified his standing forever with gun-control advocates, and forever earned the enmity of the pro-gun lobby.'"

Good quote. An even-handed way to deal with the issue. The only problem is that there is no Warren Deering of Washington who writes frequently about gun issues. And Love acknowledged fabrications in a handful of other cases."

Needless to say, every time someone is caught, it makes it tougher for all journalists to be credible. Only we can clean up our act.

During the Florida Supreme Court hearing on Monday, I liked it when the Chief Justice said to one of the lawyers, "Do you get my drift?" Think about it. So many reporters have a problem talking on the air in the same way they talk off the air. Yes, broadcasteze remains a big problem. Yet here in this huge hearing, instead of relying on legalese-a cousin of broadcasteze-this judge talked like a real person. So if he can do it, why can't reporters and anchors?

I'm no lawyer, and I have to admit, I don't know where the court got the authority to arbitrarily decide on a new date for vote certification. Maybe the conflicts in the law made the ruling proper, I don't know. While I've felt the hand counting has been a reasonable request all along, I am concerned about counties which suddenly change their rules, with the appearance that the change may be to help Gore get more votes. I would think that Bush could have a good challenge after the votes are finally counted, if he's suddenly behind. No doubt about it, there should be one standard for everyone involved. Hopefully, after all of this, Florida will change its law to reflect that. Personally, as long as chads are around, I think the 'swinging chad' with two corners punched out sounds fair. Sometimes, local control, which Republicans are usually very enthusiastic about, can come back and bite you in the butt. But then again, with the Miami-Dade decision to stop their recount today, sometimes it can work out for you. I know we will all be glad when this is over. Nevertheless, I think a poll on the court's ruling would be the appropriate thing to do right now.

Last year, I complained about a story which said that the Friday after Thanksgiving was the "official" start of the holiday shopping season. I suggested that shopping isn't like dove hunting... there is no official season for it. As I recall, The Times' Steve Harvey picked up the blurb, and used it in his Only In LA column. But apparently, despite the best efforts of two powerful media outlets...The LA Times and On The Record....not everyone has gotten the word. Yes, Jane Velez Mitchell on KCAL, with the help of a less than critical thinking news writer, repeated the statement yesterday. Okay shoppers....start your engines...get your credit cards ready...the official holiday shopping season is about to begin! And whatever you do, don't even consider shopping out of season, or certainly, your license to shop will be revoked. By the way, yes I was joking about the "two powerful media outlets." Yeah, the Times has been slipping lately.

It's been a long time since I've mentioned Hendrie. He is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host, and I hope you folks around the country give him a listen. Last week, one of his characters suggested that it would against NBA rules for Patrick Ewing to give a kidney to Alonzo Mourning. Yes, when the two teams played, Ewing would actually be playing for both teams. The genius of Hendrie is how serious his characters are in their nutty ideas, while Phil the straight man, manages to pretend to take them seriously. And the fact that he provides the voices for these characters is really quite an accomplishment.

During a newscast last weekend, KCAL anchor Dave Clark said that George W Bush was now ahead by "more than 900 points." So I suppose Republicans might suggest that what we're seeing now in Florida is Al Gore's hurry-up offense.

This oddity of common language seems to happen most often in sports. KCOP's Michelle Bonner, whose work I usually like, was doing a story about Marlin Briscoe, the NFL's first black quarterback. She was talking about his effect on later black quarterbacks like the "Warren Moons, Randall Cunninghams, Dante Culpeppers, and Shaun Kings." My point is...if you're going to name that many examples, than there is no point in putting an 's' on the end of each name. If you're going to use one man to represent all recent black quarterbacks, then it would make sense to say the "Warren Moons" of today. Then everyone would understand that Moon represents all the others. But when so many different guys are listed, I can only think...hey there is only one Moon, one Cunningham, one Culpepper, and one King. The point of the plural has lost its effect.

I was watching KCAL news yesterday, when it became obvious to me that the package which live reporter Sandy Grace was throwing to, wasn't ready. But I'm guessing it wasn't so obvious to the average viewer. When she gave her intro and the package wasn't there, she smoothly began ad-libbing. Her story was about an intersection where a crossing guard had been killed. She pointed out how a car had just gone through the crosswalk while a pedestrian was still in the crosswalk. She talked a while more, and suddenly we were into her package.

A package which isn't ready can present awkward moments for some reporters. Suddenly they have to think on their feet and they better really know what their story is about it. She handled it very well.

After reading a story about the Florida Supreme Court on Monday, KTLA's Hal Fishman said he wanted to make a personal note. I thought, now what is he going to say? What he said was very close to what I said in Monday's OTR, which is that it would be nice for Federal Courts and the US Supreme Court to also televise their proceedings. That is a personal note on the news I can live with.

Congressman-elect Adam Schiff defeated James Rogan in a very high profile race. He told the LA Times that TV cameras were following him around when he was walking door-to door. Schiff said "People were very disappointed to learn they had not won the Publisher's Clearing House prize when I show up (at) their door."

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.