A media critique... and then some! 12/28/01 - Friday Links to Recent Issues 12-24-01 Monday's OTR 12-26-01 Wednesday's OTR 12-21-01 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 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.

QUITE A LADY

I meant to talk about this earlier, but it slipped my mind. I think all of us who covered a news conference last week with the wife of Chick Hearn came away very impressed.  Chick is the long time Lakers play-by-play announced who had heart surgery.  Chick is synonymous with the Lakers like Vin Scully is with the Dodgers.  Anyway, Marge Hearn was just so much fun, especially under the circumstances. When she was asked whether she would have to keep Chick from going back to work too soon, she said that she'd like to see him out of the house, and that she gets enough of him day-to-day during the summer.  When I asked her about how odd it would be for Chick to be watching a Laker game on TV that night, rather than calling it...she asked me if I wanted the truth.  I was almost ready for her to tell me I couldn't stand the truth! Not this time.  She said that when he watched the game he would turn the sound down.  She explained that normally when he watches games on TV he turns the sound down, because he is calling the game in his head.  It was just very impressive how straight forward and likable Marge Hearn was, the day after heart surgery for her husband. I think it made all of us realize another reason that Chick is a lucky guy.

SPEAKING OF WHICH

At that news conference, his doctor said that Chick had been upgraded to serious but stable condition. A couple of days later, the LA Times ran a little blurb saying that his condition had now been upgraded to "stable."  You'd think the Times would know better.  "Stable" is not condition which tells us what we need to know. You can also be critical and stable at the same time.  Critical, serious, fair or good...that is what we need to report. Sometimes they'll give you "guarded." But, reporters should never accept stable as an answer.

ABOUT THOSE LETTERS

Despite the reminder on the letters page, I still get letters in which people do not include their first and last name.  If you want be included, please remember to give us your name.  And even for some of the more frequent contributors...please include your name, rather than counting on me to remember it based on your email address. Thanks to all!

AND THE POLL

Some of you are getting an error message when you click on the poll.  I'll try to get rid of that...but even with it, I believe you can drag the error box down, and still get to the poll.

WE CONTINUE OUR INTERVIEW WITH KNBC REPORTER CONAN NOLAN

Conan recently came back from Pakistan.  In order to put this week's first Q&A in context, I'm including the last few from last week.

(3) OTR - Did all of these pro-Osama Pakistanis also
support the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon? I believe I
heard you report that some of them actually believe that Israel did it.  Were
you surprised to hear that?

Conan - "Yes. Most surprising was how many professionals
believed Israel was behind the attacks. Businessmen,
teachers, engineers.. many educated in the US.. simply
weren't convinced Osama Bin Laden could pull it off.
They were however sure however that the "Jews" had
orchestrated the entire affair to pit the US against
Islam. I never heard one person say OBL was the
culprit. I knew the videotape of OBL admitting his
responsibility would be viewed with great skepticism.

And its not just Pakistan. There is an article in the
journal of the Islamic Center of Southern California
that suggests Israeli pilots were at the controls of
the hijacked planes.

  We didn't find many people who supported the
terrorist attacks but there were plenty who would
equate them with Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip
or the West Bank. And there were lots of fans of Osama
Bin Laden. The armed guard stationed at our live shot
location said he considered Osama a "hero."

(4) OTR - If there is such an article in a local Islamic
newspaper, do you feel that local TV news media have not been vigilant in
reporting that that sort feeling exists among local Muslims? 

Conan - "I don't think we've done a story on it and I
haven't seen or read it anywhere else."

(5) OTR - In your opinion, why would reporters ignore this?
Are they afraid of  appearing politically incorrect?

Conan - "The idea is so absurd it simply may have been off
our radar."

(6) OTR - Let me trying re-phrasing my question. Isn't the
fact that such a nutty theory is given currency in a local Islamic
newspaper, a story? Because every TV story I've seen suggests that American Muslims are very mainstream. For example, after a local Muslim leader suggested
publicly that Israel should be on the suspect list right after the 9/11 attacks,
that was never mentioned when this leader was the central interview in a
local news story, as he explained the truth about Islam.

Conan - "Everyone is extremely concerned about adding to
whatever hostility Arab-Americans may be feeling
following 9/11. As a result, there have been very few
hard questions asked of Islamic leaders in the U.S.
Pointing out that some mainstream Muslims harbor
anti-Semitic feelings or that they believe in bizarre
anti-Jewish conspiracies might be the truth, but it
would cast too harsh a light. So we ignore it.
  
   This is not uncommon. I'm of the belief that many
in the news business today see themselves as having an
exalted role in society, far beyond simply delivering
the news. Many act as cultural engineers.. using their
positions to help build a better world. When the news
doesn't fit that agenda, we often pretend it doesn't
exist. We embrace stories that validate our bias and
downplay that which doesn't.

(7) OTR -  I gather you've heard about Geraldo Rivera
falsely claiming he had recited the Lord's Prayer over the "hallowed ground" where
the three Americans were killed by friendly fire, even though he had been
hundreds of miles away. He blamed the "fog of war" for his mistake. Do you buy
that?  Could you imagine yourself doing that?

Conan - "I can easily see  myself making a mistake in
covering a story. Unfortunately, I do that more often
than I care to admit. Still, I would never file a
report that focused on "my" reaction to a news event.
Who cares?

There are plenty of others who can comment with
greater authority than I over the credibility of
Geraldo Rivera. He says he made a mistake and Fox
believes him. That's enough for me."


(8) OTR - When you would talk to Pakistanis about Bin
Laden, did you ever find yourself trying to convince them of anything from
the American perspective, or did you stay the straight objective reporter?

Conan - I would ask them about the possibility that Osama
Bin Laden hated the US and the west so much that he
was able to attract like minded young men to inflict
great injury to the US at the cost of their own lives.
They thought I was nuts.

(9) OTR - Were there ever any plans for you to cross over
into Afghanistan? If so, what prevented that from happening?

Conan - "Part of  it  was a logistical issue. My  job was
to get broadcast live reports each day for the west
coast eleven o'clock newscasts and then the morning
programs for all time zones the next day. That
required  a  satellite uplink. The network eventually
moved one in  to Kabul but it was dedicated  to NBC
Nightly News, the Today Show  and MSNBC. Without a
second satellite path we would not be able to fulfill
my obligations to CNBC, Early Today, the affiliates
and the network owned station. So  we decided to stay
in Islamabad where we had our own satellite uplink.
    But even if the logistics had worked out there was
the issue of safety. Four journalists had been
murdered on the road we would have taken to Kabul. For
me it wasn't worth the risk.

    I should point out however that my colleague, NBC
reporter Steve Handelsman, did make it into
Afghanistan, although not as far as Kabul. First he
sought and received permission from the Pakistani
government  to travel threw ten miles of hostile
tribal areas before arriving at the border crossing.
It takes time, money, connections and a couple of
AK-47 body guards. Steve is an experienced reporter
who has been in a good number of war zones. He knew
how to make it work and filed some great reports
without getting killed. But even he  ended up
returning to Islamabad to get them on the air."

NEXT WEEK WE'LL CONCLUDE OUR INTERVIEW WITH CONAN

NFL PICKS

Did you see that Colts/Jets game? It wouldn't have taken much for the Colts to hang on so I could've gone three for four. Needless to say, the Colts were not thinking about me. Of all the nerve! When Testeverde lead the final drive, the Colts defense might just as well laid down for a nap.  Anyway...I went .500 and so I stay one game below on the year. And indeed some order did return to the universe as I beat The Amazing Christina (13-19), who managed only one win. Another performance like that and I may have to  change her nickname.  She is out of town this week, visiting her family. How convenient!  My guess is that her main  reason for leaving was to avoid having to pick against yours truly after I stopped her winning streak.

MY PICKS (28-29-3)

Redskins vs Saints +5

Panthers vs Cardinals -1

Titans vs Browns - 6 1/2

Packers vs Vikings -11

OTR ONE YEAR AGO THIS WEEK 12-27-00

DUMBING DOWN TALK RADIO

It was difficult to believe I was listening to talk radio in Los Angeles. On Saturday night on KABC radio I heard a young woman named Kim Serafin. I can only conclude she must know somebody.  She must be Michael Eisner's cousin.  Or maybe the scheduled talk show host dropped dead of a heart attack five minutes before air, and so they pulled in the first conservative they could find out of the nearest shopping mall.

She was a pleasant sounding woman, but she had this child-like giggle going. If the Young Republicans had a sorority with a radio station, this is what it would sound like. But far worse then her seeming lack of much talk show experience, she obviously was not well informed.  Wouldn't you think if you're going to do your basic issues/talk show, you'd have to know a few things?  For example....some guy called up complaining about Bill Clinton (Imagine that!). His complaint was that after the Republican Congress gave Clinton the line-item veto, he doesn't use it. Serafin, completely clueless, dutifully agreed with her right wing caller.  Obviously this talk show host didn't know that the line-item veto was struck down by the US Supreme Court two years ago! Clinton actually used it more than 80 times, before the court ruled that it violated the separation of powers.

This makes me wonder, what were this woman's qualifications to be even a fill-in LA talk show host? During the week, if you listen to conservative Al Rantel, or Libertarian Larry Elder, you're going to hear some smart guys. Agree or not, they know what's going on. I don't expect anyone to know everything, myself included....but there should be some threshold you must reach before you can get on the air, shouldn't there be? And let me put my cards on the table. Probably about a year ago, I sent talk show tape to KABC, looking for some part time work, since I love to do talk radio. I never heard back. I figured they felt I just wasn't good enough. These things happen, but at least I tried. But after what I heard last weekend, I figure talent can't be the driving force. And certainly being well-informed can't be high on the list either. Maybe my tape just wasn't conservative enough.  Because if I'm not better than this woman I heard on Saturday night, someone should  just take a gun and end it for me now.

For the few fringe wacko readers of OTR, let me make clear that last sentence was a bit of hyperbole. You can keep your powder dry.

THE TOP STORIES?

This morning the KNBC 11 am newscast led their news with teases of the big stories of the day, just like many newscasts do. There was a five-year old boy being found, after being missing for a few days....there was a follow-up on the mass murder in Massachusetts....and there was the wedding of two characters on the NBC soap opera Days Of Our Lives! Yep, KNBC would take us behind the scenes.  After all it is the soap opera wedding of the year. I don't know how they decide that, but I'm guessing soap opera weddings on other networks probably didn't make it on the ballot.  The fact that this promotional garbage is in the opening tease should be an embarrassment to the news department. If new General Manager Paula Walker Madison is serious about improving the product (and I believe she is), stopping self-promotion in the form of news would be a good place to start.

AND MORE HYPE....

Recently, KTTV weatherman Mark Thompson was live at the Playboy mansion. Mark had three live shots at the mansion to do weather and more importantly, promote a movie which was going to be on FOX the next week. Is it even possible that news departments will consider standing up to the GM or the programming department and just say NO!  "We are not here to promote movies, talk shows and soap operas." I just hope that at least one of those Thompson live shots was logged as 'promotional' time...not that I believe the FCC would really care, but some how some way, someone should acknowledge what is really going on.

MORE CELEBRITY SILLINESS

On KNBC's 11 pm news last week, reporter Doug Kriegel was live where a car had driven into a pizza shop. It was certainly visual, and he had some good sound bites. But then.....then he had to tell us about another car accident. This had to be mentioned because it was only about a mile away, and it involved a pizza delivery driver from another business.  No one was seriously hurt, but Danny Glover was in the car that was hit by the pizza driver. Can you imagine?  A famous person was in a minor car accident! The one thing Doug neglected to tell me was why I should care.

OTR JEOPARDY

The answer is:  Never

The question is: How many times in his life has Ronnie Lott said "Boy Howdy" before filming his TV commercial with Joe Montana?

911 TAPES

It seems like one of those monkey-see monkey-do situations. Every station seems to think that 911 tapes are news. Whether they're emotional, dull, or hard to understand...they've become a staple of local news. Last night one station (I forget which one) made a whole package around release of the 911 tape from a flash fire last week. There was nothing remarkable or enlightening about it. But there was the story, like we see SO often, 'we now have the 911 tape of...(fill in the blank)'.   I always thought one of the worst cases of 911 abuse was the William Shatner tape. This was highly emotional, so I understand why everyone ran with it. I just felt like it was an invasion of privacy....not literally of course. The tapes are public. I considered it bad taste. I don't say these tapes should never be aired, but I do say a little more thought should be put into it, before they're thrown on the news.

YOUR OPINIONS

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.