A media critique... and then some! 12/31/01 - Monday HAPPY NEW YEAR! Inside LA TV-an anchor who goes the extra mile. Links to Recent Issues 12-24-01 Monday's OTR 12-26-01 Wednesday's OTR 12-28-01 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.

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RATHER UNBALANCED, WOULDN'T YOU SAY?

Talk about a violation of Journalism 101. What was KTTV's Jane Yamamoto thinking? Last night, they were doing a preview of a big New Year's Eve Hollywood block party.  A key angle of the story was that some local businesses were not in support. On that call, I give them credit for seeming to find a hard angle to a story which would otherwise be a chamber of commerce fluff piece. But wouldn't you think Yamamoto might talk to some of those businesses to find out why they are concerned?

The main interview of the story was the man responsible for organizing the party. He mentioned two businesses by name which he said are against it. He said one of them is six blocks outside the perimeter of the party. After that setup, wouldn't you expect to hear from those businesses? Somehow that didn't happen. Yamamoto did find time to interview a business owner who said he supports the party, feeling a part of the Hollywood business family.  But that was it. We were left with a rather negative impression of two businesses, which were given no chance to explain themselves. This may not be the story of the year, but I am baffled about how you can run such a biased and unfair piece.  If I were one of them, news director Jose Rios would be getting a phone call from me. 

WHAT A RIDICULOUS WAY TO PUT IT!

In today's LA Times, they have article about how Michael Mann directed "Ali", written by Michael Sragow. In this article we find out that Mann could have shown Ali's house in Chicago, but decided not to, because according to Mann, "the arches looked like a gothic church, completely wrong. I'm sure Ali didn't care, but to me the doorways looked anti-Islamic."  So instead, he used the house of the former Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammed.

I knew that people could be anti-Islamic, but I never knew doorways could have such strong attitudes. Perhaps the FBI should start a "doorway task force" just to make sure this sort of architectural hatred spreads no further. 

When I read something like this, it makes me question the honesty of the entire film. Is Mann going to pull an Oliver Stone? Of course it is his movie and he can do what he likes, and I realize that if you want accurate history, the biopic is generally not the place to find it.  If Mann wants to give us a false picture of the Ali house, so be it.  But look at how Sragow described the above decision. He writes in the article, "And his devotion to the truth isn't always literal."  What the hell does that mean? If the truth is not "literal" wouldn't you call it a lie? That sort of euphemistic double talk to somehow justify Mann's flight from honesty is insulting. If Bill O'Reilly were to read it, he might agree it is the most ridiculous item of the day.

NICE TOUCH

It's one of those stories that TV could never resist. Some guy has been going around Long Beach, cutting off most of the hair of long haired women. I don't blame them of course. It's a legit story. But it is just tailor made for TV news. They can show all these women on the street with long hair...talking about easy background video. And of course they can interview some of them to see how they feel about it. More than one story speculated that the guy could be doing it to sell the hair. But KCOP's Neki Mohan was the only reporter who I saw who went to a store where they sell human hair wigs, and quoted a price; saying they can sell for 500 dollars.  Of course we don't yet know why he's doing it, but it was useful to get some perspective on what kind of money he could be making.

NOT EXACTLY

It really is one of the most important ongoing local stories in Los Angeles. The rank and file cops just don't like their boss, Bernard Parks.  In a story on KCOP, they said that the police union was "talking about tonight voting out the chief." Granted, the story then said it would be a 'no confidence' vote,  which would ask Parks to resign. It almost sounds as if this brief story was written by committee.  The first writer falsely thought the union had the authority to vote Parks out of office, while the second writer understood that the union only has the power of its opinion. Yet, I can't imagine it takes two people to write a 15 second story.  So while "voting out the chief" is certainly a catchy way to put it, it's also clearly inaccurate. Would've been nice if someone caught the error before it hit the air.

FOUR TALK SHOW HOSTS WILL SQUARE OFF IN OTR FINAL VOTE

Who is LA's best radio talk show host?
			votes	percent
1.) Larry Elder - KABC			43	21%
2.) Phil Hendrie - KFI			37	18%
3.) Dennis Praeger - KRLA			17	8%
4.) Al Rantel - KABC			7	3%
5.) Mr KABC - KABC			24	12%
6.) John & Ken - KFI			24	12%
7.) Frosty, Heidi & Frank - KLSX			8	4%
8.) Tom Leykis - KLSX			17	8%
9.) Doug McIntyre - KABC			18	9%
10.) Larry Mantle - KPCC			8	4%

There you have it. The top four are now in our final vote. One thing about those four- which could be said about some others too- is that they have their own niche. I don't think any of them could be confused with anyone else in LA radio. Please head to the poll section on the menu to vote for one of the four, if you listen to LA radio.  And remember, one vote per person.

MANY READERS AGREE...IT SHOULD'VE BEEN BIN LADEN

Who should be Time's Person of the Year?
			votes	percent
1.) Osama Bin Laden			74	39%
2.) Rudy Giuliani			40	21%
3.) George W Bush			45	24%
4.) The New York Firefighters			21	11%
5.) None of the above			8	4%

I must admit, it disappoints me to see a majority find that someone else is more appropriate than the man who changed America on September  11th. Given Time's qualifications and tradition, I remain unconvinced that anyone comes close to him. But it is worth noting that Bin Laden did get the most votes, and that Mayor Giuliani came in third.

In our latest OTR poll, I am asking if you think Osama Bin Laden will ever be found alive. Please head to the poll section on the menu.

MIDNIGHT COMES AT DIFFERENT TIMES

On KNBC today, they were saying that Jupiter would be at its closest and brightest at midnight. Sure, that's what it says on AP. But you don't think AP had us Pacific Time Zone people in mind, do you? Since I happened to interview a local astronomer about this story yesterday, I can tell you that THE best time, if the sky is clear, will be 10pm PST. But actually Jupiter has been close lately, and so it may not look any different to the naked eye from last night to 10pm tonight to anytime for the next several nights.

IS THERE ANOTHER ONE?

For some reason, KCBS sportscaster Jim Hill said that a football game was going into overtime in "San Diego, California."  Even if I were broadcasting on the east coast, I don't think I'd feel the need to tell viewers what state San Diego is in. When you're around 100 miles north of the city, I really think we can assume viewers know.

CAN FOOTBALLS BE EVIL?

I just had to smile when NFL referee Dick Hantack said "The ball bounced off the ground prior to the ball being possessed."   Hey, could be a good reason for the losing coach to protest, right?  "Hey, Hantack said the ball was possessed!"

BOWL GAMES

I've actually not been doing too bad in picking bowl game winners. So in order to try to salvage a little prognosticating credibility after my recent mediocre NFL picking, I might as well throw these at you. Auburn over North Carolina, South Carolina over Ohio State, Oklahoma over Arkansas, Florida State over Virginia Tech, Tennessee over Michigan, Colorado over Oregon, Illinois over LSU, Florida over Maryland, and Miami over Nebraska. That's right...no point spreads on these. Maybe that will help.

BROADCASTEZE VIOLATION OF THE WEEK

Who: Miriam Hernandez (among others)

Where: KABC

What: "motorists" 

No matter how many times reporters insist on saying "motorists", to the rest of us...they are "drivers."

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.