Ron Fineman's ON THE RECORD

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KCBS chopper reporter Larry Welk said he had it from a good source that Michael Jackson was inside a private plane sitting at the airport in Santa Barbara late Wednesday afternoon. With reporter David Cruz at the airport, KNBC anchor Paul Moyer asked him about the tip which brought the news media there. Cruz said sources in Las Vegas said he was flying to Santa Barbara and would be landing at a private hanger. At that point I think Moyer may've felt as duped as the rest of us.

KCBS, KABC, and KNBC spent their entire newshour at 5pm at the airport for what turned out to be a total non-story. In fact KCBS was there for the last half of their 4pm hour, enabling them to brag that they were bringing us exclusive coverage. Wow! Exclusive coverage of a plane without Michael Jackson. Well done! After this plane took off at about 5:14, everyone stayed with the "story." In fact the legal analyst on KABC speculated that Jackson may've been on that plane and that Santa Barbara was just a stopover. Of course we now know that Jackson arrived the next day.

My point here is not to blame the local media for acting on a bad tip. Sources can be wrong...it's happened to me, occasionally here in OTR. My complaint is that they should NOT have gone with wall-to-wall coverage at the airport when they really didn't know what was going on. One anchor had mentioned how other media were there, as if to justify being there. Everyone else is here, so don't blame us. Again, being there was not the sin. Going live endlessly on a bogus tip, that was the sin.

Stations were still there after 6pm. At 6:07pm, Paul Dandridge did a report from the newsroom, which including new info, which originated on CNN, that Jackson would be coming back from Vegas the next day. Soon after that, all three stations began to do the unthinkable, they began reporting on non-Michael Jackson news. Yet oddly enough, at 6:17 on KCBS, as we looked at the airport again, anchor Drew Griffin said they were waiting for Jackson to turn himself in. Gretchen Carr later added "possibly tonight" or tomorrow. Before 6:30pm arrived, Griffin acknowledged that it all may have been "a dry run."

KABC managed to mischaracterize the situation as Michelle Tuzee ended their newscast by telling viewers that "the search" for Michael Jackson continues, as if because the news media didn't know where he was, then he must be missing. It was a "changing story" she said. Yeah, "changing" because all TV stations got it wrong and then had to admit it after such excessive coverage.

All three stations screwed up. But I think KCBS was the worst because they seemed to spend the least time in taped Jackson stories, and therefore more time on air just camped out at the airport. At least when KNBC was running an actual Jackson story, you might learn something about this situation, as opposed to having to wade through all the ad-libbing at the airport, waiting for the occasional background information to sneak in along with all the speculation.

Things got ridiculous again yesterday, after Jackson had turned himself in, and was back in Vegas. Stations were simply showing the car he was in, making its way through traffic. Toward what end, I don't know. He's free on bail, so what do you expect to see? Are they going to follow his every movement until his trial? Is this really meaningful news coverage to most viewers?

It was also interesting that while KCAL and KCBS were sharing the same live shot yesterday, it was KCBS which had the question and answer going with the chopper reporter. KCAL could use what Derrick Bell had to say, but they couldn't talk with him. That was KCBS's turf. So I think one thing is clear, if both stations are live on breaking news, you're better off with KCBS, which clearly is the top priority between the two stations.

To state the obvious, of course this latest accusation against Jackson is very big news. But we are dealing with LA TV news, which could blow the second coming out of proportion. And after wasting everyone's time at the Santa Barbara Airport on Wednesday, I fear there were not enough questions being asked in newsrooms. I question whether anyone in charge is even asking if they made a foolish mistake by spending all that time at the airport. Because they all really looked foolish. I just wonder if they really care.

Of course we'll see what the justice system has to say about all this. But I think it is the height of stupidity and disrespect to past victims, to call this case a "modern day lynching as Jermaine Jackson (photo above) has said. A young boy has made an accusation, which had been investigated. The DA believes him. And it's not as if this hasn't come up before. Michael Jackson is not being hung from a tree because he happens to be black (though calling him 'black' does seem a little strange, doesn't it?). He's been arrested, and he'll be tried in a court of law. Because of his celebrity, he's certainly been treated better than your average accused child molester.

Modern day lynching? Just what should the DA have done? Sorry, Michael Jackson is such a rich and talented guy, and of course he's black, so I guess we better not pursue this case.

Why must the 'race card' always be played these days? Is it not possible for a famous black person to commit a crime? If anyone has any evidence that race is playing a part in this case, let's hear it. Otherwise, let's see what facts unfold and judge from there.

So which is worse, the incredible lack of professionalism of KCOP anchor Lauren Sanchez, or the seemingly brain dead management which doesn't seem to care?

While reading a story about Laurie Bembenek, who had to have her leg amputated after that Dr Phil Show incident, Lauren Sanchez began laughing. What was so funny?

Afterward, Rick Garcia explained that the laughter was actually the result of Sanchez getting tripped up as she changed positions while reading the story. Okay, I'll buy that. But just because Sanchez stumbles while reading a story, why must her on air reaction be laughter? It was especially rude during such a serious story. Why couldn't she act like a pro, and just keep reading? Makes me wonder....do they have drug testing for anchors?

ET TU RICK?

It seems that Lauren Sanchez isn't the only one who can't resist making sexual jokes on the air. After entertainment reader Maria Quiban said something about "hot girl-on-girl action," Garcia interjected that the phrase was redundant. Yeah, like low class UPN 13 newscast.

KTLA anchor Lynette Romero had a very weak voice the other night, obviously suffering from a sore throat or cold. It was tough to listen to her. Makes me wonder why they even let her on the air. Maybe she feels like some sort of trouper, but voices like that are a tune out. If someone wasn't available, they'd have been better off with Hal Fishman doing the whole hour.

I realize this was a feel-good story. The CHP had brought in truckloads of toys to Sweet Alice Harris. She's an activist in Watts who always provides toys for poor kids at Christmas. Because of the big rainstorm, her house got flooded and ruined the toys she already had. So the appearance by the CHP came as a very pleasant surprise. Still, I just don't find it appropriate for the reporter to put his arm around the subject of the story. Even for feel-good stories, there should be a line drawn between reporters and those they interview. It even struck me as a bit patronizing. Now if Harris decided to hug Rick Chambers on live TV out of joy, that is one thing. But the reporter just shouldn't initiate contact. Just seems to me like the professional way to behave.

The above picture came from KCAL's Noon News. But when they covered the story at 4pm on KCBS, it was their lead story! Their lead? Yes, their lead. Why? Well, maybe because KCBS/KCAL was part of the CHP program which collects the toys? No doubt. And needless to say, that's not a fact they hid in their stories on this. But I think most of us can agree that this story was in no way a lead story. Yet, for some, the power of self-promotion is just too much to resist.

Ron,

"A lot of love, flowers, cards thoughts from the broadcast community are pouring into KEYT, helping fill the gaping hole left by Bill Skiba's passing."

Paul says it looks like a service for Skiba will be on Wednesday in Camarillo, but he'll let us know later for sure.

As you may've heard, Skiba, a news photographer, collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack yesterday while covering the Michael Jackson story.

In a news release, Paul writes “We are devastated by the loss of Bill, one of our brothers. Our newsroom is an extremely small and tight-knit staff with only 27 full-time employees. Bill had strong ties and friendships to his co-workers that extended well beyond the boundaries of the workplace. Bill was hard working and tremendously talented broadcast journalist who captured beauty, magic and compassion with his pictures”.

I was watching a committee hearing last night about the Medicare plan. Chairing it was Bill Thomas, who I know from my many years of reporting in Bakersfield. There was a little unintended humor, as a fellow Republican was saying how much he liked serving on Thomas's committee, and said something very close to, "I've enjoyed chewing your nuts." Thomas was quick to explain, with a smile on his face, that the Congressman was referring to pistachio nuts from his district, which he supplies to the committee.

22 point underdogs. Ouch! I would like to be wrong, of course, but I see no way UCLA can beat USC tomorrow. I'll be rooting for the upset, but I certainly won't expect it.

Here's a little nostalgia for you. This is from the Herald Examiner sports section from Thursday November 20, 1969. I couldn't quite fit the entire headline in, but that is Greg Jones who was vowing victory. His dream was to play in the Rose Bowl, which a victory would have ensured.

UCLA was a two-point favorite for this one, but unfortunately it was USC which won the game, 14-12. As I recall, this turned out to be the game where a UCLA pass interference call near the end set up a Jimmy Jones long touchdown pass, leading the Trojans to victory. I remember watching that game, and being plenty ticked about it. That was the year of the Wild Bunch. And I also remember that the UCLA button some Bruins were wearing on game week said "Shit on the Wild Bunch." Okay, not too clever, but definitely to the point.

Other stories on that front page were Willie McCovey narrowly defeating Tom Seaver to win the National League MVP, the Detroit Piston losing Dave Bing for a month because of injury, and there is a Melvin Durslag column about the George Allen Rams, which was on a nine game winning streak. LONG TIME AGO, wasn't it.

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