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A media critique... and then some!
Links to Recent Issues Inside LA TV - More 'extra help' for Sharon Tay? An assistant ND is leaving. 3-15-04 Monday's OTR 3-26-04 Friday's OTR
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WHO'S THE BEST LA TV ANCHOR TEAM?
Need I remind you that is not just a right to vote, but a privilege? Oh yeah, that's for things like president and governor, not best LA TV anchor team. I realize that not all 400 + subscribers are going to vote, nice as that would be. And I realize I can't expect the number of votes we used to have when OTR was a free site. Still, as of 5pm this afternoon, we had only 38 votes. Come on now...where is the old OTR spirit??? Stats being the way they are, I don't expect a big change from current percentages, even if we get 100 votes. But obviously, the more votes we get, the more credible the poll becomes. So please, cast a vote (only one vote) for one of the two finalists. Thanks!
Please click on your choice, and then hit 'send.'
Click here->OTRVote@aol.com?subject=Brown&Tuzee
Click here->OTRVote@aol.com?subject=Moyer&Williams
NO PLACE FOR BAD AUDIO
I am still surprised when really bad audio makes it onto a newscast in the nation's #2 market. What is the editor thinking who edited the following sound bite, without telling somebody "This person is very hard to understand." For all I know, maybe an editor did flag it, and was overruled.
Click below, and you can judge for yourself. You'll hear Colleen Williams setting up the sound bite. You tell me if you know what this person is saying....
BEST JOB BY KCOP'S FAJARDO
A number of stations (probably everyone) covered the story about women in Orange County who are being attacked by some guy who is trying to steal their underwear. He usually goes after women in skirts or dresses, knocks them down and then tries to take off their underwear. In one recent attack, he succeeded.
In the stories I watched, only Cristy Fajardo and KNBC's Gordon Tokamatsu talked to the wife of Alvaro Flores, who is the suspect in these crimes.
But Fajardo gets points over Tokamatsu because she better
explained the above photo. That's a picture of Flores holding a
Mexican newspaper from earlier this year, because, his wife says
he's been in Mexico. When Tokamatsu showed the photo, he never
explained why it was taken. Fajardo explained that it was
taken at the request of police in Orange County, after they talked
with his wife. She told police he was in Mexico and called him on
the phone for them. This matters, in terms of storytelling,
because when I saw Tokamatsu's story, I wondered just how that
picture came to be. Still, I want to give him some credit for at
least finding the wife. Neither KABC's Carlos Granda at 4pm, or
KTLA's Walter Richards at 10pm, had that angle.
VIDEO DOESN'T QUITE MAKE SENSE
This was from Carlos Granda's story on the man attacking women for their underwear. Over that video, he said "These are his targets, women walking alone." The obvious problem is that the video shows two women walking together.
DO THEY REALLY SAY THAT?
When KCOP lead into that story, fill-in anchor Maria Quiban referred to the area as "The OC." Whether that was motivated by the need to be trendy, or to promote a Fox TV show, I really want to know....do people in Orange County actually call it "The OC?"
MAYBE THAT EXPLAINS IT
Recently I suggested KCBS anchor Paul Magers made an odd comment as he suggested that the stock market trading continued, despite the Martha Stewart verdict. Well, someone from the KCBS/KCAL newsroom has written to tell me that was Mager's idea of a joke; his style of humor. Could be. But if so, I think he needs to work on his delivery for sarcasm. It sure sounded serious to me. Anyway, I did want to let you hear what this insider has to say:
"I just
wanted to tell you, I think Paul Magers' comments and adlibs are
pretty funny. I don't know who wrote Arnold "graced the
covers of the magazines," but if my hunch is right, Magers
probably adlibbed it as an ironic joke. I like the way he is
subversive -- inserting things that get past the viewers who might
be offended or care the most about a (lame) topic. Kind of
like the Kevin Nealon character on Saturday Night Live,
"Subliminal Man" (on Weekend Update, no less).
A good example is the Wall Street comment. Of course he knows
trading continued as usual. But I think his comment was meant
to say to us, "..despite the way we're covering Martha Stewart
-- as if other business news were less significant." It
tells me he knows the real value of the story.
So for me, Magers provides added entertainment. He's telling
me to listen carefully -- because he's not a script-reading robot.
Watching him is kind of like being at a cocktail party with him:
You get information, and a good laugh.
Still another example: The story about the red emergency
button on ATM machines back east. The button, once pressed,
summons police. Magers said (paraphrasing here):
"The button is there for people to use if they are held up, or
get an early case of spring fever."
He inserted it SO fast, it was almost subliminal!
So, even though I didn't nominate his team for Best Anchors, I find
myself wanting to watch him because I know he'll be genuine. . .like
Marc Brown.
Hope your wedding reception was wonderful!! "
A COMMENT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE
KNBC's Jennifer Bjorklund covered the state hearing about the high gasoline prices. It was a pretty one-sided story, and at least Bjorklund explained that oil companies were not invited to the hearing. The state legislators would hear from them some other time. Bjorklund did point out that the oil companies have never been charged with violating anti-trust laws. But what the story lacked was an on camera sound bite or two from the oil industry. I don't know what her time constraints were, but just looking at the end result - which is all viewers care about - it was a story which lacked balance.
THERE THEY GO AGAIN...
KTLA News remains the biggest offender when it comes to using racial and ethnic descriptions of those accused of crimes without sufficient details to go with it. Last Friday, Hal Fishman said "The assailant is described only as an Hispanic Male about five foot eight, with a medium build."
So what purpose does it serve to tell the public that a particular crime was committed by an Hispanic?
THANKS TO DON
I did want to thank Don Barrett, who made our wedding reception his lead story on his www.laradio.com web site last Friday. Here is how he began the story: "(March 26, 2004) Pending a major story from the FCC, Clear Channel/Infinity or the third LARP death in a week, we were bound and determined to end the week on a happy note of celebration. No deaths. No memorial service. Just some very nice photos from a very nice wedding celebration. "
For those who would like to see photos from the party, you can go to www.ronfineman.com/party.html.
SORRY TO SEE HIM GO
Jan Berry, of Jan and Dean fame, died on Friday. The two of them gave us some very good music from their early rock of the late 50s (like "Linda") to their surf music of the 60s. I never met Berry, but I did interview Dean Torrence 20 years ago, and really enjoyed my chat with him.
You can learn more about Berry by going to www.jananddean-janberry.com.
HEALTH UPDATE
Just wanted to bring you up-to-date. You'll recall that at the end of January, I had a CT scan which showed something in my right lung which had a "ground glass" appearance. Two sets of doctors and radiologists agreed that it did not appear to be cancer. I had another CT scan a few weeks ago. That showed that some of the "ground glass" had disappeared, but it was found elsewhere in the lung. My oncologist said he was not worried about, thinking it's probably some sort of viral infection. But to learn more, I had a PET scan and CT scan last Thursday at UCLA. My next appointment with my doctor is this Thursday. At that point, I'll find out the results. So I should have another update for you on Friday.
REDUNDANCY VIOLATION
Who: Kerry Kilbride
Where: KCAL
What: "HIV Virus"
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