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A media critique... and then some!
Inside LA TV - an insider reacts to Kent Shocknek memo Check out Recent Issues 5-10-04 Monday's OTR 5-14-04 Friday's OTR
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ANYBODY BELIEVE THIS EXPLANATION?
On the one hand, I want to give KTLA reporter Walter Richards some credit. He addressed an issue in a story which I think most TV stations would rather not explore on the air. On the other hand, I think he was disingenuous in his conclusion.
That is the woman who really set the stage for this issue...the issue of how intrusive TV news can be after a family tragedy. The story was the two cousins -age 16 and 20- who drowned in a pool in La Puente after inhaling a pool refrigerant, similar to freon. Friends of the two would not talk to Richards.
Debbie Oliveras was an aunt of the two, and she told Richards that the news media should leave the family alone; let them grieve in peace. In his standup close, Richards said "And we told the aunt that we came out of respect to tell a story about two good people who ended up in a tragic situation."
Does anybody buy that load of crap? When news of the tragedy came in to KTLA, do you suppose the assignment editor said "A 16-year and 20-year old drowned, we better get out there to show our respect and tell the story of these two who must certainly be good people. But hey Walter, let me know if it turns out they're bad people, so we can go do a different story."
Respect had nothing to do with this story, nor did the inner goodness of the victims. Obviously two people who drown after purposely inhaling some sort of unusual intoxicant are news. While I always support showing proper respect of families in such a situation, this was a story that had to be told. And I didn't see anything in any story that indicated to me that anyone crossed the line. So if that did happen, which is always possible, I didn't catch it.
It is a shame that Richards let the issue of family privacy into his story, only to end up BSing the audience with why the story was covered. And I imagine most viewers reached for the shovel when Richards' story ended.
A VETERAN ANCHOR SHOULD KNOW BETTER
I was certainly not surprised to see KCBS news promote the new CBS movie about the Tate-LaBiancha murders. But what honestly surprised me was to hear Laura Diaz mispronounce Vincent Bugliosi's last name. Yes, she pronounced the "g." Because of that trial, he is certainly one of LA's best known prosecutors. For a veteran LA TV news anchor who is certainly old enough to remember those murders, the error is inexcusable.
Even if you never heard of Bugliosi - which is highly unlikely for Diaz - the "g" is silent in Italian when it is part of "gli." Isn't it ironic that a woman who goes out of her way to put a Spanish accent on every name of Spanish origin, can't even get the basics right for an Italian?
Yes, this returns us to a place we've been many times, but it must be talked about until news directors wake up and put a stop to it. Spanish words get special care from some Hispanic anchors and reporters, but no other foreign language gets the same respect. This is wrong and unfair to the people of the many origins who make up Los Angeles.
Just to reiterate the way I think this should all be handled.....everyone should use proper pronunciation of foreign based words and names, but respecting local nuances first. So San Pedro should be pronounced as Peedro, not Paydro. On the other hand, pronouncing the l's in Camarillo would be wrong. The big problem I have with Diaz and some others like her, is that they feel they must put an accent on certain Spanish words and names, and they only do it for Spanish. Such customs tend to be divisive which is an especially bad idea for a news anchor.
IS IT REALLY GREED?
The only ice skating rink in Sylmar is being closed and some people don't like that. In the lead-in of this story, KABC's Michelle Tuzee said that some people are calling it corporate greed. In the story, reporter Leanne Suter interviewed the rink manager, who said it had become like a home to everyone and helped kids stay out of gangs.
Suter was unable to get a comment from the company which owns the rink, which was being picketed by parents and skaters. Fair enough. But if the story is going to accuse the owner of being greedy, I'd like to have seen one of the picketers put on the spot. The rink has only been in business since 1998. Exactly what obligates the owner to keep the land as a rink? What if it's not making money? Just how do these people define corporate greed? I would suggest that it is irresponsible to throw that accusation out there, without more facts to back it up.
THAT'S HOW TO DO IT
Not long ago, I criticized the way KABC's Karen Carlson covered the story of the honoring of a veteran teacher. I felt she didn't get enough stories about what it was like 'in the old days.'
I'm happy to say that Leslie Sykes got it right recently, as she did a feature on a veteran grocery clerk. Victoria Phillipson has worked for 47 years at Stater Brothers, and so Sykes filled her package with stories from the past. For example, this lady talked about having to use a handle to get the cash register going. And in another sound bite, she recalled the days when she had to memorize the specials in the weekly newspaper ads. Well done!
SPEAKING OF A GOOD JOB
KNBC's Joel Grover did one of those hidden camera stories on unethical car dealers. For example, there was one dealership which told buyers that if they buy an options package on their new car, the dealer could get them a better interest rate on a loan. But Grover interviewed a banker who said no, it doesn't work that way.
I remember that at my station in Bakersfield, we could not look into any questionable practices by certain dealerships because of all the advertising they bought with the station. I was lucky we were able to run Consumer Report features, which sometimes pointed out problems with certain cars. Of course I don't know whether any of the dealers Grover featured even advertise with KNBC, but still...it's good to see new car dealers can be scrutinized by local TV news.
OOPS!
While watching a live shot by Wendy Burch last week, there was some audio there which did not belong. As a pre-recorded sound bite finished, instead of turning up Burch's microphone, someone turned up Micah Ohlman's mic. Ohlman was out in the field, getting ready for a live shot in the next segment. Of course I didn't know that, until suddenly over Burch's face, we heard Ohlman say "They never told me I had a tease."
He didn't sound too happy about it either. Though needless to say, as accidental audio goes, this was not very embarrassing. When you talk near a microphone, you always need to consider that it just may be live, just like any gun may be loaded.
SPEAKING OF PRONUNCIATION PROBLEMS
You may've noticed that some senators have had problems pronouncing the last name of General Antonio Taguba. Doesn't look that tough, does it? But if you talk to Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, you'll hear him refer to General Tagaboo. I even noticed a member of the military on a panel with Taguba, getting his name wrong.
There have also been a number of pronunciations for Abu Graib. But I heard Colorado Senator Wayne Allard come up with a couple of new ones....Abu Gabi and Abu Gab.
OUR BUSH SUPPORT POLL CONTINUES
Here is what I want to know. IF you had planned to vote for President Bush or if you were learning toward voting for him, has the prison scandal and the war in Iraq changed your mind? So, if you're not, nor ever have been, a Bush supporter, you'll need to pass on this poll. And as always, ONE vote per person.
NEW OTR FEATURE
I asked an old friend of mine to write some political columns for OTR. He's not in the business of journalism or politics, but he is someone of strong opinion about the state of the country and the world. You may strongly agree or disagree with him. Either way I hope you'll enjoy the additional feature, and of course you are welcome to comment on his column in our Letters section. You'll find a link on the menu above which says Chris Kazarian. I'm also happy to give you a link here -Click Here.
A COMMERCIAL WITH A FALSE PREMISE
I know...it's only a radio commercial. But still, I must speak out. The point of this commercial is to make fun of the idea of calling a gas station a 'service station,' since you don't get any service there anymore. It asks why we still call it that. But you tell me, have you ever called a gas station a service station? I believe the people who used the term 'service station' were the oil companies who were selling us on using their particular gas stations. It's always been a gas station to me, except on my visits to Mayberry, where it was of course a fillin' station.
IT'S SWEEPS ALRIGHT
There was KCAL's Leyna Nguyen doing a story about women who want enhance their G-spot orgasms. They go to a doctor who injects something which makes the G-spot more sensitive. While women are certainly doing this...doesn't a story like this just prove those negative stereo-types about what local TV news does during a ratings period? Yet, considering those well known sex newscasts that KCAL does after Laker games, I suppose we should not be surprised.
And...I should add that I chose to use the above anchoring picture of Nguyen because I couldn't help but notice recently how her hair color is changing. She is easily one of LA's prettiest TV news women. Why does she need to dye her hair...especially when it puts her closer to obviously fake hair color of Mia Lee? I realize that it's always been traditional for all women to play around with their hair color. And I certainly don't expect Nguyen to go all blonde like Lee has done. Maybe I'm just too traditional, but I think Nguyen looks better with her natural color hair.
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW...
In order to get more subscribers, I put up a recent issue as a free sample, instead of the usual tease page. If you go there first, you can get here my clicking on the ronfineman-current link.
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