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A media critique... and then some!
Inside LA TV - insiders react to Warren Wilson. Check out Recent Issues 5-24-04 Monday's OTR 5-21-04 Friday's OTR
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BARBERIE OUT AT GOOD DAY LIVE
While she continues on Good Day LA, OTR has learned that Jillian Barberie is off the nationally syndicated show Good Day Live. One longtime source at KTTV tells me that 20th Century Television says her leaving was by mutual decision. But this insider says people in the newsroom believe she was pushed out, suspecting that the May numbers were less than hoped, or that management believes she's not very popular with the national audience.
Barberie also has been known to say, even on the air, that Good Day Live really isn't her kind of show. Her preference would be something edgier in the nighttime.
RATINGS - KNBC WINS BACK EARLY AM
2004 2003 2002 2001
5am (rounded off)
KNBC 1.46 .93 1.8 1.4
KABC 1.44 1.42 1.5 1.2
KTTV 1.31 (1hr) 1.63 (1hr) 1.8 (1/2hr) 1.6 (1/2hr)
KCBS
.75
.73
.7
.6
5:30am
KNBC 1.90 1.24 2.6 2.0
KABC
1.88
1.72
2.0
1.5
KCBS
.77
1.01
.8
.7
KTLA
.52
.86
1.4
1.5
6am
KNBC
3.34
2.24
3.9
3.4
KABC 3.28
3.10
2.8
2.4
KTTV
2.60
3.06
3.7
3.2
KTLA 1.88
2.96
3.2
2.4
KCBS
1.27
1.19
1.1
1.2
7-9am
KTTV 2.79
4.15
3.2
3.3
KTLA 2.67 3.69
3.2
3.1
11am
KABC 2.91
3.81
3.9 2.9
KCBS 1.56 2.34
1.8(noon)
KNBC 1.36 1.51
2.2
1.7
11:30am
KABC 3.08
KNBC 1.78 2.16
2.8
4pm
KNBC 5.06
4.61
2.8 (news) 2.8 (news)
KABC 4.62
5.14
4.6
4.1
KCBS 1.79 1.37
5pm
KABC 4.70
5.46
4.6
4.1
KNBC 4.22 4.27
3.8
3.5
KCBS 1.74 1.31
2.2
2.2
6pm
KABC 4.57
5.55
5.7
5.8
KNBC 3.84 4.16
4.2
4.1
KCBS 2.12 1.38
2.0
2.0
10pm
KTTV 3.79
4.17
4.6
4.0
KTLA 3.03 3.30
4.3
2.9
KCAL 1.99 2.28(45 min.) 2.8
2.2 (full hour including sports show)
KCAL 1.52 1.59(10:45 quarter
hour--sports show)
10:45pm (news lead-in)
KNBC 8.79
9.56
KABC 6.16 7.30
KCBS 7.46 6.25
11pm
KNBC 7.24
6.72 8.4
8.0
KABC 5.55 5.65
6.2
6.9
KCBS 3.66 3.52
3.3
4.5
KCOP 1.23 1.15
2.0 2.4 (10pm hour)
One year ago, KNBC dropped from first (in 02) to fourth during the 6am hour, with KABC having gone from fourth to first. With a new news director in charge at KNBC, they're back in first. KABC gained audience too at 6am, but KNBC simply gained more. No more of that "Info to Go" or "Coffee for My Head." Congrats to the anchor team of Kelly Mack and Chris Schauble, as well as Rachel Boesing and Paul Johnson. Must be nice to be back from the dead, though obviously it's still a close race. KCBS remains a non-factor in the morning. And look at the slide that KTLA and KTTV have taken in that 6am hour, especially KTLA. Do you suppose the Sharon Tay's bad publicity may've added to the slide? (Two years ago they were at 3.2; now (also rounded off) they're at a 1.9.
Good Day LA beat The KTLA Morning News, but it is clear that both shows have lost some audience compared to a year ago.
Looking at 4pm, I believe this is the first time that Dr Phil has defeated KABC's news at 4pm. KABC is about where they were in 2002 for both 4 and 5pm. They were strong a year ago, and so the battle has tightened for the 5pm News. KCBS has gained a little, but still off from where they were two years ago, and still a distant third. One way KABC might boost their 5pm would be to put Marc Brown and Michelle Tuzee there, a team which is much more popular than David Ono and Ellen Leyva. But obviously, that would mean losing them on the 4pm and 6pm. KCBS had a nice increase at 6pm, but that comes after such a dismal number last May. They're still a distant third.
KTTV continues to win at 10pm with KTLA second and KCAL in third. All three stations lost audience compared to a year ago.
KNBC lengthened their lead at 11pm, though it may be worth noting that they were all doing better three years ago. But as always, you want to check out the lead-in in the new numbers. As is typical, KNBC and KABC lose little of their lead-in audience, but KCBS loses more than half! If they could keep the same percentage as their competitors, they'd be in second place, instead of a distant third. Now that would have been a good question for the LA Times to have asked GM Don Corsini about. But even staying well into third place, I would imagine the increases KCBS got should be enough to give Corsini some job security for a while.
WHERE DO THE AVERAGE WOMEN GO?
A story I saw recently by KCAL's Carter Evans reminds of a joke I told at a Kern Press Club Media Roast many years ago. I mentioned that from watching Bakersfield Dodger highlights on the news, I knew only good looking women go to the game. Because when they show people in the stands, they're always good looking women!
Fast forward to 2004 at your nearby gas station.
The story was about gas prices, but I couldn't help but notice these rather pleasant looking women getting gas, who just happened to end up in the story. To be fair, back in my TV reporting days, I did some stories at the gas station too. And I'll be darned if my photog and I didn't also run into nice looking babes getting gasoline. And like a magnet, that camera was rolling when they'd be standing there, filling up their tank. After all, pretty women do have to get gas too, don't they? So what is a photographer supposed to do, discriminate against them?
And fact is, Evans did a good story, which was really about telling people how they can cut back on their gasoline consumption.
He showed video of a throttle opening up to show how being heavy on the pedal will waste gasoline. On the other hand, he said that going easy on the pedal will save two miles per gallon. And I believe that savings is good for average looking men as well a good looking women.
OVERDOING THE HYPE BY KCBS
First, anchor Laura Diaz teased that a CBS2 viewer was the new lotto winner. However, nothing in the story suggested that the winner watches KCBS. Then, in leading into Lora McLaughlin's package on this, anchor Paul Magers said the winner "has CBS2 News to thank." McLaughlin said "we were able to help." In the story, the winner said he was shopping across the street from the liquor store where he bought the winning ticket. Before walking across to buy that ticket, he noticed a CBS2 live van nearby, thinking that someone must've won. It turns out that live van was actually doing a gas price story at a gas station next door.
So why the does above scenario result into some sort of credit for CBS2? What is missing here? Well McLaughlin's story never explained. However on the 11pm news, it was explained that seeing that van caused the man to buy that ticket, which turned out to be a winner. Why McLaughlin didn't use a bite of the man saying this, I'll never know, especially when they made such a big deal out of it.
LISTEN BEFORE YOU AD-LIB
During that lotto story, the winner said he quit his job. His wife said she'd be cutting back on the hours of her job. They also said they'd be buying a new house and a new car. Oddly, when the story ended, Paul Magers ad-libbed, "You always hear that same thing, we won't change, ha ha ha." Seems to me they made it pretty clear they are changing. Maybe Magers was so taken by the big CBS2 connection to the story that he neglected to actually listen to the story.
GOOD JOB OFF THE BLACK BEAT
As you'll recall, KTLA reporter Warren Wilson claims management racism keeps him on the 'black beat.' I think that's quite an exaggeration, and last week he ended up covering a major chase which ended up by the Beverly Center. With the exception of the bad grammar I mentioned in ILATV, I thought Wilson did a good job on this one as he said "the noose was tightening on the suspect" who was hiding at the mall. He also said how some surgeries at Cedars-Sinai had to be put off because of what was going on nearby, something I don't recall hearing in other reports.
Also, kudos to the photog who got the above shot. Wilson said it was exclusive video. And while I did see a shot on another station with the cops there, this is the only video I saw with the gun pointed.
OTR PRESIDENTIAL POLL
As always, one vote, please.
STORIES THAT ASK FOR MORE
First we have KABC's Wendy Burch reporting on a family with a very very messy house. The mother has been ill recently and friends are helping to clean up and re-organize the house.
True, the mother has a serious skin disease, but it's not like a natural disaster hit the house. Plus there is a husband and three kids. And to be fair, they live in a very small house (850 sq ft). So while it is obvious they need help, I question whether the friends pitching in will be any more than a temporary fix. I know about being messy in the house, and being something of a pack rat... though I don't think I've been as bad all over the house as this family appeared to be. So while I relate to being a slob, I think maybe these folks were to the point where they need some sort of counseling to go with the help from friends. Or the story at least could've used a sound bite from a psychologist, addressing why folks let their house get to that point.
TOO MANY KIDS
You may've seen the story about the woman in Illinois who was about to have her 15th child! I've always been concerned the way the news media seem to glorify people to have lots of children, as if they're really contributing to the world. On KABC, anchor Michelle Tuzee read the story with a smile in her voice when she said the family's only girl said she hoping to have a sister. I can understand the cutesy angle there - one girl among 13 boys - but there is a bigger issue here. And I suppose the problem begins in the way the story is presented out of Illinois on the national feed. I would much rather see a serious look as to why any couple would want to have so many children, how well they can afford them, and the effects on being one of so many. Once again, I think a bite from a shrink would be in order. But leave it to TV news to only see the "fun" is a family with 15 kids. Couldn't someone at least ask the mother if she's ever heard of a birth control pill?
AND THEN SOME!
When Muammar Gaddafi walked out on the Arab League summit, among his reported complaints were that "there are two Arab presidents in jail." I agree with his complaint. There should be more.
WRONG NAME VIOLATION
Who: Lynette Romero
Where: KTLA
What: "Milt" Romney.
The governor's name is Mitt.
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