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A media critique... and then some!
Thursday Letter is up Inside LA TV - KTLA anchor Cher Calvin misses shift, claims she was 'slipped a mickey.' Check out Recent Issues 07-12-05 Tuesday's OTR 07-08-05 Friday's OTR
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SANCHEZ APPARENTLY PAYS OFF OBLIGATION - USC CONFIRMS NO DEGREE
Two days after OTR reported that KCOP anchor Lauren Sanchez still owes USC money, after last attending classes there in 1993, the money has apparently been paid off. A "loan hold" was cited by USC before they would finish their manual check of her records to see if she had graduated. Yesterday, I got an update from the school, through Degreecheck.com, telling me they were able to complete their search, and that there was no record of a degree for Sanchez. The fact that they were able to complete that search would mean that the money has been paid off.
It's not every day that a UCLA graduate like me can help put money in the coffers at USC. Maybe they'll make me an honorary rich guy.
EARLIER RECORD OF DEGREE DECEPTION FOUND
Since Tuesday's OTR, I was sent a copy of an interview that Sanchez did with the University of New Mexico newspaper from March 11, 1999. Sanchez grew up in Albuquerque. In that article it says "Sanchez attended U New Mexico her first year out of high school, then transferred to the University of Southern California, where she graduated in 1994 with a major in communications." I've not verified if she really attended New Mexico.
Ironically, she says in that article "remember you can get whatever you want if you're willing to work for it, because nothing is easy....."
(A December, 2000 New Times LA article also said Sanchez had graduated from USC, and the author tells me no correction was ever made by Sanchez or KCOP).
The above information is also at odds with a 1997 article in the Albuquerque Tribune as well as what she told Oye Magazine a few years ago, in which she says that she went to El Camino Community College in Torrance before transferring to USC. In the Oye article, she also says her family couldn't afford to send her to college, which she says is why she went to a junior college.
But in that 1997 article, she says "I was a cheerleader at Del Norte (High School) and barely getting C's."
Still no word from KTTV or Sanchez. And I have to wonder, would any of the other stations react any differently if it was one of their own? Was there any downside for Joel Connable when he arrived at KCAL, letting people falsely believe had been an NYPD cop? None that I ever heard.
Here's a thought. Suppose a story comes up where someone doesn't get a high profile job or gets fired from one because of a false claim on their resume. Be a little tough for KTTV or KCOP to read that with a straight face, wouldn't it?
I had not planned to write any more about Sanchez today, but obviously, I couldn't really ignore the additional information. Though I realize some people feel that because she is a lightweight to start with, none of this matters. I believe they are missing the big picture. I fear this latest incident may become a precedent for LA TV news standards. It's not just about Lauren Sanchez. It is about what is now acceptable for those who present the news in Los Angeles television.
MAYBERRY NEWS HITS KABC AGAIN
I do believe KABC may've hit a new low with their bogus breaking news. Although, as you can see, Barney Fife was on the scene. And I understand it was serious enough to where he took the bullet out of his pocket.
Yes, this was a story about a dog which killed......another dog! I know what you're thinking. There is no more serious crime in LA than dog-on-dog crime.
Anchor Jovana Lara read the lead-in….."there’s been a dog attack involving a pit bull. Bill Thomas is live in Air 7 over the scene. Bill, what can you tell us?”
When this story began, I figured a pit bull had attacked a person. But another dog? I realize it is no small item to the person whose dog was killed. But how in the world is a dog killing another dog, BREAKING NEWS? In fact, how is it news at all...except of course in Mayberry.
STORY MISSES THE OBVIOUS
After the London bombing , KABC's Wendy Burch did a story about cell phone photo technology, what with the role it played in showing early pictures of the bombing. The lead-in said: "Wendy Burch explains cam phone technology and what it could mean to us now and in the future."
She actually had a very clever stand-up, but that stand-up had the effect of showing how she missed the most obvious angle in the story.
There you see Burch doing a stand-up which is also recorded on a cell phone. After looking at that, as well any other cell phone video, what would you ask if you were supposedly doing a story about its future? How about.....is the quality going to get any better???? How could she NOT ask that??? Especially when you look at those two images on the same person.
We learned from an expert that more and more people have access to these tools and can get the video out there. And so TV will use more of it. No big surprise there. Burch said experts say it is an evolution.
She also said that "ABC’s digital channel, News Now is already using it to approach stories from a new angle. " Frankly I don't know what she meant by new angle, and she didn't explain it. Burch also said "Still some argue camera phones are a distraction." Distraction? How? For who? She didn't say.
Maybe this could have been a very educational story, but I think it fell short.
WHY NOT SAY HIS NAME AS HE DOES?
It's one thing to throw in the sudden Spanish accent. But why use that accent on the name of a reporter, when the reporter does not say their name like that? There's something especially pretentious sounding about that, isn't there? Listen to how Laura Diaz says "Juan Fernandez." Then listen to how he says his own name.
And I would say that this sin is similar to those who use nicknames for others on the air....like when Rick Chambers or Byron Miranda refers to Ann Martin as "Annie." If she calls herself Ann on the air, then Ann it is.
Can we have a voice vote of acclamation on all that? Thanks, motion passed.
TIME TO VOTE
BEST LA TV FIELD REPORTER
Your nominations are in, and these are your 26 choices for best LA TV field reporter. Unless someone gets a majority on the first round, we'll have a runoff, just like always.
Defending champ Dave Lopez lead the field with seven nominations. Mark Coogan and Bill Smith have three. Beverly White, Craig Fiegener, Eric Spillman, Michele Gile and Robert Kovacik each have two. Everyone else has one.
Please click on the name of your choice, and the hit "send." And remember, ONE vote per person.
Dave Lopez - KCBS/KCAL
Marc Coogan - KCBS/KCAL
Beverly White - KNBC
Michele Gile - KCAL/KCBS
Craig Fiegener - KCBS/KCAL
Robert Kovacik - KNBC
Bill Smith - KTLA
Patrick Healy - KNBC
Sandra Mitchell -KCAL/KCBS
Gigi Graciette - KCOP
Elizabeth Espinoza - KTTV
Nischelle Turner - KTTV
Eric Spillman - KTLA
Pablo Pereira - KABC
Jane Yamamoto - KTTV
Jaime Garza - KCAL/KCBS
Gene Gleeson - KABC
John Gregory - KABC
Willa Sandmeyer - KTLA
Hal Eisner - KCOP/KTTV
Cary Berglund - KNBC
Kim Baldonado - KNBC
Gayle Anderson - KTLA
Angela Chee - KNBC
Vikki Vargas - KNBC
Patricia Del Rio - KTLA
THE "F" WORD COMES FULL CIRCLE
This is one of my older gripes which I've not brought up in a while. That is...once upon a time, the only time an initial represented a word was the "f" word. After that came the "n" word. Soon it became a formula sort of joke for the not-so-clever. Instead of actually representing a word people were afraid to say, it was used for a joke. The "m" word might mean marriage, for example. As I was listening to Sean Hannity on the radio the other day, he was saying how Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and others were using the "f" word. Then, I think he suddenly realized what he was saying, and added that he was talking about "filibuster."
WAS THAT THE WRONG VIDEO!
KABC was telling the story of John Walton,
who died in a plane crash. Ellen Levya said "Walton’s
ultra light aircraft went into a steep dive, and crashed near the
Yep, they were running Olympic celebration video by mistake. They did realize their error, and after the wrong video, they switched to the site of the crash. Still, it looked bad.
YES, ACCURACY IN GRAPHICS DOES MATTER
When the story on this man aired, the graphic had left off his last name, so that it said "Levar Haney." Later in the newscast, they fixed it as you can see, with anchor Chuck Henry reading a clarification, letting the audience know his full name. Makes you wonder if some guy named Levar Haney was watching, and decided it was a good idea to have them set the record straight.
THAT'S PRESENCE!
Whether Phillip Palmer gave them anything that they couldn't get from the network, I don't know. But, there he was, reporting from London. He was the only local TV reporter there. KTLA might have sent someone, but they used up their travel budget for the next ten years when they sent Frank Buckley to Iran. (Yes, KTLA is the cheapest and least likelylLA TV newsroom to send anybody anywhere). I don't know how you measure the benefit that KABC got by sending Palmer. But my guess is, it does enhance a station's image of appearing serious about news. And I should add, I imagine Buckley's trip did the same for KTLA. But yes, the case can always be made that the travel money could be better spent on local coverage. That of course is the bread and better than keeps your viewers. But a little "dessert" or long trip once in a while, is probably not a bad idea.
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