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A media critique... and then some! 6/09/06 - Friday Friday Letter is up Inside LA TV - Laura Diaz making out with her Executive Producer...in public. And guess who the EP is? Check out Recent Issues 6-06-06 Tuesday's OTR 6-02-06 Friday's OTR              Send your opinions to BRUIN74@aol.com.

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KCAL BURIES THE LEAD

On Monday a Venice High School student was shot and killed in the high school parking lot. Obviously everyone had this story.  But KCAL had something even more; they had an interview with a witness who said that the 17-year victim was actually coming to the aid of his younger brother.  Shouldn't that be in the LEAD? Well, not according to KCAL.

Here's how it went, with Pat Harvey reading first: "We begin tonight with the latest on a story we’ve been following all afternoon AND evening…the shooting death of a 17-year old high school student."

Rick Chambers: "Yeah this happened as class let out for the day at Venice High School . KCAL 9’s Mary McBeth (sic) McDade now is live in Venice tonight with the latest on the search for the gunman. Mary Beth…"

McDade did a summary story of what happened. A boy shot in a parking lot and killed. There had been a fight between black and Hispanic students which led up to it. A black  guy shot an Hispanic.  Then there was a search by police which came up empty. She closed by saying "We’ve also learned that the victim’s brother was injured in this incident. He was knocked in the head but is expected to be fine." Then she described the killer.

Anchor Pat Harvey continued:   "We do have more on the victim right now. We DO know the victim was a junior at Venice High. His family is mourning his death tonight. And KCAL 9’s Ross Palombo continues our live team coverage with their reaction to what happened. Ross?"

Ross Palombo:  "The family says this victim was a good student, an athlete who always tried to help others, and a witness tells us tonight that is exactly what happened here. That a 17-year old was gunned down to save his very own brother. And that part of the story, something you’ll see first tonight on KCAL 9."

 It took 30 sec into his story to re-introduce that fact which included the bite from a witness, who said "He goes in to help out his little brother, and they pull out a gun, then they shot him right there."  That sound bite came about 45 seconds into the story.

What in the world are they thinking at KCAL??? This was Monday Night, and so I wonder if EP Jeff Soto was distracted by the story he knew I was about to publish about him. Certainly Soto or someone in charge there should have caught the screw-up.   

I would say that first of all, the initial lead read by Harvey and Chambers should have said that a witness says the boy died defending his brother. (Something which the LA Times didn't have -albeit with more detail- until Wednesday, on the front page of  the paper!). Second of all, Polombo should have gotten to the witness sound bite early in his story.  How about KCAL managing editor Paul Skolnick? Should he have caught this too?  Isn't his job to check over the packages?

In reality, this story could have been covered by just one reporter, which is how KTTV handled it.

Here is a contrast. KTTV did not have the witness sound bite. Nevertheless, in her live lead-in, reporter Cristy Fajardo said:  "The victim was an 11th grader here at the school. Police are not releasing his name, but witnesses tell us he may have been defending a family member when he was shot and killed.  Although police could not confirm that, they do tell us that it appears this all started with some sort of argument."

And that was all she had on that angle.

Believe me, I know there is often plenty of room for legitimate debate over what to lead with, or how to structure a story. But in this case, I think there is no question that KCAL dropped the ball.

WEAK ELECTION COVERAGE ON KTLA

Consider how little time and attention stations devote to politics and government, I suppose it should be no surprise to see coverage like this.

Robert Santos was assigned to cover Rocky Delgadillo. He asked NO tough questions, obviously the kind of reporters that politicians love.  Question #1 from Santos:  "You’ve been around here all night. You saw the early numbers. What’s going through your mind right now?"

Delgadillo said he believed the numbers would get better and that he's not a quitter.

Santos: "Have you spoken to Jerry Brown tonight?"

No he had not and Santos would be first to know if he did, Delgadillo said with a smile. 

Santos: "Do you have him on speed dial."

No he does not.

Santos: "One of the things you talked about, the first thing you will do is appoint a drug czar. We’ll talk to you more about that coming…"

Delgadillo interrupted: "A gang czar."

Santos continued: "Yeah, a gang czar. I apologize for that. We’ll talk to you more about that maybe in a half hour…"

Later in the hour, they went back to Santos while Delgadillo was speaking to the crowd.  While he was speaking, you could hear Santos - not realizing he was on the air -saying:  "Want me to wrap now?” and  seconds later "Just tell me when."

Santos then told the audience that Delgadillo  would not say if he would be running again and that he had ask him that (on tape presumably) but that Delgadillo avoided the question.

I realize that you have only so much time in these live Q&A's, but where does it say that the questions must be softballs?  Why not asking questions like  "When did you realize how tough it would be to beat such a well known man as Jerry Brown?"  "Did you advisors really believe you could win this when you got into the race?" "In one ad, you tried to suggest  that Brown wasn't reliably pro-choice. Was that fair?"

Yet, Santos is asking about speed dial?  And why waste time asking Delgadillo about  a gang czar? He might as well as asked him how he would be putting a man on Mars, because it was clear that he each goal was equally improbable.

If Santos was to be the reporter, why didn't someone at KTLA coach the guy?  He is young and probably works cheap, which are two things that GM Vinnie Malcolm likes.  But what about knowing how to interview a political candidate?  I guess you can't have everything.

A reporter named Melissa Remick  was in San Francisco for KTLA to cover Phil Angelides.  She interviewed his spokesman Dan Newman who she said was  "going to tell a little bit about how Phil’s day has been."  There's a hard hitting way to get into the Q&A. 

Her next question was better, asking  how negative ads have affected the campaign. Newman said they might have caused confusion, "but in the end, Phil’s vision and his record of fully funding our school, of protecting our environment came through to voters. And voters understood that the why every major environmental organization in this state is supporting Phil Angelides is because he will  stand up and be counted  on to protect our environment. The reason why the  teachers endorsed Phil is because he will protect our schools. The reason the Democratic Party endorsed Phil is because Phil will fight for the values of the Democratic Party."

Once it was clear that Newman was going into a campaign speech,  Remick should have interrupted. Look, there is only so much time for a live interview. If you are the reporter YOU are in charge of the that interview. You cannot let a flak do what Newman did.  But hey, Remick looked young, and was certainly very pretty.  No doubt she could probably get a job at KTLA.

She concluded, "Do you think he’ll have victory here tonight."

The two veteran reporters for KTLA were Frank Buckley and Jim Nash. Nash was on Prop 82 duty, but given his experience he certainly should have been on Delgadillo.  Buckley, a veteran reporter who previously worked for CNN, was covering Steve Westly. Unfortunately, he never got a one-on-one with Westly or anyone else that I saw. I expect that Buckley would have done better than his younger and less experienced colleagues.   

I don't expect reporters to debate politicians.  But these folks need to be challenged. If you are a reporter, you are there for your audience.  That is your job!

ON KTTV

I think it is fair to say that live shots are not the strong suit for Tony Valdez, who has a tendency to stumble more than most.   There was a lot of that going on his election coverage.  Arguably worse than the  "um's" and "ah's," and worse than saying "Silicone Valley"  was this statement:  "Mr. Westly positioning himself as the moderate compared to the far right wing Mr. Angelides."  

I'm sure Valdez meant "far left wing."  No doubt the only time in his life that Angelides has been called "far right wing."  And to be fair, I think "far left wing" is a value judgment a reporter should not make. I think it would safe to have said "the more liberal Mr. Angelides."

OOOPS

Elections are often difficult for stations to cover.  It's something they don't do often, and so there is always room for mistakes.  Have a look this short clip from KTLA...

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

But let me give a little credit to Feinstein, which doesn't happen often. When Buckley mistakenly threw it back to Hal, she just let it go. Good.  Because I am tired of the anchors who feel the need to say "I'll take it here."  I get why they do that, but some mistakes are so minor, they're really not worth calling attention to.

RTNA PRESIDENT KINDRED RESPONDS TO OTR CHALLENGE

On Tuesday I wrote about the attack on radio reporter Sandy Wells. I advocated a news conference by local journalism organizations to bring more attention to the issue, which would include a reward.  I asked  "Why aren't the LA Press Club, the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California and the LA chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists raising some hell about what happened?"

Steve Kindred of the RTNA sends the following response:

"As President of RTNA, I felt it was important to get the facts on what happened and find out if there was any way the broadcast news community could help Sandy. I placed calls trying to reach him on the day of the incident, but was unable to do so. I also spoke to officials of the LAPD and the LAUSD Police, trying to learn if there was a suspect and/or car description that we could broadcast. Sandy was
understandably unreachable after the incident, and my call to Hollenbeck Division, where the incident report was filed, was never returned. 

I briefed the RTNA board that same nite at our monthly meeting, and instructed our legal counsel, Royal Oakes, to continue to make calls so that we could investigate what happened. The fact that the board took no immediate action should NOT be construed as disinterest....we were trying to sort out the facts, and have learned that there's often more to an incident than what appears in the LAPD's press release. I agree with you that an attack on one reporter is an attack on all. 

RTNA spent many hours fact finding the problems the media experienced covering the Democratic National Convention, and the roughing up that some of our members took. Then, as now, safety was of the utmost importance. So it's important to ponder the events that led to Sandy being attacked. Three talk show hosts who have been bashing immigrants for months, and the school in question for a week, remain in their air-conditioned studio ,stirring up emotions,...then send a field reporter into harm's way. Metro and KABC management should have known that this was a risky assignment. At the very least, a second person to watch Sandy's back would have been appropriate. I'm Sure if Al Rantel or Larry Elder were going out there, security
concerns would have been addressed. Too bad a reporter doesn't get the same respect.

I'm also firing off a letter to AFTRA, which receives huge dues money to protect our interests and safety, and which is not a non profit organization like RTNA, to learn if the union has made any inquiry into this matter."

I appreciate Steve's response, but I will take issue with him on a few points.  First and most important, in my opinion none of that explains to me why RTNA and others groups should not do what I advocated on Tuesday.   Second he offers the sadly typical reporter mischaracterization of the illegal immigration issue, by accusing talk show hosts of "bashing immigrants." Every host I've heard has condemned "illegal immigration." I've heard no one bash legal immigrants. As I've said many times, that is an important distinction.

Steve seems to imply that the attack on Wells was somehow foreseeable.... that because he reports on a show which had taken on the school, KABC or Metro News should have realized Wells was in some special danger.  Maybe I'm wrong, but considering we are talking about a school, I would not have thought that Wells was likely to be mistreated. But maybe I'm being naive here. I certainly welcome other reporters input on that point.

Though Steve and I have some disagreement, I again sincerely appreciate his responding.  I am hopeful that within our debate, something good will come of it. And I still would like to see that news conference and reward offered.  Though I must admit, I did not get one email from readers on this subject. I find that troubling.

I contacted Los Angeles Press Club President  Anthea Raymond about my proposal. She liked the idea, but said that what with their annual awards dinner coming up in two weeks, they didn't have time to deal with it right now.  I also sent an email to the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. They did not respond.

I also emailed KABC Program Director Erik Braverman, Doug McIntyre, Al Rantel and Larry Elder.  Rantel deleted my email without reading it, and so far, the others have not replied.

OTR READERS - KTLA MALE ANCHORS GOOD, FEMALES STINK

Once again, Carlos Amezcua is KTLA's highest graded anchor, though with a slightly lower GPA compared to last year. Early morning anchor Emmett Miller moves from third place to second place. Frank Buckley debuts as a strong third place. While Hal Fishman drops from second to fourth, his GPA is actually higher this year.  In contrast, Michaela Pereira took the biggest drop in GPA.  This year, like last year, Leila Feinstein, Lu Parker and Cher Calvin bring up the rear.  At least for OTR readers, good looks don't seem to sway them. For being KTLA's main female anchor, Feinstein's 1.69 is awfully low.  Interesting that despite Amezcua's popularity, I believe the conventional wisdom is that Vinnie Malcolm hired Frank Buckley to replace Hal Fishman when he leaves. While readers obviously think Buckley is good, those 27 A's show they think Amezcua is better.  Of course I think Malcolm would be wise to find a more credible female anchor for the 10pm.  But as you can tell from many of Malcolm's moves, he's not wise.

KABC'S TURN

Now it is time to grade the KABC anchors. As always, I ask you to only vote for those whose anchoring you are familiar with. And only vote once, please.  Just click on the appropriate link and the hit "send."  The poll will close Thursday at 6pm.

Phillip Palmer

Palmer - A

Palmer - B

Palmer - C

Palmer - D

Palmer - F

Kathy Vara

Vara - A

Vara - B

Vara - C

Vara - F

Jovana Lara

Lara - A

Lara - B

Lara - C

Lara - D

Lara - F

Marc Brown

Brown - A

Brown - B

Brown - C

Brown - D

Brown - F

Michelle Tuzee

Tuzee - A

Tuzee - B

Tuzee - C

Tuzee - D

Tuzee - F

David Ono

Ono - A

Ono - B

Ono - C

Ono - D

Ono - F

Ellen Leyva

Leyva - A

Leyva - B

Leyva - C

Leyva - D

Leyva - F

Micah Ohlman

Ohlman - A

Ohlman - B

Ohlman - C

Ohlman - D

Ohlman - F

Leslie Sykes

Sykes - A

Sykes - B

Sykes - C

Sykes - D

Sykes - F

John Gregory

Gregory - A

Gregory - B

Gregory - C

Gregory - D

Gregory - F

Leslie Miller

Miller - A

Miller - B

Miller - C

Miller - D

Miller - F

GETTING EMOTIONAL

It is rare when you hear an anchor start to lose their composure, especially one as experienced as Ann Martin. But as you will hear, the death of the two men working with Kimberly Dozier suddenly got to her.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

COVERING A CHASE - HOLMES AND PEREIRA NEED WORK

I saw KTLA chopper reporter Jessica Holmes covering a chase. I wondered how she would do, and found that she had very little to say. Let's just say no one is going to confuse her with Larry Welk.  At one point, Carlos Amezcua had to ask her how fast the van was going, (noting the chopper was keeping up with it). She then asked the pilot, who said it was going 60 miles per hour.  I think copter reporters usually have that info handy right away. She wasn't all that bad, but she wasn't good either. With her up there, it was up to Amezcua and Michaela Pereira to carry the ball more then they would have to otherwise.

I realize that it is not easy to come up with things to say in these situations. But here is an example of an anchor really reaching. Pereira said:  "When you think about it, in the morning, you know, you kinda, you haven’t had your first cup of coffee.  You’re strolling around, maybe not totally aware ….of your surroundings. Something like this could totally catch you by surprise, if you’re at the wheel going through the intersection or just walking through a crosswalk. You’re not anticipating something like this happening."

So where does it say that most people do not drink coffee at home? I would think most coffee drinkers do just that.  Are people really unaware of their surroundings at 7:30 in the morning. If it were the afternoon, would you be anticipating a chase? Pereira was just blathering nonsense to fill time. Hope she does better next time.

PRESTON'S DEATH

Mr KABC had a valid point, wondering why none of the obits he'd heard had mention Preston's arrest involving sex abuse. I also remember Preston having some accusations.  Here is one story I found on a search:  "in 1991, singer and keyboardist Billy Preston was arrested in Malibu, California, after a 16-year-old boy reported that he was sexually attacked and shown obscene pictures. Preston was charged with exhibiting pornography, annoying a child and possessing cocaine. A year later, he entered no-contest pleas to the cocaine and assault charges. He was sentenced to nine months at a drug rehabilitation center and three months of house arrest."

I was a fan of his music too, and I liked him when I interviewed him. But fair is fair. That was part of his life, and it should have been mentioned.

PRESTON ON "MY SWEET LORD" AND RAY CHARLES

(photo: wfaa.com)

Here Preston told me how he was really involved in writing the melody for My Sweet Lord. As you may recall, George Harrison eventually lost a lawsuit, because it sounded so close to "He's So Fine."

Click HERE to listen 

Click HERE to listen 

Some good Preston trivia:  When he was ten years old, he played the young WC Handy in The St Louis Blues. The movie starred Nat King Cole, Eatha Kit and Pearl Bailey.

WHO ARE YOU?  

I invite all you to write in and tell your fellow readers a little about yourself. What you do for a living, why you are interested in TV news and anything else you'd like to include about yourself.  You can email to Bruin74@aol.com .