This sounds like he wants to transform his news block into a local version of CSpan, with a YouTube vibe tossed in under the pretense of being socially relevant. Because, as we all know, CSpan is a ratings goldmine. And YouTube has won numerous in-depth reporting awards.
I agree with PGage on this one. Live been back in Orange County the last few days and as bad as LA news was before the budget cuts, it is worse now. The field crew are young and inexperienced. The anchors pull double duty covering sports, traffic, or weather as opposed to having experts in any of those fields. The result is half assed, and if that is how the number two market looks, I shudder to think what the lesser markets look like. I saw my brother's station before he was laid off there. The ditz they had anchoring the afternoon newscast couldn't have thought her way out of a paper bag, let alone ad-libbed coverage of breaking news. If affiliates wish to remain viable, and I'm not suggesting they should, they need to expand and enhance local news coverage. They need to become tools for the community. They need to do the opposite of what has been going on the last year or so. On Tuesday, July 27, 2010, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 12:56 PM, Steve Timko <[email protected]> wrote: > > The newspaper decline has been fairly well documented, but I"m not sure > people understand the depth of the cuts in the TV business. I had a > television reporter who lived in the same condo complex as me. She was making > $10.75 an hour but only worked part time. She worked as a home health care > nurse to supplement her income. This year they cut her hours back so much she > gave it up and over the Fourth of July weekend her parents came and helped > her move back with them in Colorado. > > A long-time reporter at the same station jumped ship this year to work at > public radio here because it paid more. > This sounds like an attempt to get away from the cult of personality because > you have to pay more for charisma and all that orthodontic work. > > If it was a move away from personalty and Burgundy journalism back to hard > work and actual journalism, this would be a good sign. If they wanted to cut > the pay of pretty faced anchors and invest it in more field reporters and > equipment that would be great. But it sounds like this is simply an attempt > to save money, period. In a world where local news consists of a web cam > pointed at a fire and a mike that picks up ambient crowd noise and reaction, > Ron Burgundy will seem like Walter freaking Cronkite, and Anchorman will read > like a documentary, not a comedy. > > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
