I don't know that calling out local newscasts is a point we disagree on. Other than shootings, weather, and fluff, most local newscasts are useless -- but I think that's mostly due to no budgets to do much more than rip-and-read or recycle CNN footage.
I remember Keith Olbermann describing the old KTLA newscast as one you could watch and be reasonably certain you had a rough idea of what's going on in the world. Tonight on WCBS, I saw in-depth reports on a woman who chewed gum while someone else spoke in a press conference and who has a better quality of sleep, men or women. Now, all that said, I think most viewers are savvy enough to assume that any coverage on national or world stories (or even in the state capital) are coming from another source. As far as misreporting or errors in stories, it's my own opinion that stories I've seen and read for which I know the facts rarely report them accurately and that corrections or amendations are as rare as hen's teeth and never receive the prominence of the original reporting. --Dave Sikula On Nov 7, 10:27 pm, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > n Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 8:39 AM, Dave Sikula <[email protected]> wrote: > I am not sure which part of what I have been writing you this is a wee bit > harsh. Do you think I am being too harsh when I suggest that the standards > of local newscasts are not very high? If so, then I guess we are just going > to have to disagree about that. Are you saying that I am being too harsh > when I suggest that simply sourcing the Conan story would be a sign of > higher journalistic standards? That seems like a specific enough point that > I would like to try to persuade you that I am correct. I don't think your > point that most viewers know when wire copy is being read is relevant here. > First, I am a relatively sophisticate viewer, and I don't have any magical > 6th sense that tells me when wire copy is being read. If I had heard the > Conan story on my local newscast, I don't think I would have assumed it > came from any wire service (and I wonder how you, or anyone else, would?). > Second, even if most viewers had some intuitive sense of wire copy stories, > that would be irrelevant - the proper form here it so source the story. A > (college) student of mine recently tried to defend their lack of citation > for a quote in a technical paper this quarter by telling me that it was > obvious it was a quote, and from the context any likely reader would be > able to tell its source. In fact, I was able to tell it was a quote, and I > knew the exact source, but that of course was besides the point - the > proper form is to use quotation marks, and cite the source. Following this > form not only informs the reader, it also reassures the reader that other > passages, where the origin may be less clear, can be trusted. This is at > least as important when it comes to anything purporting to be news. > > Again, I am specifically not arguing that lack of citation of the source of > the Conan story alone is the mark of inferior local news standards. Rather, > I am arguing that the evidence is overwhelming over many years that > journalistic standards at local news stations have been severely eroded, > and the Conan story is merely one humorous illustration of this. > > Earlier this morning I cited one hypothetical example of how failure to > source would be problematic (when the original, but unknown to the viewer > source has an axe to grind). I would be interested if anyone defending the > lack of sourcing practice has a response to this. A second hypothetical > example of why this practice is problematic would be, what would happen if > there were a serious error in the story? What if the newswire copy had > accidentally outed a closeted gay staffer on the Conan show, identifying > him as the one getting married rather than the actual gay guy getting > married? Wouldn't every local station immediately explain that the mistake > was not their fault - that they had only run a wire story? Of course they > would - but then it follows that this attribution should also be given when > the story is correct. And the viewer has a right to know which wire > services are being used, as one way of evaluating the judgement and > credibility of the station. If the NYT used wire copy from the National > Enquirer service (not that there is such a thing) its readers would need to > know that so they could re-evaluate their judgement of the Times as a > reliable source of news. > > > > > > > > > > > On Nov 7, 7:44 am, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Exactly - which, if the standards of local news were higher, one might > > > think would also motivate a simple "CBS Newsource reports that Conan is > > > pushing the envelope..." or something like that. -- 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
