Two rants today. Digital madness, and on a related note, the headlong and frequently ill-conceived descent into that madness by newspapers and other text-driven media. Going Digital If you’re a journalist and you want to survive in these here modern times, there is one thing that you simply must do: slap the word “digital” on everything […]
Death in Virginia
August 26, 2015 by
The specter of death lurks in and around the TV news industry every day. Every reporter and photographer in America can drive around town and point to the spots where they encountered the aftermath of tragedy. Most reporters and photographers also have at least one story of almost “losing it.” I’ve come close to a […]
Beware the Fool
April 1, 2015 by
On April first, some knuckle-headed media-type loses his or her job broadcasting an April Fools news story. You never know when. You never know where. But at some point today or tomorrow, news will break about an April Fools joke gone wrong and the subsequent firing. The corporate suit or local GM will get to […]
Sinclair (KOMO) and Banjo
March 30, 2015 by
So I’m reading a lengthy write through about a new geo-location app called “Banjo” and thinking to myself, “Wow, the implications for the news business are huge. I wonder if anybody sees this?” Well, sure enough, Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI), parent company of KOMO, is playing around with it… apparently as part of a larger […]
Hyping Drones – Enough Already
March 16, 2015 by
The shiny new object in news gathering is the drone. If you listen to the hype, it will replace reporters, camera crews and perhaps even sliced bread. It’s bunk. But that won’t stop the entire exhibition hall at this year’s NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) annual shindig from being given over to the whizzing miniatures […]
Actors & princesses need not apply
March 9, 2015 by
There are many unwritten rules in the world of television news. One of them is to avoid coming off as a lightweight. Sure, you may be a lightweight with little journalistic experience or passion for storytelling, but do NOT under any circumstances let that slip out (LOL). In other words, do NOT put anything about […]
“It will be better in the new building…”
March 2, 2015 by
“It will be better in the new building.” For anybody who has gone through a move at a television station, that is a meme with an eternal life span. Every question or concern can always and forever be laughingly answered with, “It will be better in the new building.” Computer down? “It will be better in […]
Get Jesse
February 24, 2015 by
KIRO is running a cute little promotional campaign teasing the arrival of Jessie Jones. You know the ones, the non-descript hints at something that’s coming in April? Jones is the former KING reporter who wasn’t able to reach a deal with Gannett to keep his “Get Jessie” franchise on the air – so he’s making […]
Brian Williams
February 11, 2015 by
Nobody enjoyed playing the role of the top dog news anchor more than Brian Williams. Like Richard Sherman though, if a player’s annoying arrogance can be backed up by a glance at the scoreboard and a resume full of “been there, done that” – well, it is what it is. No matter what you thought […]
Jean Enersen with the Bronze
June 12, 2014 by
Back in September of 2010, a guy named Lloyd Robertson stepped down from the anchor desk at CTV after 42 years. But his retirement got me to thinking about the longest-tenured anchor in North America – and when Robertson left the first time I tried to figure this out – there were only three standing: […]
The End Has Come
May 6, 2014 by
I don’t watch three or four TVs at once any more. But I do graze, and what I have seen develop over the years with network TV news is amazing. Amazingly bad. CBS has a total of about five reporters I think. The other guys have issues too – but I don’t think anybody even […]
April Fools Losing Jobs
April 1, 2014 by
It’s a rite of spring: learning what knuckleheaded radio DJ or TV personality is going to bless us all with an April Fool’s joke run amok, and lose his or her job over it. First, let me do some good: if you are working in the media, pretend April 1 doesn’t exist. Don’t write anything, […]
Thoughts on the KOMO Tragedy
March 19, 2014 by
As I write this, part of me is conscious of the “meh” I have for people who work overtime to try to connect themselves to every public tragedy. So I write some of the thoughts I have on this issue with that in mind: That I didn’t know any of the people involved, and that […]
My eye! My eye!
February 10, 2014 by
“I’m okay coach – I can go.” Thousands of injured athletes have said that to their coaches or their trainers. The athlete doesn’t care whether he can go or not – he just wants to be there, in the arena, delivering. But that’s why trainers and coaches and doctors exist – to be the dispassionate […]
Whoring the News
December 2, 2013 by
“Whoring the News.” That’s what my first news director used to call it when a newscast was hijacked for commercial purposes. He was relentless and made life a living hell for advertisers, GMs and ownership. Probably to a fault. But over the years, we all slowly come to realize that the news is nothing more […]
Ain’t It Great?
September 9, 2013 by
No, it ain’t. Despite all the high-fiving you see coming out of the promo department and station management, cranking up the assembly line at the news sausage factory doesn’t come as good news to the staff at KING5. Since they have to keep their feelings to themselves, I will perform the near miracle of reading […]
