What Bugs You About TV News?
At the risk of being personally skewered, I offer the question: What bugs you most about local TV news ( please no personal attacks) ? It's no secret that local viewing is sliding, but why?
There was a time and not too long ago,when local news easily dominated the ratings. If it was 6PM you could bet the majority of TV sets would be tuned to a local news program.
Local news still commands a good number of viewers, but in a rapidly decreasing rate.
Is it because there are so many other options? Cable TV? The internet?
Or is it a lifestyle issue? Are people just not around the tv set like they used to be?
Maybe it's content? Car wrecks, crime, fires and murders are the staple of local news. Do these stories really interest you?
Is local news more hype than substance? Should we take on meatier topics? And if we did, would you really watch?
Or are we fighting a losing battle in the way we deliver the news. Is it time to rethink the paradigm? And if so, how?
What are your thoughts?
Comments
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Comments
Most people say they
Most people say they don’t watch the news because it’s too sad. Why not give the viewers something to look forward to? Could I suggest a “person of the week“, weird news†or “funny story†segment?â€
ABC News does segments like these. It's all in the presentation. They are not presented in a "warm and fuzzy" way. These are presented as "factsâ€. The "Person of the Week" is shown on Friday and at the very end of the broadcast. Let's show the younger viewing audience who is out there in the community "making a differenceâ€.
The “weird news†or “funny stories†segments can be done on a local level. I don't have any "local" ideas at the moment but I'm sure you do! Two national examples are the "Evolution of Dance" video and the "Cat Chases Bear up Tree" have thousands of downloads. Why not compete with the computer? It is considered competition! Those clips are considered phenomenons and therefore are news.
Check out these websites:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/DyeHard/
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4429957/
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8919541964498299964
I would also suggest making a point of delivering at least one "good news" story every broadcast.
I drive a volvo" Why am I
I drive a volvo"
Why am I not shocked!
1. I think it is great when folks buy AMERICAN and when
the leaders of the county do it is even better.
2. Gas prices are falling but even when they hit 3+ folks
still drove the SUVs for both protection and comfort.
3. I do not trash this site, I flat LOVE it! Although there is
a question about ethics. How can a journalist be ethical and have a blog?
4. As for expensive rides, lord I priced a VULVA years ago for the heated seats and the price was just silly.
5. The East Coast Liberal thought came out of trashing SUVs and their (WATE TV NEWS) shot at the gas comsumption of the ones in question bought by our county leaders..really the tree huggers hate the SUVs and never miss a chance to bitch about them, even YOU know that!
I just think local air time for NEWS is something that should not be wasted on MADE UP or agenda driven stories, when the real facts come out about the EVIL SUVs bought my those in question even WATE will realize that it was a good move, bought from an old LOCALLY owned dealership..and at a DISCOUNTED price!
Once again this is a GREAT site and is beyond fun to read the posts of folks like you, bless your heart! LOL
The thing that bugs me a lot
The thing that bugs me a lot of the time is some of the stuff that simply is not newsworthy. "And later in the program, find out what happens when two kittens mistake a bucket of paint for their mother." Also, I agree that there are too many other media options on satellite, digital, internet news sites and such. I have come to like the sound off section of your website though. There is news, albeit unsubstantiated at times, there that you will not see on the 6 o'clock. This is understandable at times.
I hate to say this but I do
I hate to say this but I do not know if I can trust what your station reports. Several mistakes this year cloud your record.
I watch your station over the other choices but you do not report what is happening in Knoxville. You report news about frivolous items while real news goes unreported. I wonder if your reporting is compromised.
Try reporting all the news. That may be all you need to do.
We've made mistakes this
We've made mistakes this year, no question about that... one very large one involving City Councilman Steve Hall. How that happened has been well documented by me and this station.
We work very hard to make sure our reporting is accurate, but occasionally mistakes happen.
On the whole though, I think we do a pretty good job day. As for "real news goes unreported" and being "compromised," can you be more specific?
There are many examples but
There are many examples but you could start with the Great Schools program. Does anyone including the people in leadership of the Great Schools program understand what it is they are trying to accomplish?
8 million plus dollars have been spent in the past two years to what purpose? County Commission has ask for 5 million this year. In years 2009 and 2010 expenditures are 17 million plus.
A secondary school board under the control of the County Mayor was approved by the Knox County School Board and nobody understands what it is all about.
The budgets of the County and City are filled with questionable line item expenses yet no one is asking any questions. So I will ask you, is your station so involved with the local power structure you cannot investigate it?
Your Sunday show is an exception to the above critique. But that is only one day a week. Don Dare does some interesting work but still there is so much that goes under-reported I cannot agree with your assessment.
GREAT topic! Knoxville is a
GREAT topic! Knoxville is a two station town, radio it is WIVK and TV is WBIR. Why??? WIVK is community centered covering it all from UT football to a simblance of local news.
WBIR is comminity centered covering it all from "trusted" news to tons of heart string segments.
As for 6, they are on a breaking news path that is not working at all, nationally it is found that viewers grow tired of the approach quickly and locally viewers often see how 6 "makes" news out of nothing.
The Steve Hall story was a mess, but the list has to include not having the facts on the Charter "investigation", making up the Over TIME story (not a thing there or the paper would have jumped it) and the constant BREAKING NEWS that half the time is a re-hash of an old story or no real news at all.
Warm and fuzzzy is so hated by hard driving journalist, but in Knoxville the viewers must like it, look at the WBIR.
This is a great site Gene
This is a great site Gene and thank you for the opportunity. What bugs me about the news? Probably the only thing that bugs me is a lack of local investigative stories. For instance, the further away from headquarters you get (e.g. Campbell County) the more willing you are to go after a story.
I personally believe that a lot of corruption, waste, and abuse of office could be prevented by a media filled with hungry journalists. In the case of Campbell County that someone mentioned above, the media did a fantastic job. If "the media" had not gone after the story, business as usual would have most likely continued.
But locally, I believe the priority is on maintaining the status quo. Sometimes this is good, but other times it leads to bad situations that could have been prevented had the media been diligent in maintaining a watchful eye approach.
News Channel 5 in Nashville is a great example of how media can help to clean up government. Knowing someone is out there keeping a watchful eye on government lends a sense of security to a community.
I watched your news the
I watched your news the other night after deciding to give it another chance. Now I remember why I stopped watching. You hype a story at the very beginning making it sound like some big investigation and then you don't run it until the middle or almost the end of the newscast. When you finally do show it, it is nothing like what you've been talking about. Your so called investigations are totally one-sided and have no relevance to anyone's daily lives. Everything you do is so sensational or just downright misleading. I've been reading the other responses on here and am also concerned about the number of mistakes that are made and treated as if that's just normal. After watching one of your newscasts, I feel like I've been had. You don't deliver what you promise and what you do deliver is done breathlessly by your reporters and at break-neck speed. I don't feel like I know what really happened in East Tennessee on any given day. Stop the sensationalism and empty promises and I may come back.
Dang Brenda give 6 a break
Dang Brenda give 6 a break will you? Look Gene uses the blog to say he is sorry, more times than he uses it to push the wild ass style of WATE. Heck he even comes on asking the question of why everyone (viewers) are leaving local TV news. Where I work we never come out in public and talk about our company, heck if we did we would all be fired. Give Gene some credit for both coming on here and showing his personal side of how he thinks of the news and of openly saying that WATE is in a slide right into the dumper.
As for the rest of what you are saying, OK, you are right on all of it, they do slant their stories, hide the BIG INVESTIGATION in the middle or end and then it turns out to be something that reminds you of why first the staff and then DAN RATHER were all fired...BUT and it is a giant BUT, unlike VLT or BIR they do have a blog wide open to the unwashed public where one of their main anchors (is Gene or that girl the main one?) not only opens the door for discussion but RISKS clouding his personal credibility by giving his true feelings on the way news is both crafted and yes often made up by WATE.
Brenda it is SO obivious that you have never worked on as much as a Jr. High Newspaper, if you had you would know how brave Gene is for doing this blog!
DP
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