News Fail

[audiophile]

A certain tri-cities media website puts the new story of William Milliken on third row, but the prominent lead story is the CEO of Planned Parenthood speaking at some unknown conference in Detroit next week?

eieiooo...

[organman95]

It's about getting the story out quick. Fast-paced society doesn't wait.

Proofreading is not as precise as it used to be.

[organman95]

I agree with you, orgasmman95, in that viewers want the story out quickly, but they also want it accurately. Both should be considered.

Agreed. But if you hear about a story, and need/want to get it out in say 2 minutes, that isn't much time to truly be accurate - How far back would we have to go in time for the stories to be near-completely accurate?

[DAC]

I agree with you, orgasmman95, in that viewers want the story out quickly, but they also want it accurately. Both should be considered.

Agreed. But if you hear about a story, and need/want to get it out in say 2 minutes, that isn't much time to truly be accurate - How far back would we have to go in time for the stories to be near-completely accurate?

All the way back, I think.. If Brink Chetley reported it, you either believed it or you didn't. There wasn't any other choice for validating.

[organman95]

All the way back, I think.. If Brink Chetley reported it, you either believed it or you didn't. There wasn't any other choice for validating.

So we eliminate the internet lol

I think if we were to just let social media do its thing, and take the time to gather the news and decipher correct/incorrect information, as well as proofread the scripts, the news would most likely be significantly better. Even if it took say 20 minutes to broadcast. At least it would be more accurate and not have to make a bunch of corrections.

[DAC]

All the way back, I think.. If Brink Chetley reported it, you either believed it or you didn't. There wasn't any other choice for validating.

So we eliminate the internet lol

I think if we were to just let social media do its thing, and take the time to gather the news and decipher correct/incorrect information, as well as proofread the scripts, the news would most likely be significantly better. Even if it took say 20 minutes to broadcast. At least it would be more accurate and not have to make a bunch of corrections.

That would be ideal, but people want everything now, if not 10 minutes ago. Hence news broadcasts at 4 PM, 5 PM, 7PM, 10PM, etc. When it was just noon, 6, and 11, there was at least the illusion that they were spending the rest of the time doing journalist-type things.

[organman95]

That would be ideal, but people want everything now, if not 10 minutes ago. Hence news broadcasts at 4 PM, 5 PM, 7PM, 10PM, etc. When it was just noon, 6, and 11, there was at least the illusion that they were spending the rest of the time doing journalist-type things.

Are there actual producers and/or executive producers that proofread anything anymore or do they just go with what one person has to say at the moment?

From what I've read/slightly recall (I was a kid in the 90s), when the 5 pm newscasts initially started, they were more of a community-oriented news, something like 9&10's "The Four" but only going for a half-hour. Then there was "The 6 PM News" or whatever a station called their newscast. At some point in the late-90s the 5 PM newscasts (I'm still generalizing here) became more of a full newscast similar to the 6 pm, but keeping the "For you" type of segments (Education, health, etc), and expanding to an hour-long program.

Then you have some stations adding a 4 pm, using that original 5 pm format, and now subsequently moving their 5 PM format over as well. The redundancy is not good, in my opinion. Slowly/quickly getting toward a CNN/MSNBC/Fox News/etc 24 hour format.

[DAC]

It would be fine if it was done well.

I agree. Unfortunately, they want to do more while spending less. The first thing to go down the drain is quality, and I think we see it in pretty much every aspect of local news.

[organman95]

Agreed. NBC25/Fox66 has two stations and the fewest employees in the market. Well, three if you count CW46.

I don't see why we need a local 24/7/365 news channel. I know there is WMNN in Cadillac, which I guess is doing relatively well.

As for number of employees at a station... you don't need 100 employees to make a quality product/program. Sometimes less is more/better. Think too many hands in the cookie jar and there could be a real issue.

[autolab]

It starts at the top. When management doesn’t give two craps about journalism or their employees, you get the high school journalism that you see on 25-66 and the other low rated and even lower quality Sinclair stations across the country. It’s just about cutting costs, hiring inexperienced journalists at minimum wage and peddling pro-Trump propaganda from the corporate office and WEYI license holder/Ben Carson business manager/conservative radio host Armstrong Williams. The General Manager doesn’t have a backbone and the News Director is in over her head, unable and unwilling to say no to the unethical must runs from Baltimore. 5 and 12 are only slightly better. Local news is dead. Let’s post a selfie guys and gals!