Television: Breaking News From Channel 12

Friday, March 07, 2008

Breaking News From Channel 12

From the "Breaking News" scroll during "Survivor" on Channel 12:

"Potholes are a growing problem around the Tri-State."

If potholes are Breaking News, then what else qualifies? Post your suggestions and headlines.... If you can tear yourself away from the Live From The Salt Pile reports today....

74 Comments:

at 3/07/2008 8:23 AM

Anonymous said...

yeh good point, Johnny.

This is about as BREAKING NEWS as....LIVE...(from our newsroom)...???

What?

I guess that is better than taped delayed from fifty feet away in our studio?

at 3/07/2008 8:29 AM

Anonymous said...

During sweeps, one of the stations gave us an in-depth update on the Cincinnati Subway system.
What new information could have possibly come out of those tunnels in the past 60 years? Except maybe the rats are bigger, older and wiser.

at 3/07/2008 8:46 AM

Anonymous said...

This just in: "salt trucks are out treating the highways this morning."

at 3/07/2008 9:27 AM

Anonymous said...

and in weather..... tonight, DARK! followed by scattered light in the morning....

at 3/07/2008 9:32 AM

Anonymous said...

Breaking NEWS? ha, what a hoot. Everything is BREAKING NEWS. He is some news -- we have no real news department here in Mayberry. TV geeks out with snow and radio. ha is there a radio news departmenet locally?

at 3/07/2008 9:38 AM

Anonymous said...

Keep in mind that 12's the station that had the headline "Breaking News: Turtle Saved From House Fire"

I had to print that one out and save it as an example for future classes.

at 3/07/2008 10:01 AM

Anonymous said...

BREAKING NOW:
Global Warming Update: Temperatures Expected To Rise In Coming Months.

Proponents of global warming are wringing their hands in pleasure today as professor Micah Norom unveiled a weather model which predicts a wild rise in temperatures in the coming months.

"We believe this model shows that between the months of February and August, temperatures will rise to near 100°F in parts of the midwest, compared to temperatures in the single-digits in February. Certainly this is proof that Global Warming is upon us" said Prof. Norom.

at 3/07/2008 10:24 AM

Anonymous said...

Do the news trucks have reserved parking spots at the salt dome yet?

at 3/07/2008 10:24 AM

Anonymous said...

Channel 9 is the absolute WORST about breaking news. Every night, at 8, 9 and 10pm, when they do a commerical for the news they start with "Breaking News first at 11". Why is everything breaking news? I thought breaking news was if something happened within the newscast???
Also, did anyone catch Fox 19 last night with their weather report? They had someone at the bigg's standing next to strawberries! I guess when it snows the tri-state eats strawberries! I hope it thaws out by April!

at 3/07/2008 10:34 AM

Anonymous said...

The problem is, all the local stations allot to much time to news and they don't have enough local news to fill the time slots.
All they do is keep rehashing the same thing all day. When they do happen to get something new, it becomes "Breaking News"

at 3/07/2008 10:54 AM

Anonymous said...

Breaking News: We have Breaking News!

at 3/07/2008 10:57 AM

Anonymous said...

Breaking News; Salt trucks will continue to treat the streets thru the night. A live (not dead) report at 5pm.

at 3/07/2008 11:23 AM

Anonymous said...

BREAKING NOW - Channel 9 has interrupted regular programming to tell everyone in the Tri-state where each and every accident is.
Yes, the snow is falling and the station that brings you the I-Team and other TV clutter, is now telling us where all the fender-benders are.

This is the time to really get into your TV. This is where cable really makes a difference. Get off of Channel 9 and watch Fox News, TV Land or The Travel Channel.

Channel 9 is a constant overdose of anything they can find to screw
up their viewing screen. A virtual broadcasting pest. And they actually think they're doing YOU a favor. Switch to The Weather Channel or the weather on your computer screen to see what's going on ... or look out the window.

This over and over and over snowjob called TV 9 Breaking News is only for those who can't get another channel, and that's pitiful.

at 3/07/2008 11:30 AM

Anonymous said...

I love the phrase "Where the news comes first". What else is there?
At least the babes at 5 look good and glad to see Lisa is drinking plenty of coffee in the morning so she can stay as giddy and giggly as possible.

at 3/07/2008 11:43 AM

Anonymous said...

Breaking news...it's snowing. In winter. BUY EVERYTHING NOW!!! STOCK UP!!! We need more live shots of grocery stores.

at 3/07/2008 12:38 PM

Anonymous said...

Why do TV stations do traffic reports? If you are watching TV, you are probably already home. Traffic reports need only be on the local radio stations....Am I way out or touch here???

at 3/07/2008 12:45 PM

Anonymous said...

Leave it to Johnny boy to once again attack channel 12 - even though most everyone else in Cincinnati seems to like the station. I guess he is giving channel 5 a break for now.

But one thing you will NEVER see is him going after channel 9 and its endless parade of rediculous things, like claiming to have a "breaking news center" when its really just their old, dead, analog control room.

And you will never see John question the so-called "certification" that 9 has the most accurate forecast from that sham operation WeatherRat.

So much for un-biased reporting. Does the Enquirer still get its weather information from Steve Raleigh?

at 3/07/2008 12:57 PM

Anonymous said...

On Channel #12 two different reporters told us at noon that "the snow is blowing sideways."

I'm no scientist, but, if that were the case, then none of the snow actually would be hitting the ground. Just going sideways sticking to trees, poles, and buildings.

They also had a live shot from a store and reported there is no salt available anywhere. DID THEY CHECK EVERYWHERE ?
I about tripped over the stack of salt bags trying to get in and out of Kroger store an hour ago.

at 3/07/2008 12:59 PM

Anonymous said...

Breaking News Sucks. It's not about news, it's about what that highly paid consultant tell's a station that their viewers want: ie "BREAKING NEWS". All of the stations do it. Not just 12 or 9. After all 5 started this crap several years back. Here's an idea. Why don't television stations just call it news. Maybe they could get back to doing stories just because they are interesting, or possibly because their stories might help someone in need. Stations spend lots of money doing focus groups, research, etc. People constatantly publically say they hate all the negative news, crime, etc. But for some reason when they get in focus groups they say the opposite. My suggestion to the stations would be to save all that money you pay consultants. Hire some more reporters and photographers, and give the journalists a chance to show viewers what television can be. Give them more time to put their stories together, maybe allow them to be two minutes again. Yes, as long as there's snow there will be the "salt pile" reports. Everyone will scramble to get to Krogers before they sell out of bread and milk. One things for sure everyone out there will still find a way to complain about the media and how they do their jobs. Maybe for a minute someone would consider trading their high paying, indoor desk job to go stand outside covering snow that "no one cares about". Then they can see how "glamourous" television news really is. Just don't forget your boots because your feet are the first thing to freeze... Hey John, maybe you'd like to spend the day in the field with one of the "Breaking News" leaders to check out those potholes....

at 3/07/2008 1:14 PM

Anonymous said...

You people in Cincinnati need to get a life! A little snow is no big deal!

You people wouldn't know what breaking news was if it hit ya's square in the face!

Oh my, snow is coming! White death..RUN, HIDE!! HA HA HA!

at 3/07/2008 1:21 PM

Anonymous said...

First... Fast... Accurate...

Well, two out of three ain't bad.

at 3/07/2008 1:40 PM

Anonymous said...

the last snow that came thru, news 5 had a story about salt supplies. something along the lines of, "the salt piles are getting low, and there may not be enough snow to cover thru the rest of the storm. they have a contract with a salt company, and they're thinking the salt company is backing out of the contract by not delivering additional supplies of salt."

at 3/07/2008 1:48 PM

Unknown said...

ANON @ 10:24am: Great line!!! Seriously. Maybe you can help me with another punch line.

During Channel 9's noon news, they had all 3 weather guys standing around the "forecast center". The only thing I could think of was "How many meteorologists does it take to say it's snowing outside?" There's got to be some good lines out there.

at 3/07/2008 2:08 PM

Steve Scherer said...

When will news directors realize that running these ridiculous crawls only destroys credibility the station is trying to build? Probably never.

at 3/07/2008 2:19 PM

Anonymous said...

A sample of stories now on the WKRC web site:

"Storm forces parents to pick up kids at school"

"Conditions make it hard to go up and down hills"

"drivers in Eastgate coping with slippery roads"

"people leaving downtown Cincinnati in droves".

Besides all that "Breaking News" WKRC is also running of live stream of the snow falling on the 12 terrace.

No Kidding, I couldn't make this up. I guess that's for those who live in homes without windows.

at 3/07/2008 4:51 PM

Anonymous said...

BREAKING NEWS.....THE WEATHER IS MORE IMPORTANT AND IT CAN ONLY BE ACCURATELY DESCRIBED BY A CHIEF METEOROLOGIST....As far as weather goes, give me Rich Apuzzo and SKYEYEWEATHER.COM

at 3/07/2008 5:14 PM

Anonymous said...

Here's real breaking news from your pal MO's blog at 1530homer.com

HALLE-FREAKING-LUJAH
From listener Josh...
This year Time Warner subscribers will be able to see the Reds in HD. On March 25th FSN Ohio is going to be added on channel 768 in the Dayton area and 968 in Cincinnati.I saw it on a redszone link yesterday. I called TW last night to verify and sure enough, they are carrying it. The lady said they weren’t going to put out a press release until they exactly knew how many Reds games they were going to telecast in HD, but it will be a part of the HD Tier on the 25th…

at 3/07/2008 5:21 PM

Anonymous said...

Derek said we'd have news like this!

at 3/07/2008 5:23 PM

Anonymous said...

From Your Breaking News and Severe Weather Station: It will be darker than usual at 12:00 tonight. Make certain you have strawberries, flashlights, and Cipro just in case you and your family are affected!

at 3/07/2008 5:56 PM

Anonymous said...

"Breaking news" Let us do a live shot on Gilbert Ave (Right outside or building) and show you the traffic situation.

at 3/07/2008 6:39 PM

Anonymous said...

Yes!

at 3/07/2008 7:27 PM

Anonymous said...

First Channel 5 has four hours of election coverage on Tuesday night, then all-night constant coverage of the snow tonight. Excellent programming, I'll say!

at 3/07/2008 9:57 PM

Anonymous said...

this just in ,there is a news developing in the roads tonight,shaun ley is live and he has found a new hole in the road on north 71 we think it could be the making of our latest pothole in the cincinnati area,stay tune @ 11 for a story you will see only on NEWS 12

at 3/07/2008 9:59 PM

Anonymous said...

Breaking News!!! Every station will tout how they were first and most accurate to report The Storm Of The Century Blizzard 2008! How do we survive with out them?

at 3/07/2008 11:11 PM

Anonymous said...

Both 12 and 9 preempted regular programing at 10 pm on Friday nite to run idiotic reporters standing next to the various highways and telling me to slow down and/or stay home! (Gee - never would have figured that out on my own.) Brad Johannson seemed genuinely disappointed when the Anderson fire department told him on camera there had been NO unusual calls due to the weather on Friday. Every station in this city is a joke. What a bunch of amatuers!

at 3/08/2008 12:01 AM

Sophia said...

I have given up local stations PERIOD due to the PERPETUAL CRAP on the tv screen with snow.

They do this for flakes and now they will flail us with THE BIGGEST SNOWFALL IN HISTORY for DAYS!! They had local news on for what, THREE HOURS? (I was watching racing shows on cable)

Then tonight they had crawls for business and school and church closings all over tv...I even saw PET SITTERS CLUB CLOSINGS?? What's next "KNITTERS ANONYMOUS" will not be meeting?

It's absurb. HOW OFTEN do you need to repeat the same old thing.

I am able to watching racing on cable channels but dread Sunday afternoon FOX with WEATHER CRAP all over the screen.

They act like they are SAVING LIVES with this news. How the hell did any of us over the age of 50 LIVE without BIG BROTHER TELLING US STUFF a 10 year old should know.

TURN OFF ALL THE LOCAL STATIONS. Do NOT GIVE THEM A MINUTE of your time.

STOP THE INSANITY. They do not care if we want it or not, they stretch the pictures to make Letterman and Leno look like fat PUMPKINHEADS to pimp out redundant school/church/weather BAR CLOSINGS!

Here's a clue....if in doubt, call where you are going.

THE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA.

at 3/08/2008 2:03 AM

Anonymous said...

Breaking news - our TV ratings are higher than your circulation numbers! Your job is nearly extinct - newspaper people!! Think these blogs will save you, not hardly. It's just media people who come here!!!!!

at 3/08/2008 9:14 AM

Anonymous said...

Saw the new promo for Derek Beasley on News 5 a few times last night. The one with the little girl whispering at the end with icy breath over a snowglobe. I have to say that is the most ridiculous promo I think I've ever seen. My wife and actually laughed out loud at it!

at 3/08/2008 3:33 PM

Sophia said...

Watching ESPN but noted ALL LOCAL stations still have crap all over the screen.

NEWSFLASH: If it is a level 2 or 3 snow emergency do NOT leave the house unless you are forced to go to work.

THEN END.

Man, this tv clutter junk is going to be around for DAYS...first the snow then the floods that will be created by the melting...lather, rinse, repeat.

GROW UP local producers or your ratings will get worse.

at 3/08/2008 4:23 PM

John Kiesewetter said...

To 2:03 Anon:
Newspapers may be dying, but they're not dead yet. Our circulation is about 200,000 daily, which translates into a 22 rating in TV homes... Or more than twice the biggest rating for any TV newcast average in Feb sweeps (9.8 at 11 p.m. for Ch 12, and 9.8 5-6:30 p.m. for Channel 9). --Kiese

at 3/08/2008 5:36 PM

Anonymous said...

Hey Kiese,

My Enquirer made it to the front door in West Chester before 7:00 this morning.

We never did see the mailman.

Also noticed Ch 9 pre-empting 20/20 last night to spend an hour telling us it's snowing. Today, they did NOT pre-empt any of the Saturday infomercials.

at 3/08/2008 5:39 PM

Anonymous said...

Kiese, Nice try. I'm not a big fan of any of the local newscasts because they are pretty much police-blotter news. But your analogy proves nothing. If you compare the number of people reading the morning newspaper at 11:00pm vs the number of people watching Channel 12 at 11pm, I'd go with Channel 12. Add the total number of TV sets watching on other channels at 11 and I'm betting it wouldn't even be close.

Not a match, the board goes back.

at 3/08/2008 6:35 PM

Anonymous said...

Most of the news stations spent an hour an a half (starting at 10pm) to tell us it's snowing. MAKE THE MADNESS STOP!!!

Just about all local news in this town is not worth watching. Breaking news...it's snowing...

12 is an embarrassment. Every time I turned it past they kept repeating the same segment. How many different times can they tell us it's snowing and the roads aren't that great?

9 has the double craws....how many do we actually need? I am waiting for them to start craws at the top of the screen? 9 had a logo all throughout their coverage to tell us it's a Blizzard warning.

5's weather department tells us how much it's snowing and tells us that the roads might be slick. Thanks for stating something even the stupidest of us understand. Or Eric Green always using stupid phrases during his weather casts "hope you can get around ok" "roads are snow covered and icy, take your time out there" "use today to get prepared" or "36 hours of winter mayhem."

Make it STOP!!

Now I am sure we will here for days how it might be icy at night. Maybe we can have the craws on every station for weeks.

About the only one worth watching last night was 19. They actually had news on besides snow.

How many different ways can you tell us its is snowing? In depth coverage of snow. Breaking news....breaking news...MAKE IT STOP!

I am waiting for the next Breaking News...the flooding caused by all the melting snow.

at 3/08/2008 6:37 PM

Signify said...

Anyone getting fed up with tickers running no-stop? I think WCPO is up to 3 at a time.

Soon I'll just have a sliver of space for the shows I'm watching.

Stop the madness.

at 3/08/2008 6:39 PM

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, thanks 12 for showing us it's snowing outside of your building. And that we can watch it on the live stream on your site.

Gee..like many of us we just had to look out our window!!

at 3/08/2008 8:21 PM

Anonymous said...

it might be a 22 rating, but what's that worth when 80% of it is folks over 50? take a look at the ad base and it pretty clear that newspaper is in trouble. Amish craftsmen making fireplaces? OK....

at 3/08/2008 11:17 PM

Anonymous said...

Who can proove 200,000 circulation? Who can substantiate it? Is the Enquirer measured independently? Answers, please.

at 3/09/2008 10:52 AM

Anonymous said...

So...what will be the next Breaking News....flooding? Are the live trucks parked along Kellog Ave yet?

at 3/09/2008 12:02 PM

Anonymous said...

go back and check the stories in this blog. Nearly every one where a t.v. station or coverage or any event is mentioned, john always throws out a question or somehow drags Channel 5 into the fray by leaving the door open for the immature, negative comments to poor in....."Did 5 do the right thing?" "Where the news comes....first?" "Will this help
5's ratings?" I heard John even threw Channel 5 under the bus at an advertising luncheon. Reading this blog made it perfectly clear who John wants to do well and who he wants to see fail. The Ad industry knows it all too well. I don't want to hear anyone from 12 crying about bad publicity from Keise. He is the official king of dragging 5 threw the muck every chance he gets. Has anyone ever figured out why?

at 3/09/2008 12:03 PM

Anonymous said...

Hey John,
At least you have an accurate way to measure your audience. Nielson doesn't work and the sampling is way to small to be even close to accurate. So I don't think it fair to base your claims on the rating share (Especially during a writers strike). As far as TV goes, there's a reason your paper is having Glen and other photographers video tape and edit stories. It's all about the internet. It's about providing access to your customers when they want it. We used to get the paper daily but found the content to be lacking so we dropped it. I do still enjoy the NY Times(even with the Liberal slant)and the WSJ. It doesn't matter what station people work for everyone tries to do their best. Does anyone really think reporters/photographers enjoy standing out in the snow all day? Trying to find a way to make things interesting. Yes, I too hate all of the graphics/closings/crawls but believe it or not some people rely on that for information. Some don't have or won't use the internet. Again I say if people didn't call the closings then stations wouldn't put them on and disturb your favorite show. John I would encourage you to visit some of the stations so you can better understand why they do what they do. Especially when the weather turns bad.

at 3/09/2008 5:10 PM

Anonymous said...

Channel 9 is by far the worst when it comes to "breaking news." Talk about crying wolf. It's a joke.

While we are at it, why do they need to say "high definition" three times in the first 30 seconds of every broadcast. We get it and don't care.

at 3/09/2008 6:14 PM

Anonymous said...

is anyone going to talk about the shift that derek worked on friday and all day saturday. He started at 5-630 then 11pm news. He stayed on air during the overnight and worked saturday morning and also worked saturday night at 6pm.
That is why the tristate trusts derek.

at 3/09/2008 9:36 PM

Anonymous said...

Even channel 5's news doesn't end up at the bottom of a cat box.

at 3/09/2008 9:39 PM

Anonymous said...

3/08/2008 9:14 AM...

I agree with your promo comments... that "digital animation" (if you can even call it animation) right before the girl comes on and whispers "derek said it would" is the worst 3D image i've ever seen. it looks like there was absolutely no effort put into the creation of that. even the "breath" overlay was terrible...

i can't stand the "derek said it would" promos. they seem like a self-fulfilling ego boost for derek.

at 3/10/2008 10:04 AM

Anonymous said...

I once commented to my grandmother's friend (in her 80's) about how they seem to overdo reporting on bad weather, she disagreed strongly.

She thought it was "wonderful" they let people know where the storms were and when they would hit.

She's the only person I've ever met who seemed to really like all the hype.

at 3/10/2008 10:38 AM

Anonymous said...

Criticize the local fishwrap all ya' want, people. The fact of the matter is that this is a "TV" blog. While there's precious little actual critiquing that happens from our resident critic (but lots of asking for opinions from netizens), it's fair to say far more people read the dead tree on the doorstep than who watch TV newz. I dare say the last breaking news item run on TV will read: "JUST IN: You are the only person reading this ticker."

at 3/10/2008 12:14 PM

Anonymous said...

as a non-tv employee, i can respect the stations choice to cover the winter weather like they did. i can flip the channel if i don't like it.... thank god for cable....

but what i don't get is the double crawls at the bottom.

Can someone PLEASE tell me what the purpose of 2 crawls at the bottom on Ch 9??? they both are listing closings or delays.... so why is there a need for 2???? i can tolerate 1... because i know people need to know the information.... BUT 2???? come on

at 3/10/2008 12:48 PM

Sophia said...

Channel 9 does the DOUBLE CRAWL because they can get by with it.

If some network folks REALLY want to see a show, they have NO CHOICE but to watch the clutter on the screen.

Me, I watch little on network and when I check to "see the crawls are there" click. I am tired of seeing Letterman look like a pumpkinhead.

This weather hype will never stop as long as folks ACCEPT IT.

It's unreasonable. ALL DAY SUNDAY the Church services are canceled are on. Cunningham is talking about it at all. You can't watch a game without seeing all the crap on the screen.

WEATHER TERRORISTS INDEED. Here in Fairfield you could EASILY driver around Fairfield by Saturday afternoon.

Cunningham said the same thing for Cincinnati.

at 3/10/2008 1:11 PM

Anonymous said...

Asteroid heading for the earth. Film at 11.

at 3/10/2008 6:58 PM

Anonymous said...

And let's see what's on the front page of the Enquirer: a front-page story about facial fillers used to get rid of wrinkles (there is some hard-hitting journalism) and a declaration on the top of the Local section that it's "ok to go outside again." Suddenly, directing people to how they can get dangerous potholes filled doesn't seem like such a bad story.

at 3/11/2008 9:40 AM

Anonymous said...

TO ANON 6:14 aka Channel 5 News Director: As much as you pay Derek he should put in the amount of hours that he did. Not bad pay when you get 1 or 2 storms right a season.

at 3/11/2008 12:26 PM

Anonymous said...

To be totally honest I'm getting fed up with local television in general. Now they all have these "thumping their chests" promos about how they were there for you during the storm, keeping us safe. They never cease to amaze me! Safe from what? Not one of their hi-tech systems was able to alert us to even a chance of a storm of that magnitude hitting the tri-state until it was almost on us. Why do they even bother with a seven to ten day forecast? On this past Sunday I was watching WCPO in the morning and was told the high that day would be 31. It was 43. That's just embarassing. How about putting that gem on your next promo? Also, the closing scroll on these stations is getting out of hand. Do I really need to sit through knowing that about a dozen different Curves locations are closed? Then when it gets to the part I want to see, a "just in" closure takes over the bar. By the time it went away, the crawl was way past what I was waiting to see. Here's an idea, how about freezing the crawl while the new one pops up? I missed something I was waiting for 3 times because of this nonsense!

at 3/11/2008 12:42 PM

Anonymous said...

Sophia Z23 says:

"Man, this tv clutter junk is going to be around for DAYS...first the snow then the floods that will be created by the melting...lather, rinse, repeat.

GROW UP local producers or your ratings will get worse."

I am one of those local producers, Sophia. If I identified myself, the conversation would devolve into station-related sniping, so I'm going to stick to the big picture.

I don't know if you are in the TV news business or not. Based on your remarks, I'm going to assume you are not. If you were, you would know that weather is consistently on top of viewer concerns in content and preference surveys. It has been that way for over a decade. Wall to wall weather coverage exists for a number of reasons: (1) Viewers say it's important to them. (2) Stations don't want to underplay it because they fear they will suffer by comparision. (3) A large amount of money has been invested in the weather equipment, talent and promotion. The stations have few opportunities to get a short term return on that investment. Severe weather and the viewers it brings with it is one of those opportunities.

And as far as sniping at the live talent during weather coverage..well, that's easy isn't it? I'm certain every last one of you who are taking shots at those people have ad-lib skills that make them pale by comparison.

Weather coverage is what it is. When all your resources are dovoted to it...when the network is not providing anything different...and when the viewers want it...you get it. It's up to us producers to make it interesting. Some of us do better than others. However, Sophia (or anyone else), if you think you could do a better job, I'm sure you can make an appointment with HR at any of the stations in the market.

at 3/11/2008 1:02 PM

Anonymous said...

To Anon 9:40:

How do you know how much Derek gets paid? Probably way more that you (which is why you are salty about it) but I can guarantee you he earns every penny of it with a smile and could care less what you think.

at 3/11/2008 2:52 PM

Anonymous said...

For all those who hate the double crawl on channel 9...

They do it because it maintains the 16x9 aspect ratio (HD)... Since they broadcast news in 16x9 instead of 4x3 (like 5, 12, 19), if they only had one ticker, the image would be squished or streched.

at 3/11/2008 4:19 PM

Sophia said...

Producer guy

Yes, it's been discussed all over the media you all need to SELL your high tech weather gear.

Frankly nobody I know personally in my family or friends think the CONSTANT BARRAGE of 24/7 school crawls for DAYS is necessary.

Also CURVES and other busineses are getting FREE ADVERTISING as Chris Collingsworth pointed out on the radio the other day.

Yes, YOU NEED to justify your job but I guess the Chicken Little's of the world tune in to watch the WHITE DEATH and thundershower emergency. I hear the same complaints across the country and know it's not a local thing.

But I DO miss the days of Tony Sands with his old 2 minute forecast, a hand made drawing of a map and LOTS more accuracy.

I never said I could do your job but your job is OVERSATURATING the media and I am not alone in this criticism.

Thanks for taking the time to call me to task though.

I VERY RARELY watch local tv for the excuses you make to shove Big Brother knows more than anybody with an IQ higher than a house plant.

but i know you all need your jobs.

at 3/11/2008 4:45 PM

Sophia said...

I am one of those local producers, Sophia. If I identified myself, the conversation would devolve into station-related sniping, so I'm going to stick to the big picture.

I don't know if you are in the TV news business or not. Based on your remarks, I'm going to assume you are not. If you were, you would know that weather is consistently on top of viewer concerns in content and preference surveys. It has been that way for over a decade. Wall to wall weather coverage exists for a number of reasons: (1) Viewers say it's important to them. (2) Stations don't want to underplay it because they fear they will suffer by comparision. (3) A large amount of money has been invested in the weather equipment, talent and promotion. The stations have few opportunities to get a short term return on that investment. Severe weather and the viewers it brings with it is one of those opportunities.

And as far as sniping at the live talent during weather coverage..well, that's easy isn't it? I'm certain every last one of you who are taking shots at those people have ad-lib skills that make them pale by comparison.

It is exactly this ARROGANCE of you producers "THINKING" you know what the viewers want. Methinks you believe your own spin to justify your continued annoying, mess up the sports and tv shows clutter.

Even talk radio and tv shows across the country are saying this is all out of hand.

Thanks for the personal attack to Sophia, not necessary= but she feels like the majority from all my co=workers. You media guys sure stick together.

We wait and get tv shows on DVD either purchase or from library so we don't have to deal with your perpetual weather graphics/constant crawls nightmare.

Bob in Amberly Village

Soph's friend :)
visiting

don't have blogger

at 3/11/2008 10:41 PM

Anonymous said...

For 9 staffers.... as much as i HATE the double crawls... can you at least clean them up?? i can understand the reasoning due to the different ratios.... but how about putting all the closings/delays/cancellations on the "normal" crawl... and only putting weather updates, metro numbers, tank numbers, and of information on the second crawl...

that way people aren't going back and forth between the two stupid crawls!

Keep It Simple....

at 3/11/2008 11:36 PM

Anonymous said...

What is 16x9?

at 3/12/2008 11:21 AM

Anonymous said...

Bob in Amberley Village - it would first help if you would learn how to correctly spell the name of your town.

Secondly - that producer is right. There was NO arrogance in what she wrote. Viewer surveys consistently come back with weather being one of, if not THE, most important thing for which they come to a news station.

It sounds like you have already come up with your own options on how to deal with weather cut-ins. Good for you. But the ratings show people DID want the weather coverage. I notice John isn't posting them.

How about it John? Why don't you show just how many people tuned in during the snow coverage?

One other comment, John, about your comparison of circulation numbers to TV ratings. The paper comes out once a day. The TV stations service viewers in a continuous cycle, all day long.

Its kind of hard to compare putting out something once a day, when another service delivers continuously.

at 3/12/2008 1:20 PM

Anonymous said...

Everyone at 5 is overpaid based on their ratings.

at 3/12/2008 1:31 PM

Anonymous said...

the breaking news thing is WAAAYYY out of hand...but anon 11:21 is right.
viewers respond with ratings. despite everyone on here whining about how the snow coverage is stupid--the numbers were huge.
if john ever posts them you can do the math for yourself.
and yes if john wants to compare numbers of circulation to numbers of viewers--he needs to add all stations newscasts together and compare. it blows away a 22 rating.
john's pride aside, you can ask anyone in the know at newspapers and they'll tell you their medium may not be dying, but it sure ain't a growth market.
let's face it, they didn't shut down the Post because it was just making too damn much money.

at 3/13/2008 1:38 PM

Anonymous said...

I find people like anon 1:20 especially irritating because they write like they have some kind of inside knowledge...

here's a few REAL tv secrets, pal.
first-unless you're picking up their paycheck don't assume you have any idea what people at 5 are getting paid. here's a hint--it isn't much.

second-don't associate the people doing the work with the decisions that lead to ratings.

no photog, reporter, producer or assignment editor ever made a decision about what direction the station was going to go. none of them ever fired a chief meteorologist or hired an anchor. most of the time they're not even picking their own stories to cover.

so since kiese is too much of a parasite to slap any of the people who make sure he gets to keep his cushy little gig, i'll do it for him--
back off.
the people you're slamming are hard-working joes just like everyone else. don't try to mislead people into thinking the rank-and-file at 5 are sitting around happy that they're in third...or plotting ways to screw up the product, 'cause it just ain't so.

moron.

at 3/14/2008 2:14 PM

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:38, do you need a tissue???

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Breaking News From Channel 12

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