ShopTalk
June 1, 1998

* Reference 1

Sender: ShopTalk <SHOPTALK@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
From: Samer Farha <samer@clark.net>
Subject: ShopTalk -- June 1, 1998
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
DON FITZPATRICK ASSOCIATES
"SHOPTALK"

Monday June 1, 1998
< http://www.tvspy.com >

"Hopelessly Irish pop band 'U2' held a concert in Belfast
where Bono gave one of his ridiculous speeches that left
Protestants and Catholics alike wishing they could kill just
one last time."
Craig Kilborn, The Daily Show


&&&&&&&&&&

Here's The Top of the Tube in Today's F*ST

o Gene Siskel Goes Back To Work

o Sources and Competition in the Tampa Market

$$$$$$$$$$
SHORT TAKES

KGW/Channel 8 (Portland) news director Mike Rausch announced the hiring of two reporters, JANELLE WANG and CHRISTINE MILES, on Friday. Wang joins the station from KSBW in Salinas, California. She began her career at KDRV in Medford, OR., where she worked as an anchor, reporter and producer. Miles was most recently a reporter at KFOR in Oklahoma City and KOTV-TV in Tulsa. She is a graduate of the university of Houston, where she received a BA in humanities and fine arts with an emphasis in media studies.

VICTORIA RECANO, formerly a reporter/program host for KPLR-TV in St. Louis, has joined ZDTV as an anchor. Victoria is represented by Larry Kramer and Henry Reisch of the William Morris Agency.

Richard Uray, who established the University of South Carolina's broadcasting courses and taught them for 30 years, died May 26 in Columbia, South Carolina. He was 73. Uray, whose style was described as "Old Radio,'' began his broadcasting career in 1938 in Cleveland. He worked throughout the Midwest and Texas before coming to the University of South Carolina. He was inducted into the South Carolina Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 1991, the first educator to receive the honor. He retired in 1996. Uray would be remembered by hundreds of young journalists from the 1970's as one of the national leaders of the collegiate broadcasting honorary Alpha Epsilon Rho.

Gene Siskel must be feeling better. It seems to have taken him hardly any time at all (less than three weeks) to recover from his recent brain surgery and re-don his sparring gloves. Production resumed last week on Siskel and critic-partner Roger Ebert's Chicago-based movie- review show. With Ebert sitting alone in the balcony, Siskel phoned in his part last Thursday from an undisclosed location. "It was lonely for me," said Ebert, a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. "But we're all really happy with the way the show went." No decision has been made about when Siskel will return to the set. In the meantime, viewers will hear his voice and see a picture while he is speaking. (Robert Feder's column in the Chicago Sun-Times)

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie...A Malibu judge ordered actor Charlie Sheen to undergo detoxification and reenter a residential drug treatment program after Sheen surrendered to authorities for violating his drug probation last week. A hearing has been set for July 1- until then, Sheen will be monitored electronically to insure that he doesn't engage in drug activity. Sheen, 32, was hospitalized two weeks ago for a drug overdose. Since then, he has checked into rehab- and then left rehab- two times. (LA Times)

$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$
SOURCES AND COMPETITION
By ERIC DEGGANS
St. Petersburg Times Television Critic

A war of words has erupted between area TV stations over an
interview with the woman once held hostage by fugitive cop killer Hank
Earl Carr... raising new questions about how competition between news
outlets may adversely impact those at the heart of big stories.
Stephanie Kramer -- who was held hostage by Carr for 4 hours on May
19, just after he'd killed three police officers and his 4-year-old
stepson -- agreed Friday (May 22) to speak simultaneously with
reporters from WFLA-Ch. 8 and the (St. Petersburg) Times, offering a
single interview that could be shared with all area media outlets.
But officials at WFLA decided, with consent from Kramer and those
close to her, that they would provide videotape of the interview to
other TV stations 15 minutes after their story aired on the station's
6 p.m. newscast -- ensuring rivals wouldn't have much time to assemble
competing reports until their late-night shows, hours later.
Times editors offered to provide notes and photography from the
interview to competing print outlets on the same day.
WFLA news director Dan Bradley said ABC affiliate WFTS-Ch. 28
videotaped footage of WFLA's story, removed the station's logo, and
rebroadcast it on their own 6 p.m. newscast minutes later.
"This is plagiarism," said Bradley, who couldn't say whether WFLA
would take legal action. "If they would have kept our (identifying
marks) on the footage, I wouldn't be mad."
At WFTS, news director Steve Majors said WFLA violated the spirit
of most pool agreements -- often used during courtroom trials -- in
which media outlets agree one organization can provide coverage shared
equally by others.
"If they're not going to hand over the footage in a timely manner,
we'll see that we get it," said Majors, who declined comment on
whether WFTS rebroadcast the footage.
Caught in the middle is Kramer, her boyfriend Chris Hill and his
parents, who helped the pair decide how to handle all the attention.
"It was like we were in jail," Hill said of the media interest that
followed Kramer's May 19 ordeal, in which reporters last week staked
out the couple's Ridge Manor home. Over the next few days, the
telephone rang nonstop with calls from media outlets such as CNN, The
Montel Williams Show and Dateline NBC.
Kramer declined to comment.
"We had friends come by our house, and when they left, they'd be
followed (by journalists)," Hill added. ""That was like reliving the
whole thing all over again."
Hill also said a reporter from CBS affiliate WTSP-Ch. 10, assured
him that a conversation Wednesday would not be recorded, only to air
footage of their talk during a newscast after covering her microphone
with a notepad.
But Kevin Brennan, vice president of news for WTSP, said the
incident was likely a misunderstanding between reporter Elaine
Lucadano and Hill over whether the camera was recording.
"I don't doubt these people believe what they're saying, but
(Lucadano) has never shown any tendency to stretch the rules," Brennan
added. "Even if it was a mistake, I would apologize for the
misunderstanding."
Hill says the pressure -- and Kramer's reluctance to face an army
of cameras at a news conference -- eventually persuaded the family to
agree on one interview that could be provided to all area TV outlets.
When it came time to decide who would get the interview, they chose
the TV journalist that seemed the most considerate: WFLA reporter
Marcia Crawley --who had stopped by Hill and Kramer's house Wednesday
morning, wrote a note to the family and refrained from calling them
until they decided to talk.
"I was constantly made to feel, by the other stations, that I had
done something underhanded," said Crawley, who brought flowers picked
from her own garden to the interview.
"I asked them (the family) if it was okay (to delay releasing the
tape), and they agreed. I'm just sorry they had to get involved with
our little competition."
Bradley acknowledged that giving the videotape to competitors
sooner might have reduced the pressure on Kramer and Hill, but
resisted taking a "scoop" from a reporter he felt had worked hard to
land the interview.
"Competition, like democracy, isn't always a pretty sight," he
added. "I'm not sure we've done anything besides win the game and now
everybody's mad about it."
These days, the media attention has died down, but Hill can't help
feeling a little stung by the aggressive manner in which some media
outlets pursued Kramer's story.
"You hear about paparazzi stalking celebrities...but you don't
realize it's true until it happens to you," he said. "We're not
anybody and they came after us."
Crawley says the incident might also show other reporters that
sometimes the best way to land an important source is to back off a
little. "They gave us a small reward for doing what they asked of
us...leaving them alone. Maybe we should all learn from that."

No Worries: When the late comedian Georgie Jessel was 75, he decided to marry a very young woman. During a medical exam before the wedding, his doctor said, "George, just remember. Too much love making can cause a heart attack." "Well," Jessel replied, "what can I do? If she dies, she dies." (Len Miller)

Mop: "Did you hear about the scientist who mixed Viagra with Rogaine and ended up with Don King's hair?" (Paul Ecker)

Mug Shot: In Mexico, crime is so bad that insurance companies now offer policies to cover mugging. "An insurance company protecting you from muggers is like a killer protecting your from a murderer." (Rudolph J. Cecera)

Up, Up and Away: Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin says that the future of space exploration depends on opening it up to paying tourists. "Finally- an alternative for families who can't afford Disneyland." (Steve Voldseth)

JOBS OF THE DAY

Reporter - Buffalo, NY
This ad isn't like all the others and neither is the job. Buffalo's longtime dominant #1station needs another great Reporter who does it all. Live, Breaking News, enterprise and more. We've got the tools to remain # 1. If you don't, don't waste your time trying to get in the door. If you do, rush your tape and resume to: Bob Longo, News Director, WKBW-TV, 7 Broadcast Plaza, Buffalo, NY 14202. EOE

For more jobs be sure to check out the new DFA JOB SITE. You can access jobs weekly by pointing your web browser to www.tvspy.com and clicking on JOBS. If your browser does not support FRAMES, you will not be able to access the site. We recommend downloading the newest version of Netscape.

$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

(Editor's Note: We are going to table this discussion thread dealing with Karen Hutton's "Brilliance in Performance" for the time being.)

In response to Paul Reece, Thursday May 28:

According to my take on what Karen Hutton is talking about, Paul has missed the main point. Karen isn't espousing doing anything fake. Quite the contrary.

Paul says:

"...if the feeling... the emotion... the response in your gut is REAL, if it arises spontaneously and unbidden, GO with it. But if you have to dig for it, if you recreate it for the moment, you're selling yesterday's news."

I agree! And I would imagine Karen does too!

I think the point is that it's easy to lose sight of those REAL emotions and reactions under the barrage of white hot lights and cameras, and the audience, among which are your bosses. We work under very unnatural conditions. Just to make it back to being "normal" and natural sometimes requires a little extra thought and preparation. Unless, of course, you're a born natural.

And to all you hard newsies, at the risk of getting severely flamed, let me remind you that, like it or not, much of what we do is performance. The better we can connect to the viewer (with a natural delivery), the better s/he will hear our message, whether it's hard news, weather, sports, fluff or whatever.

Dave Harmon
AMS Meteorologist
Dayton, OH
sfowxguy@erinet.com
o o o o o
Don:

After some reflection and much laughter, I'd like to add my bass to
the chorus singing the damnation of your "voice-coach". The topper,
for me, was her dim-witted "is them's words english" remarks regarding
the Bard of Avon. What a surprise that the highly-trained craftsfolk
of the Royal Shakespeare Company can enlighten and entertain even the
least intellectually endowed member of an audience. Remember when not
just informing the informed but educating the unaware was the function
of the mass-communication media?
Sadly today, ignorance cloaked in false piety obscures information to
promote marketing strategies for customers rather than viewers. While
I know that TV news will not vanish off the face of the earth anytime
soon, the current victory of marketing over journalism will continue
the trends in audience erosion as unthinking owners marginalize the
industry into obscurity. Where then will all these unthinking and
unread emoters of faux emotion find employment and solace for their
empty souls? Maybe that goofy Othello using dang hard words suggests
a caution,
"Farewell the plumed troop and the big wars
That make ambition virtue!"
"And, O you mortal engines, whose rude throats
The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit,
Farewell!"

Regards,
Sean Malloy
o o o o o
Fitz & Company:
AMEN to protests on emoting! You think viewers can't tell
when it's an act? When that happens... kiss your credibility bye-bye.
As Dave Michaels reminds us of Harry Reasoner's philosophy: "Just
read the news..." Although, it's ironic Harry lives in most of our
memories as the guy who blew up on air... after the Reagan shooting.
Remember we ARE human. Rarely... it's OK to show emotions.
But save it for moments when it's essential... and REAL. How many
times did you see Walter Cronkite show it? I recall two: Telling us
JFK was dead... and when we landed on the moon he was only able to
muster a summary of what all of us felt using just one word, sighed in
relief: "Wow" followed by a giddy giggle. Any doubts about >his<
voracity?
During Tampa's cop killer saga, few doubted the legitimacy of
angst revealed on screen by my friends Mike Deeson and Reggie
Roundtree... Mike's from the loss of two guys he knew, worked with
daily, and liked a lot... Reggie's from the perspective of genuine
pain felt as a former cop. You sure as hell can't put this kind of
stuff in either the TelePrompTer or closed caption generator.
Shown sparingly, it adds perspective and context to convey
stories such as an assassination or space adventure are really unique
moments of high impact.... ONLY if it's spontaneously honest. My rule
of thumb for revealing feelings on air: "If it ain't there... don't
look for it."
---------
Finally, I echo Ron Fineman's suggestion to producers and
editors: Lose the lines, usually at the top or bottom of copy, which
"grades" a story. While you tell viewers they should feel a report
is "good news" or "bad news".... They are sitting at home screaming:
"Hey... let ME decide! Do you believe I can't think?"
Why? Doing this fails to combat limits of an already passive
medium by increasing the distance between you and your audience
because you negate their need to respond... consciously or
unconsciously...personally in silence or loudly in public. Plus,
using this crutch wastes precious air time. If a writer needs these
because they can't get the message across otherwise... time for either
a seminar or job fare.
Stay well & communicate better...
Jon Duffey/producer, retired mailto:duff@duff.net
o o o o o
Don,
Reading Bill Slatter's post to Shoptalk reminded me of when Bill was working for NBC out of Chicago. I was a rookie reporter at WGRZ-TV (then WGR-TV) in Buffalo, New York. Word was that Bill would travel to various markets from time to time with his trusty video tape recorder and would scout local news talent by taping the local casts. Word also was that Mr. Slatter would slip into town quietly -- so we never knew if WE might be the lucky bunch of talent to end up on his reel.

Oh, if he would only come to Buffalo, see how great we were on the air and tape us. Then, maybe NBC News or one of the network's O&Os might hire us.

I felt brave one day and called him and asked him what the network looked for in talent. He was great to talk to. He said the network looks for people who look professional, write well, are accurate and who can communicate effective in front of a camera. The usual. I asked him if he'd ever heard of Buffalo. Turned out he was born there (Millard Fillmore Hospital, Gates Circle, I believe). I echo your sentiments. What a gentleman.

Penny Williams, Ph.D.
St. Bonaventure University
pwilliam@sbu.edu
o o o o o
Dear Don and Laura,

I read with interest Mitch Farris' letter about the Evening Magazine on KGW which, he reports, debuted in 1975. I had never heard of this show and it's an interesting footnote to history.

If accurate, it certainly sounds as though the KGW helped to "inspire" the subsequent KPIX/Group W effort. But then, so did the local "Eyewitness Magazine" which ran at least once a week on the 5 Group W stations, and had already begun to swap stories among the stations.

HOWEVER...

What the world came to know as PM Magazine (Group W owned the PM name dating back to the old bi-coastal late night show with Mike Wallace) had much more to do with the centralized story co-op and the familiar graphics and music than anything that came out of Portland, or San Fransisco for that matter.

Ford was not the first factory-assembled car. Coca Cola was not the first cola beverage. Apple was not the first computer. But there are reasons we remember those brand names.

Farris's argument, while eloquent, is beside the point. I hope he can take comfort in Fred Allen's timeless observation that "Imitation is the sincerest form of television."
Arthur Greenwald
Evening Magazine (KDKA) 1978-80 and 1987-90
o o o o o
Dear Don and Laura:
I was reminded the other day of a subject that I've never seen
raised in Shoptalk that I think would be interesting to debate a bit.
We did a story the other day regarding a USAirways jet that was
enroute from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles when it hit turbulence and was
diverted to Oklahoma City.
We wrote exciting copy that said the Boeing 767 was FORCED
(inaccurate--pilot made the choice) to make an EMERGENCY landing (or
was it unscheduled? BIG difference) when some passengers and flight
attendants were injured while walking around the cabin when the
turbulence hit. Cut to VO of crew member coming off aircraft with an
ice pack on his cheek. Yes--another near catastrophic, looked-like-a-
war-zone, one-step-from-hell disaster narrowly avoided (and we were
out of the book even!).
Believe me, I don't like turbulence, and as a pilot I've flown
when it was so bumpy I had a hard time grabbing buttons on the control
panel. It would be very unpleasant being tossed around at 30-thousand
feet, and no one is arguing this wasn't severe turbulence and in fact,
the pilot CHOSE to declare a MEDICAL emergency landing. What got in my
craw is when I saw news programs connect this story to the turbulence
incident that killed a passenger earlier this year.
Sloppy--yet tantalizing journalism. Kind of like comparing a fatal
car accident last week to today's rush hour fender bender.
I don't want to bore you with numbers, but your chances of
getting killed on a commercial flight during turbulence makes your
chances of hitting that Super Lotto last week look good. Turbulence is
not pleasant and but rarely, rarely, rarely is it dangerous.
I think the news business in general is terribly uninformed about
aviation. It is perhaps the one story subject that is routinely
exploited at the expense of accuracy. With the Pittsburgh-LA flight,
little mention was made that there was no serious injury, no
structural damage, and a flight crew did what it was trained to do (an
aside--I noticed other copy that said everyone on the flight was
"lucky" and "fortunate" and other gushing descriptions insinuating an
act of god rather than the FACT that the pilots did a textbook job).
A broad stroke lesson in aviation education; emergency landings
are rare and usually only apply when there is a high risk of the plane
crashing: plane is out of fuel, engines have failed, loss of control,
gear won't come down, wing is about to fall off, pilots eating bad
fish--TRUE terror in the sky. Medical emergencies usually wouldn't
fall into this category.
On the other hand, unscheduled landings are what most journalists
confuse with emergency landings. This would include incidents as
serious as--say--the flaps not retracting or possibly a passenger
having a hear attack, to something as trivial as someone tampering
with the smoke detector in the lavatory. I remember a story where it
was written the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after a
drunk passenger wouldn't put out his cigar--a plane inaccurate
statement.
Why do we do that?

Andy Pearson
Pittsburgh
o o o o o

Dear Don:
In Bill Bouyer's Letter (ShopTalk 5/28/98) regarding the news ratings in Houston, he mentioned his competitors had run various "watch and win" contests during sweeps... in his words, it was "a blatant attempt to buy the ratings." A few years back, while working at WLBZ-TV in Bangor, Maine, our primary competitor introduced such a contest to our market. Viewers were told to watch their station between 4pm and 8pm each weekday. If their name was called, they had 10 minutes to call the station. Our managers responded by running a promo that told viewers not to worry... WE would watch the competitor for them and immediately run a crawl on OUR screen with the winner's name. Needless to say, our competitor wasn't happy. The contest didn't affect ratings. Now to my point (and forgive me if this can of worms has already been opened on these pages before)... what do your readers think of these increasingly popular gimmicks? Are we truly trying to "buy" the ratings? Any ethical questions? Thanks.

Rhori Johnston
News Anchor / Reporter
KLAS-TV (CBS)
Las Vegas, Nevada


HOW TO TALK TO SHOPTALK

Don Fitzpatrick Associates' Homepage: http://www.tvspy.com

America Online TVSPY
Internet Mail:
To submit News Items:Mail to: shoptalk@tvspy.com Subject: Short Takes
To submit Job Posting:Mail to: laura@tvspy.com Subject: Jobs
To submit Letters:Mail to: shoptalk@tvspy.com Subject: Letter2Editor
To submit Joke:Mail to: shoptalk@tvspy.com Subject: Humor

To subscribe to ShopTalk: Send a e-mail message to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu. The body of the message must contain ONLY
four words: Subscribe Shoptalk yourfirstname yourlastname

To Unsubscribe from ShopTalk: Send a e-mail message to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu. The body of the message must contain ONLY
two words: signoff shoptalk

E-mail distribution of ShopTalk on the Internet is made possible by
the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse
University



(Voice) 1-415-954-0700 (Fax) 1-415-954-0820

BE SEEING YOU!