dustbury.com: We'll keep you advised, kinda sorta

12 September 2006

We'll keep you advised, kinda sorta

Frosty Troy (The Oklahoma Observer, 10 September) quotes an unnamed "former TV reporter":

To run a bulletin or even a crawl on a grass fire is sufficient. Instead, I stood out for three hours doing cut-ins for non-stop live coverage. God knows what the helicopter cost.

Frosty's been harping on this for at least twenty years; I sent him a particularly heinous example of non-news from Los Angeles back in 1988. Things have not improved a great deal.

And another thing:

KOSU-FM [at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater] and OKC's KTOK are the only radio stations with full-time Capitol correspondents.

That's scary, if nobody in Tulsa, where there's more serious news/talk competition than there is in Oklahoma City, bothers to position a reporter at the Capitol.

Posted at 8:14 AM to Overmodulation

My favorite example of Oklahoma City non-news was the year that the OU football team walked off the field early during practice one year. 30 minutes of interrupting Prime-time programming consisting of speculation of if this was a vote of no-confidence by the team, was the coach going to chew out the team, the past team history, the future of the college. Why did they walk off?

Why?

It was really really hot that day. If a tornado ever hits an OU practice, we'll be cut off from the outside world for months.

Posted by: Dwayne "the canoe guy" at 8:45 AM on 12 September 2006

Why?

Because people watch. People watching = good ratings. Good ratings = big money.

Don't blame the media. Blame the mindless morons (myself included) who continue to watch with eyes glued to the screen.

Nothing was more interesting than watching the grass fires to see what structure, animal or (God forbid) person might get caught up. It sure as hell beats watching the normal news of politicians wrecking our country, of never-ending war and of partisan politics that is alienating an ever-growing portion of the electorate. I would much rather watch wall-to-wall tornado, grass fire, or police pursuit coverage. THAT's reality television.

Posted by: Brad at 11:47 AM on 12 September 2006

KTOK shares its Capitol coverage with fellow Clear-Channel talk radio station KAKC, along with other smaller stations throughout Oklahoma via the Oklahoma News Network. Why pay for dozens of crews when you can just pay for one?

As for KRMG or KFAQ, I don't know why they don't have anyone, but then again KOKC here in town doesn't have one either.

I guess freedom of press includes, for them, freedom from giving a s@!# too.

Posted by: Dan at 11:48 AM on 12 September 2006

And I thought the reason I don't watch local news since I moved here is, I just don't give a rat's patoot what happens in Atlanta.

Posted by: McGehee at 4:19 PM on 12 September 2006

Hey, leave my patoot out of this.

Posted by: A. Rat at 8:54 PM on 12 September 2006

Of course TV stations don't have Capitol correspondents. It's well-known that the combination of wind shears (which ruin hair) and sunlight at that exact latitude and longitude (which caused a washed-out look) are fatal to the career advancement of TV reporters. Linda Cavanaugh did one once and her mummified remains are still not allowed to leave KFOR.

Posted by: Brett Thomasson at 1:20 AM on 13 September 2006