Ch-ch-ch-changes in Memphis?

Wow. I hear changes are being made or considered in the local TV news business in Memphis. First, I had heard there's a change in the ND post at WPTY but haven't been able to get anything more on that. Don't know what the reason for that would be since it seems they have become more agressive over there.
I read a posting by Jamey Tucker that WMC may be considering going partial VJ. I don't have anything more than what I read on his blog but what I read there was interesting. You can just about bet that if the folks on Union go partial VJ that the rest of the shops in town will not be far behind. I know Jamey has been at WKRN in Nashville since the first of the year and has seen the advantages and disadvantages of VJs. He says he believes in the system and says he's having the time of his life as the Religion VJ in Nashville. Perhaps someone on Union could shed some light on what's going on in their shop.
At this point, I wouldn't expect to see major changes with the folks down on the river. This, in light of the fact that they won the morning and late evening newscasts. Other than a few people leaving or considering leaving down there, I'm sure the thinking is that whatever they are doing is working and they don't want to screw things up.

The Future of Television has Arrived and You Get to Help!

My lovely and talented bride and I were watching a movie on the FX Network on satellite when the future of TV presented itself. I thought it was a joke at first, then realized the second time we saw the spot that it was not.
A man who identified as John Landgraf, president and general manager of FX network came on the screen and in a humorous pitch said "I bet you have the next big idea for a comedy series. " He was partially plugging an upcoming series with Danny Divito called "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." He says the idea for that came together from a project that three guys put together for $200.00. The promo goes on to say you could win $50,000.00 dollars if your idea is chosen.
It's not a bad idea. It has to be better than the current crop of crap that passes for entertainment.
It also reminds me efforts by some news operations that let the viewers decide what stories they will cover. I'm assuming those efforts did not do well because if they had, every consultant who knows how to charge a fee would be hawking this idea as THE way to drive viewers to watch.
It also reminds me of efforts by the Ford Motor company to let the people design a car back in the 50's. That collaboration ended in "The Edsel". We all know what that name is synonymous with.

The Numbers are IN from the May Book in the Bluff City

This blog thing is great, kind of like being at a bar. You ask for something and suddenly, there it is, right in front of you. Earlier this week, I asked for numbers from the May book here in the Bluff City and suddenly, there they are. I thank the person who provided them to me.
From the numbers I received, the station down on the river won again at 10 o'clock and in the morning when the operations went head to head. WMC stayed ahead in the early evening and WHBQ had a strong showing at 9pm. (The numbers for WHBQ and WPTY at 5:30am were not made available to me.)
It looks like the folks down on the river found a combination that works. They now have two wins under their belt at 10pm. A third win will show a trend. It will be interesting to see what changes take place across town in an effort to challenge it.

Here's the breakdown as presented to me: I tried to lay this out in columns but it wouldn't work for me on this page when I published. So I've attempted to spell it out.

At M-F 5-5:30am WREG had a 4.2/15 while WMC pulled a 3.1/11 WHBQ had 2.8/9 and WPTY came in with 1/4
WREG won M-F 5:30-6am with a 6/19 while WMC followed with 4.7/15. Again, no numbers were made available for WHBQ in that half hour.
WREG also won the M-F 6:00-7:00 with a 7.2/18 while WMC was close behind with 6.8/17. WHBQ has a 4.9/12 and WPTY came in with 1.5/4

AT Noon, WREG won again with 6.2/15 compared to WMC's 4.7/11

WMC won the early news with 9.9/17 at 5pm whille WREG was next at 8.6/15 . WHBQ was next 5.1/9 and WPTY pulled a 5.5/10
WMC grabbed 10.6/17 at 6pm followed by WREG with 8.9/15 . WHBQ had 5.5/9 and WPTY had 3.4/6

Fox 13 had a strong showing M-F 9:00pm with 10.1/14

WREG won the 10-10:35pm 11.6/18 compared to WMC's 10.9/17 and WPTY's 4.1/6.

So, Any Word on the TV News Ratings Game in Memphis?

It's time again to play Spin the Ratings. The folks down on the river won bragging rights back in February and some said it was a fluke because of the Winter Olympics carried by the station on Union. While some said it was no big deal, it reportedly had some folks sweating bullets to make sure it didn't happen again. I'm told both stations kicked things up a notch with one giving away free gas while the other devoted a lot of commercial time on weekends to promo their evening news. One insider on the river said almost all resources have been poured into the weekday evening news in an effort to keep some momentum going.
Now comes time for the press releases by the news, promotions and marketing departments to put the best spin on whatever happened. A whole lot is at stake here. It will be interesting to see how things shake out.

Kudos to Fed Ex Marketing and Yet Another Sign of the Apocalypse

Somebody at Memphis based Fed Ex's marketing department should be getting a huge bonus. Once again the shipping giant manages to put itself right smack dab in the middle of the news in a positive light and I found myself applauding the effort. It seems that some penguins that had been evacuated from the gulf coast either right before or right after Hurricane Katrina hit were taken back there. They arrived by Fed Ex cargo jet. Not only was this made into a media event, but someone (I guess Fed Ex) provided the purple carpet (one of Fed Ex's colors). You got to hand it to those folks. They know how to get their company out in front of the cameras and the publicity and goodwill more than paid for the transport of the penguins.
And here is yet another Sign of the Apocalypse.
I've never bought into the Reality Show genre. I saw about ten minutes of Survivor when it first aired and thought it was a waste of my time. I still do. The Great Race, American Idol and whatever show Paris Hilton was in that made her famous along with the others. I know they are quite popular and if that is your cup of tea, more power to you. IMHO these reality shows are contrived. They are cheap to make and the viewing audience loves them. I used to hear my co-workers talking about who won what. I can't believe how much news time has been, is and will be spent on covering some controversy stemming from these shows. I always cringed when I had to read some story on the morning news about CBS' Survivor.
But the Sign of the Apocalypse is that almost 50 million people voted in the latest round of American Idol. That's almost as many people who voted for each of the presidential candidates. Let me think about this: folks are as concerned about who wins a modern version of the "Ted Mack Amatuer Hour" as who will head the most powerful country in the world, set policy in motion that affects our daily lives and will help decide our future. I guess I just don't get it.
I'm told the shows are addictive and that if I would just watch a couple of them all the way through, I too would be hooked. No, I think I'll pass.
Let's see: Cheap to make, extremely addictive, and makes someone a lot of money. Sounds to me like the networks finally figured out a way to make video versions of crystal meth.

Good Night and Good Luck Mike Wallace

As cliched as it might sound, an era ended Sunday night with the swan song of Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes. I missed about the first four or five minutes of the retrospective of the guy who created what some say was the most feared phrase in America " Hello, I'm Mike Wallace". As arguably the most feared reporter in America he was the last person you wanted to show up on your door step with camera in tow. I will never understand how he never got shot. He did get pushed around at the 1968 Democratic National Convention but I don't think he actually got punched. His willingness to barge in with a camera inspired countless imitators who now get into your face with a camera locally because the flag flying from your car or house is tattered, to chasing you down to chastise you for daring to speed through a school zone or make a turn where you weren't supposed to. They do this because someone saw Mike Wallace go in with cameras rolling. I think part of the attraction and the high number of viewers tuning in to 60 Minutes each week was to see if this was the week that someone would clean Mike Wallace's clock. Oh, I think he was put in cuffs at least once but that was just a couple of years ago but some police types in NYC when Wallace needed a fix of meatloaf. The person who was driving Wallace had double parked and someone with a badge and a handy-talkie got a little carried away.
It found it interesting that Mike admitted his attempt at suicide. But you would expect someone like him to be honest at this point in his life. He always expected straight talk from those he interviewed. He apologized to Babs Streisand saying he was hard on her during an interview.
I really respect Mike Wallace for the career he created. He re-invented himself on a regular basis. He worked in radio as an announcer in a serial. He was an entertainer, (we got to hear him sing a bit) he worked general news and he then came 60 Minutes. But as much as I respect him, I feel kind of sorry for him as well. He mentioned to Morley Safer that he (Morley) had hobbies such as painting and writing and golf. Wallace said he had nothing but his work. But perhaps that's why he was recognized for his career. How many other 88 year olds can get that recognition. Heck, how many men live to be 88. I do fear that Mike Wallace, who found so much energy to focus on his work, will be lost without 60-Minutes. I fear that he will encounter what I call the "Bear Bryant" Syndrome. The Bear didn't last too long after he left the 'Bama football program. I hope Mike Wallace will find time to stop and smell the roses and reflect on the admiration that many have for him and the standards that he helped set. And I hope he has many many more years ahead of him and I hope they are happy ones.
And to use the phrase that he used Sunday night to sign off, a phrase used by another giant before him.
"Good Night and Good Luck Mike Wallace. "

I can find more than I would ever want to know about the Da Vinci Code on TV but I sure can't find anything about weather!

First, let me say I liked the Da Vinci Code book. It was entertaining and I personally thought a better read than Angels and Demons, also by Dan Brown. I think both are thought provoking fiction. It hasn't swayed me to go find a secret society or expect any more foul play from the church, any church, than already exists. I'm proud the author, Mr. Brown, is making a boatload of money. I'd be even more proud if he shoveled a couple of bags in my general direction, but I know that's not going to happen.
Having said that, I'm really kind of tired of what seems like every other show on the tube offering some kind of spin-off investigation of DVC to get viewers and hence commercial sponsors in their corner. You name it and somebody has done it. You can't swing a dead cat in the air without its poor lifeless body being bombarded with TV and satellite signals carrying something about the Da Vinci code. It's everywhere.
So, Saturday morning, I was wading through the channels so I could get a weather report from The Weather Channel. It sounds simple enough, plus I knew I wouldn't see anything about DVC there. If you want to see sports, you go to Fox Sports South or one of the ESPN channels or if you want to see golf, you go to the Golf Channel. But on Saturday and Sunday mornings, don't you dare go to The Weather Channel expecting to see weather. You will see what IMHO looks like Network Morning Show Hell. You got the Oriental babe acting cute and chatting with some Caucasian girl on the sofa set and occasionally they toss it out to the white guy reporter who is doing something really wacky and hoping you will say, "Wow, I wish I could be him." The only thing it has me wanting to do is throw my coffee mug at the TV set as I scream, "Where's the damn weather map! I just want to see what is out there so I can make my own judgment about my plans for the day or for the weekend. I end up going to the computer and calling up NOAA weather and checking things out for myself. I guess it's too much to ask anymore that some organization like the Weather Channel actually give you weather. I will keep my fingers crossed and perhaps, "It Could Happen Tomorrow." I won't hold my breath.

Okay, just who is in charge of this goat-roping?

A recent post from former co-worker and now religion reporter in Nashville Jamey Tucker about a bizarre moment in broadcasting in Memphis. His post, for those who haven't seen it, was in regards to an interview with a woman who was NOT the person he was led to believe she was. While I've never had that happen, I've run into stories that, once we were on the scene, were not even close to what we had been told they were either by the assignment editor or the caller. However, the most bizarre situation I ever found myself in while in the field concerned an agriculture story in Tipton County.
The story was about corn. You know, the yellow kind that grows in fields. It seems during certain conditions, some kind of mold or fungus forms on the corn creating what is called aflatoxin. This is bad stuff for most living things that eat it. Anyway, the hook on the story was that a couple of farmers had some corn with such high levels of aflatoxin that not only could they not sell it, they were concerned that if they buried it, it might be considered hazardous waste. It sounded like a decent story to me and I was told to turn it. So I track down one of the farmers and told him I wanted to talk to him and maybe one of the other farmers who had the same problem. He agreed and off we drove to Tipton County.
When we got to the little general store where we were to meet with the farmers, I noticed what seemed like an inordinate number of pick-up trucks in the parking lot. I walked into the store and there must have been 30 or more farmers in there. I identified myself and asked for the farmer I had talked with on the phone. He stepped forth and told me that he had decided that since I was coming up there that he didn't want to talk about the aflatoxin story afterall. Instead, he wanted to talk about the current plight of the farmer and what needed to be done to get grain prices up. He went on to say that he had contacted all of these other farmers to come by so I would have plenty of people to interview.
I have to admit I was flabbergasted. I've had people suggest in strong terms that we do a storyin a specific way and I've even changed the angle of a story when I saw something better. But I never had faced a situation where the person I was supposed to interview decided to change my story.
Now, having grown up on a farm, I sympathize with the situation farmers face on a regular basis and I shared that sentiment with the group. I told them I appreciated what they were going through and that it would be a good topic for perhaps an hour long show. But I then told them that I came up there to do a story about aflatoxin and that's what the ND wanted and nothing else. (The ND had asked me before I left if there was any possibility that someone had already died from it in the MidSouth.) One of the farmers asked me what I would do if nobody there wanted to talk to me about aflatoxin. That's when I decided to make it very clear where I stood. I told them that I would pack up our gear and drive back to Memphis without a story and that I would probably get chewed out by the ND for not coming back with the story he wanted.
After about ten minutes of talking, many of these very unhappy farmers began leaving and I figured my story wasn't going to happen. It was then, the farmer I had spoken to originally walked up and told me he'd talk to me about aflatoxin and that maybe another time I could come up and talk about the plight of the farmers. I told him I would pitch the idea to the ND when I got back. I did just that. The ND then told that the chances of any of these farmers having a ratings diary was pretty slim and that most of the viewing audience really didn't care about the plight of the farmers. As you might surmise, I never did that story and never spoke to any of those farmers again.
But I always wished that I could have gone back and done that story someway, somehow, just to let those farmers know that somebody in the news business did care.

Are We Reaping What We have Sown?

I ran across an interesting post on the Watercolor section of TVSpy
concerning a bad encounter by a live crew from WPTY in downtown Memphis with an irate restaurant owner. You can check out the action at www.myeyewitnessnews.com/mediacenter/?videoId=160092.
In a nutshell, the news crew was fronting a story there about a restaurant owner who apparently would not get his own dumpster and was just dumping his refuse around someone else's dumspter. It was a mess. Neighbors complained and the local news crew descended on the problem. They put together a nice piece but the owner had apparently refused to talk to them until they attempted to do their second live shot from that location. The business owner then came out , ranting and raving about wanting to do an interview. I know I wouldn't have put this guy live on the air. You see the reporter talking on the cell phone to producers while the photog is rolling on the whole thing. The business owner would not shut up even when the police got there.
While it was interesting to watch, I can imagine there are many reporters and photographers who saw this and said "there but by the grace of God, go I."
But is this just a twist on what news crews have done for years? How many times have you seen video crews "ambush" somebody on a story. They wait until the person gets where the crew wants them and then they rush up with cameras rolling, shouting questions, putting the camera in their face and sometimes physically blocking the person's path. Sometimes it's the only way you will get an interview or at least a response from a person so you can put it in your package. I've done that and never liked it, but did it because I was told by the folks higher up the food chain that it had to be done that way. I've always said I would hate to be on "that" side of the ambush. Innocent or guilty, the person being ambushed looks guilty and unless he or she is fast on his or her feet verbally, they come off looking bad.
There used to be more respect on both sides for the other and somewhere along the way, that respect has fallen by the wayside. It's not unusual for someone to attempt to block the camera lens with a well placed hand, but I think we may see more bad bahavior on the part of the average citizen. I think some folks will figure that no matter what they do, they will look bad, so they'll just go overboard. I just hope the person isn't packing a weapon when he gets riled. That will add new meaning to the term "live TV".

What were they thinking on this weather promo and this traffic report!

Occasionally you will see on television reasons why oversight is needed in some departments. I credit my good friend and former co-worker Jack with pointing out this rather bizarre weather promo last weekend when I visited him in Knoxville. Jack is a certified meterologist and knows plenty about what makes weather work. He told me when he first ran across the promo, he thought it was a joke. The promo has since been featured on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and on countless blogs and chatrooms. It's from Terre Haute and has one station belittling another station's Doppler radar. Unless the station has taken it down, I think you can view it at www.wtwo.com/dopplerdeadzone/spot.asp.
I also credit Jack with sending another tidbit my way. It's a young woman "rapping" the morning traffic report in North Carolina. This woman provides a great reason for spelling out general guidelines for on-air people. She makes a good case on why some people shouldn't attempt to rap.
Check it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rhge2CCzhc.
If you can get through both of these without laughing or your jaw dropping, you are a better person than I am.

Southern expressions, Harold Ford Jr. and the truth from the New York Times

Folks from the North may look down on the those who live in the South as hicks, but there's nothing like a country witticism to sum things up. I was watching Hardball with Chris Matthews who was interviewing a couple of folks from Washington about the Bush Administration. It seems the President mentioned that his brother Jeb would make a fine president. The question was raised by Matthews if Jeb could beat Hillary and the response from one of the guests was
"He would beat her like a rented mule". You know, you don't have to be from the country or from the south to understand that line and if you don't get it, you just don't get it.
Covering news in the south, mainly outside the city of Memphis, means you're exposed to such witticisms on a frequent basis.
I've heard about "toad stranglers " and "gully washers" to describe heavy rainstorms to "light a shuck" meaning to leave in a hurry. I've heard more than one person remark about an unusual event that "they had seen everything but a dry river baptism, but that they had never seen anything like that". You got to love the South. I will miss Turner South when the big change takes place at that cable channel later this year and it becomes Fox Sports South Deux.
Senatorial candidate Harold Ford Junior managed a few minutes at the end of the Hardball segment. He still impresses me as cool under fire and is quick on his feet. I like Harold and think he has a lot of potential and have liked him ever since I literally first ran into him at his father's federal trial in Memphis in the late 80's or early 90's. I was trying to get on the elevator with his father after the verdict was announced and accidentally bumped into his mother. Junior, who was in my opinion, helping to physically run interference for his father, admonished me to show some respect for his mother. I muttered an apology and continued on my mission for a sound bite which I didn't get. Harold Junior had a presence even back then.
And I was watching a TIVOed edition of The Colbert Report, on Comedy Central. Colbert does a great send-up of Bill O'Reilly. Toward the end of his show, Colbert does an interview segment and his guest Tuesday night was Frank Rich, the former theatre critic for the New York Times who writes op-ed pieces periodcally. Colbert was making a remark about the blogosphere and the pending demise of newpapers. Rich basically acknowledged that remark as being true and that television news wasn't far behind. I bet Art (head of the NYT) loved that comment.
Maybe I should go ahead and dump my New York Times stock before it tanks any more than it had.

An internship scared/steered him away from TV news

Sometimes it takes years for someone to get his or her fill of a newsroom. Some get all they can stand quickly enough to decide to move on to other careers before they even get started in news.
Such was the case for a person who emailed me recently from Brazil who said he stumbled across my blog. He said he interned on Union around 1988 as he attended the University of Memphis State University. I'm not mentioning his name since he didn't post to the blog but I thought his story was interesting.
He said he found it interesting how the evening female anchor appeared to be so happy-go-lucky on camera and then was "impatient and fiercly competitive" once she got off the set. He went on to say how the news producer would have him call the station down on the river about news stories that the two had covered when it appeared that WREG had more information than they did on Union. Apparently he called often enough that they began to recognize his voice and began to advise him to pay closer attention to the broadcast.
I found such calls were not uncommon, especially on weekends when news crews/warm bodies were scarce. I won't say that the practice was not conducted from our end but I do know I began to recognize the same couple of callers who asked more than what would have been normal questions just prior to a newscast. I eventually began to tell the callers that we were working against a deadline and that all the information we had would be available in just 15 minutes or whatever time it was to the newscast.
These days, you don't have to worry about not having some information, although a good newsperson must still get it confirmed. Now in an effort to be first, TV news stations post information on their websites and will even email it to those who sign up. I know at least one local ND who signed up for the news alerts from down on the river and would get them and probably still does. I'm not sure if the person who sat in the ND's office down on the river ever figured it out or not or attempted to sign up for breaking news from the competition. Probably was too busy talking to the consultants.

An interesting post on the brouhaha de jour in Memphis

I've been out of town on business for the last four days and I'm turning around to leave again this morning so I've not had a chance to come up to speed on what's going on with the situation involving a local anchor. But I was alerted to an interesting post by Jamey Tucker jameytucker.blogspot.com/ I think you will find it worth your while to read this latest posting if you haven't already.
I'll try to be back in the saddle tomorrow.

No such thing as bad publicity?

A former ND down on the river who is now a GM out west once told me that he didn't care what the local newspaper said about him as long as they got his name and the station call letters right. He basically said there is no such thing as bad publicity. I think he might change his mind after reading about the situation facing a local anchor in Memphis charged with statutory rape.
I got an email Wednesday night alerting me to the fact that the man had been arrested and was directed to WMC's website where they had a brief story posted before the late news. I don't know the specific allegations, how old they are or whether they are true. That will be worked out in the courts. True or not, this is a big blow to the station in general and the morning show in particular where after a decade, that morning show has developed a solid audience. Your anchors are your face, the people you invite into your home on a regular basis to share the news and information of the community. Any allegations, founded or unfounded will follow that person in a market and the rest of his or her career. Whether it's a DUI, disorderly conduct, spousal abuse, infidelity or anything in between or beyond, it has an impact.
This isn't the first time someone from the Memphis TV market has had legal problems. One allegation involving sexual assault meant a person got fired. I don't know the specifics, but it turns out the charge, which was an old one, had been dropped. The station (not in this market) that had dismissed the accused person, asked if he wanted to come back. He said no and has moved on, away from news. But the stigma will still follow him.
Because of who he is, this situation in Memphis is already one of those high profile cases and a lot of folks, both in and out of the business will be watching to see where it goes. It's also a reminder that there can be such a thing as bad publicty and one former ND might now say this is a time when he'd hope the people reporting it would get the station call letters wrong.

Worst or most thankless job in the newsroom.

Since Don Fitzpatrick died, Shoptalk www.tvspy.com has been on autopilot with nothing new posted except in the Watercooler section which generally provides a good read. I ran across the topic: worst job in the newsroom.
Only a handful of people had posted but they all tended to agree that the assignment editor was the worst job in the newsroom. One person also posted that the assignment editor was an entry level position.
I don't know about "worst" but I think it qualifies as one of the two most thankless jobs in the newsroom.
The assignment editor is caught between the field crews and the news director. That beautiful, grandiose award winning story idea that was pitched at the editorial meeting by the reporter, assignment manager, news director or even the desk person himself may crumble into a mere shell of its former self in the field and requires more time and resources than are available if it's even viable at all. The desk must then fall back to either juggle resources to make the story happen or find a new story to fill the "news hole". Resources (warm bodies in the field) may be stretched thin for reasons ranging from people calling in sick to a clamp-down on overtime. Add into that mix any broken or damaged equipment, appointment at the doctor for field crews, traffic problems, the arrival of severe weather, a story idea offered by the GM (usually a must- do right then unless the ND has a backbone) or a suggestion by a consultant and you've got quite a juggling act.
Too many times, the folks working the desk who manage to keep all the juggled balls in the air don't even get a pat on the back and an "atta boy" at the end of the day. But let one ball slip and there is hell to pay.
The other thankless job in the newsroom is the line producer. They have to deal with the egos of the anchors (he or she has more lines to read than I do), the reporters in the field (this is the most stupid live shot/story I've ever done/when do we get lunch) the assignment desk (we can't do that, we don't have the bodies or resources or the story has just fallen through) and the newsroom managers (this is the way I used to do it /this is what the consultant and GM thinks we should do).
Add to that mix a weathergasm or two at the last minute to throw everything into chaos.
I've always thought that if a person who works the assignment desk or works as a line producer in news applies for a handgun permit, they should automatically be disqualified. They might be too tempted to take care of business in the newsroom after a stressful day.

Is it wrong for a news anchor to remind people to exercise their right to vote?

I forgot. I didn't have time. I didn't know who to vote for. These are the most common excuses for not voting that I heard in the quarter center I was in the news business. During the last decade that I was anchoring morning news I would remind viewers on election day to go out and vote. I would also remind them that this was their chance to make a difference and that if they didn't vote, they had no reason to complain about the leadership of our city, county, state and nation. I also always made it a point to emphasize that my preceeding comments were an editorial statement and did not reflect the view of the station and were my own opinion.
I did this for a couple of reasons. One, our morning newscasts were more laid back with more time to fill than the afternoon and evening newcasts and we had a more conversational style with our audience. But the second and most important reason was that I feel very strongly about people voting, especially in light of the fact that so many people in our country and others have died for the right that many in this country don't bother to exercise. Did I cross the line? Some say I did while others say I came close. Still others said I was merely offering a reminder. It doesn't matter now, I'm not on TV. So, here's the reminder in the Memphis and Shelby County area on this Tuesday. Go out and vote. If you don't, you have no reason to bitch about who is running things.