Rich Liebermans Editorial on Ten Of The Worst Phrases And Acts on TV And Radio News

[billrecto]

http://richliebermanreport.blogspot.com/2013/11/ten-of-worst-phrases-and-acts-on-tv-and.html

1. "Team Coverage"
2. "Our Science Editor."
3. Weather anchors that repeatedly emphasize a "strong cold front! and/or a "band of high pressure."
4. "Breaking News"
5. "At the end of the day."
6. MOS Live Shots
7. Sports anchors that get cutesy with the highlights:
8. Anchor to reporter after package: "Thanks Bill."
9. "Developing Story"
10. The insincere horrified look from reporters on scene at terrible accident or a natural disaster, say. First off, give us news and the information--that's why you're THERE! On the Scene,

Well 415 Media has a point here on this one and I happen to agree with him on this. I say this is true on both National Cable News and Local TV News. But then again NWS, Accu-Weather Local Stringers, AP, Reuters and TMZ provide the headline writing and shots that Local TV News uses but they happen to use different readers to spread the content around. If a morning show like Good Day LA and HLN News decided that Miley Cyrus, and Rob Ford (Toronto Mayor) are Breaking News so be it. Let them please their audience and provider TMZ.

Well forget these people above 415 Media lets put the pressure on NPR, Propublica, CIR, PBS, BBC, Al-Jazeera, Mhz Networks, Linktv, KCET, KQED and make sure they keep their promises to investigative and international stories.

 

[CTListener]

Add:

11. "Brutal stabbing.": You stab someone gently, he/she fights back and you wind up hurt or dead.
12. "Tragic death": Look up "tragedy." Most of the deaths reported this way have no tragic elements at all.
13. "Passed away" or "perished": How about "died"?
14. Lingering shots of makeshift roadside shrines to idiots who wrapped daddy's car around a lightpost going 55 in a 35 zone.
15. Lingering mugshots of famous people who died that slowly fade to black in a rote, usually insincere, "moment of silence" before Top Class Chevrolet tries to sell you a new car.

 

[billrecto]

Add:

11. "Brutal stabbing.": You stab someone gently, he/she fights back and you wind up hurt or dead.
12. "Tragic death": Look up "tragedy." Most of the deaths reported this way have no tragic elements at all.
13. "Passed away" or "perished": How about "died"?
14. Lingering shots of makeshift roadside shrines to idiots who wrapped daddy's car around a lightpost going 55 in a 35 zone.
15. Lingering mugshots of famous people who died that slowly fade to black in a rote, usually insincere, "moment of silence" before Top Class Chevrolet tries to sell you a new car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIevazPIPzU

See Conan's Commentary on Local TV News Talent Reading "Yeah Baby" from a TMZ Article of Mike Myers. Dumbing Down of News Content ain't new if you see Good Day LA Happy Talk of celebs everyday though.

 

[LKellerIII]

My personal pet peeve is; "We'll have to leave it there..." which every single anchor or interviewer says every single time s/he ends an interview with a pundit of some kind. There's nothing wrong with the phrase - it just bugs me that they can't seem to say it any other way - ever.

Another one - when somebody notable is arrested, the anchors usually say:

"<Name> is behind bars, tonight..."

And no, Recto, the "dumbing down" of news happened about 40 years ago - in the early 70s when a lot of poorly rated network affiliates realized they could jump to number one fast if they went with the "Action News" model. As you probably know, in the Bay Area, it was Channel 7 NewsScene with Van Amburg which had higher ratings at 11:00 than KRON and KPIX combined, with room to spare.

 

[billrecto]

My personal pet peeve is; "We'll have to leave it there..." which every single anchor or interviewer says every single time s/he ends an interview with a pundit of some kind. There's nothing wrong with the phrase - it just bugs me that they can't seem to say it any other way - ever.

Another one - when somebody notable is arrested, the anchors usually say:

"<Name> is behind bars, tonight..."

And no, Recto, the "dumbing down" of news happened about 40 years ago - in the early 70s when a lot of poorly rated network affiliates realized they could jump to number one fast if they went with the "Action News" model. As you probably know, in the Bay Area, it was Channel 7 NewsScene with Van Amburg which had higher ratings at 11:00 than KRON and KPIX combined, with room to spare.

LBKeller You are correct There was a Youtube Video where The Late Mike Wallace went after the KGO-TV Management for making ABC7 News Scene basically what we go after HLN, KTTV Good Day LA, TMZ and CNN today. I think Al Primo the Former WABC-TV GM/News Director took Roger Grimsby out of KGO-TV and Move him to do the WABC7 Eyewitness News and do the New York Version of KGO-TV 7 NewsScene model.

VanAmburg and Russ Coughlin in the Mike Wallace interview said they got an AP Award for NewsScene and Wallace went after them for the "Male Part on Railroad Tracks"

I know that Dave MacElhatton around this time was at KCBS 740 when the clip took place.

 

[LKellerIII]

Yes - McElthatton finally 'de-throned' Amburg - or put a serious dent in his ratings, in any case. I think Dave started at KPIX in 1977 or 78. He was very popular from his MANY years at KCBS - first as a disc-jockey in the early 1950s on Music Til Dawn, then the AM drive host who survived the station's transformation from MOR music to All News. KPIX actually capitalized on Dave's appearance (balding and portly), and marketed him as the antidote to the "Run Burgundy" or "Ken Doll" type anchor, though if you think about it, Amburg was neither young or pretty, though he wasn't portly or balding.

Then in 1985, the penny pinching Capital Cities corporation bought ABC and decided "Van" was way too expensive.

Interestingly enough, KGO-TV tapped Russ Couglin to anchor later (80s, IIRC), and he was very good. By that time, Channel 7 had moved away from the "if it bleeds, it leads" format.