Would somebody please explain the appeal of Monica Pearson? For years, WSB-TV rode the Monica horse to ratings superiority. This gave her the kind of clout that landed TV’s only interview with Rep. John Lewis about his switch of support to Obama. But why her? She’s a competent journalist, when she tries. I’ll give her [...]
Archive for February, 2008
25 Feb
reporting live, in front of a dark building
When the wife woke me at the end of the Oscars broadcast, we got a taste of WSB’s weekend news, airing at 12:30 or so. This resulted in a lead story by an attractive rookie reporter about a family in Gwinnett which is losing its goat herd to repeated dog attacks. The report was done [...]
22 Feb
No sex, please
There’s rarely a more pleasing spectacle than a major TV station appointing itself as a community’s arbiter of morality. The ironies are abundant– not just when viewed through the prism of network programming, but also through the judgments made daily about which news stories get the greatest exposure. Is there an element of sex? A [...]
20 Feb
February Dirt
Readers of this space– too many to count– already know that February is a big ol ratings book month. The most audience-friendly “investigative” efforts of TV stations are always on display. Two examples popped up this week– both kinda silly, but to varying degrees. First, a fine reporter at WSB-TV named Tom Regan phoned in [...]
15 Feb
the nicest guy in tv v. the biggest dumbass in georgia politics
Word is that Ch2 sent their white-haired attack dog, the famously mild-mannered Jeff Dore after the Speaker Richardson divorce story on thursday’s 5pm news. When the two encountered each other in the hallway of the LOB– a brief physical confrontation ensued. Among whom, and to what degree, depends on who you ask. Another blog, the [...]
13 Feb
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
Sharon Beasley Teague, a state lawmaker, is in trouble for ethics violations. WAGA’s story is hilarious for all the right reasons: Note the hat worn by the lawmaker. It looks like a furry doughnut, wrapped crown-like around her scalp. Note the graphic, outlining her contention that she drove from Atlanta to Albany to Savannah to Dillard (Rabun [...]
13 Feb
Covers Dixie Like the Don’t
Piling onto the AJC has been a too-easy sport for many years. Yet the depth to which it has sunk since last year’s famed “re-org” has never been more evident than in recent weeks. – The AJC couldn’t be bothered to send its own reporter to the Savannah sugar plant fire. Not so long ago, [...]
13 Feb
“We’ve lost the clown…”
Quote of the day from WAGA’s Mark Hyman on GDA, reporting on the Big Apple Circus: ”I’m afraid we’ve lost the clown so early in the morning.”
12 Feb
Must I Watch?
As a recently reformed TV news guy in Atlanta, one of the many blessings of my current life is my utter indifference to local TV news. True, there are some worthwhile gems in that industry in this market. But one must wade through hours of crapulence to find it. Fortunately, one can now cheat by [...]
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