If WXIA news director Ellen Crooke critiqued its 6 and 7pm newscasts Wednesday, it may have read like this: Denis O’Hayer led the 6 with a piece from the Capitol about early voting. O’Hayer’s task was to ask about extending early voting hours. He got a lot of rhetorical finger-pointing. The story was smart and [...]
Archive for October, 2008
29 Oct
Salacious but not scandalous
We’ll start by saying the obvious: Richard Belcher is a better newsman in his sleep than we’ve ever been awake and fully caffeinated. He’s the mac daddy of Atlanta investigative reporters. He rarely missteps, but he did this week. He should have left the Gena Abraham Evans story alone. Evans is the DOT commissioner, known [...]
28 Oct
“I can do whatever I want.”
There’s no question, most police officers understand and respect the role of the media in a free society. And there’s no question that most police officers understand and respect the fact that the media can shoot pictures and gather news on public property. But every now and then, a cop who doesn’t understand the limitations [...]
27 Oct
WSB radio woes
WSB radio showed the door to a couple of experienced Atlanta news guys last week. Jeff Dantre and Kerry Browning were laid off. Browning had been at WSB radio since Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Cox Radio also laid off some FM DJs. It wasn’t that long ago that Atlanta had two vigorously competitive radio news organizations. [...]
26 Oct
Done
This ex-WAGA photog is due to leave his post in Iraq today as he concludes his 400 day call-up with the US Army. We couldn’t be more pleased, though it’ll take him several days to get back to the USA. Mike Daly is now a staff sergeant, in the seventh year of his six-year enlistment [...]
23 Oct
On the clock
WGCL’s ongoing effort to root out waste in Atlanta’s city government is admirable. Its most recent installment hits the target but misses the bulls-eye. And that’s a vast improvement over its last effort, which completely missed and was a bit of an embarrassment. This time, investigative reporter Wendy Saltzman crunched some payroll numbers and found [...]
23 Oct
Comedian wanted
Rodney Ho’s AJC blog reports WAGA is re-assigning its so-called Road Warrior. Mark Hyman is returning to daytime general assignment reporting. Ho says WAGA hasn’t decided how to replace him and is considering rotating reporters through the shift, a notion that probably chills the bones of some of the staff there now. The Road Warrior [...]
21 Oct
Suspects
It’s an easy mistake to make, but it still ain’t right. News professionals like WAGA’s Darryl Carver ought to know better: If no person has been identified as a possible suspect in a crime, then there is no “suspect.” There are only bad guys, crooks, attackers, gunmen, swordsmen, killers, robbers etc. Or, to use policespeak [...]
20 Oct
Exposed plumbing
Grading WSB at 6 Monday: Lori Geary’s lead story put the state’s budget troubles in stark perspective, focusing on cutbacks at the GBI. Geary revealed that the GBI was asked to deepen cuts beyond the Governor’s mandated six percent, a tidbit the Gov’s office wouldn’t confirm. She gave clarity to a potentially cloudy topic. Grade: [...]
19 Oct
No brainer
A mean old SOB in Dalton builds an explosive device, loads his SUV with fuel and becomes what the ATF calls a suicide bomber. He targets a downtown law firm. The device explodes, killing the bomber and badly injuring a lawyer. WXIA heard this, then made a remarkable decision. WXIA decided not to send a [...]
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