“Black Friday” is a term only recently introduced into the media lexicon. The busiest-shopping-day ever phenomenon is generations old. But the term — and the tendency of stores to encourage pre-dawn shopping — are 21st century developments. Can’t say that either of them advances the human condition one iota. Likewise, this increasingly insidious phenomenon keeps [...]
Archive for November, 2008
25 Nov
Fuzzy Wuzzy
It’s time to give thanks for the November sweeps. In this case, our blessing is for those “special” reports the Atlanta TV stations opted not to do. It’s like this. While WSB and WAGA dueled over Gena Evans’ e-mails and boyfriends; WSB one-upped WGCL on the wasteful business of garbage collection; WGCL half-heartedly tried to [...]
23 Nov
The death of whimsy
It’s encouraging to see the occasional feature story pop up on local news. It doesn’t happen often. Two caught our eye recently. Both were great concepts, yet both were just too damned serious. OK, we kinda get it. “Serious” is what you, as a journalist, do. You have a weighty responsibility to be accurate and [...]
20 Nov
Schmuck alert!
Schmuck Alert is the name of the new blog created by the High Point NC news photog known as Lenslinger. The blog is chock full of great entertainment, cautionary tales and the exposure of some of the world’s dopiest dipsh!ts. There is a common theme here: These are the folks who abuse the working press, [...]
19 Nov
The ultimate tough question
Last week, WGCL produced what may be the oddest November sweeps piece of the month: Jennifer Mayerle’s report on whether God exists. She traveled to Tulane University, where a professor says that he can scientifically prove the existence of God. Mayerle’s piece was stylish and interesting. It was stylish because of its editing, juxtaposing the [...]
18 Nov
Slashing prices and faces
We approve of WGCL’s investigation into what sounds like a drive-through plastic surgery clinic in Atlanta, with branches across America. WGCL says it spent three months looking into complaints about “The Lifestyle Lift.” The story, produced by Michelle Glorieux and fronted by anchor Stephany Fisher, describes a clinic for patients who want Cher results but [...]
17 Nov
Immortality
Until recently, TV news was the least permanent medium. A broadcast viewed through the rabbit ears one moment was scattered into a gazillion radio frequency bits headed to Pluto the next. Mistake? Hope nobody noticed. Blooper? Preserved, only if some smart aleck happened to be videotaping it and made a copy. Melissa Sanders’ unfortunate plunge [...]
16 Nov
View from a control room
A fringe benefit of working at a TV station is the opportunity to invite yourself into the control room during a live broadcast. The draw is the madcap entertainment. Sometimes it’s sheer bedlam. More often than not, the show behind the scenes is far superior to the one being produced for TV. Last week we [...]
13 Nov
The pole dancing news anchor
We’re not going to cluck and turn up our noses at the fact that WAGA sent one of its news anchors to a pole dancing school for a November sweeps story. We’re not going to stand in judgment, nor spout pithy homilies about the lengths to which TV stations will go to find an audience, [...]
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