Why do TV stations design news vehicles– live trucks, “storm trackers,” satellite trucks — without first consulting the personnel who will actually have to use them?
Why do some apparently-reasonable public officials hire sneering, useless or sometimes just insane public information officers?
Why are separate credentials required to cover the Georgia House and the Georgia Senate?
When people outside the state Capitol ask to see a “press credential,” do they have any idea what they’re actually looking for?
Why can’t news channels discontinue the constant “ticker” at the bottom of the screen, which began with 9/11 and never went away?
Why must local news stations put up an ever-present lower-third graphic describing the story the viewer is presumably watching?
Why does the Georgia Senate have a press office?
As TV news technology has improved, why is using it so much more complicated?
How long can local TV continue to cry wolf over “dangerous” weather before viewers finally catch on and tune us out?
Would somebody please inform WSB’s viewers that Monica is gone? They can watch the other stations now.
Some great points. Monica’s gone? Gee, I thought she was going to be back after the commercials.
After looking over these ten questions, and I concur with all of them, I guess my eleventh question would be…do I have enough time left to consider pursuing another career path?
The question about the Senate press office is not meant, in any way, to disparage the work of the Senate Democratic caucus PIO, Liz Flowers, one of the planet’s finest media communicators. In fact her presence — and that of the individual senators, most of whom are big boys and girls who ably handle their own media relations — are what raise the question.
Except for crying wolf, the answer to all the questions is, obviously, “jobs.”
Answer to No. 1: Everybody in the entire television station thinks they can do your job better than you can (unless, of course, called upon to do it). Hand me that soldering iron…
I remember someone from WAGA say back in the 70’s that WSB could put a test pattern on at 6pm and it would still be #1 in Nielsen and in Q scores. In the words of Ken Roberts, that’s all from us for here for now….
Spot on, Dougy, Doug.
I’m with you on all 10 of ’em….but that “ticker” and graphic describing what I’m trying to watch is most annoying…..can’t even see what the reporter is trying to show me because of the crap covering the bottom 1/4 of the screen…..(especially true when the weather report is on)
and speaking of weather (I know this blog is about tv, but…….) that annoying “boing boing” that WSB Radio runs during active weather reports drives me crazy…..I actually change the station……so their “alert” actually does the very opposite of what they intended….(who thinks up that junk?)