  Gingellgirl Member Username: Gingellgirl Post Number: 125 Registered: 04-2007 |
Forgive me if this rant has gone on before, but is it possible that TV news in Detroit has reached a new low? I watched some of yesterday's gabfests of the primaries. They had a lot of airtime to fill before the polls closed and they could actually REPORT something. I saw Fox2's Kerry Birmingham interviewing some "expert" about what breed of dog each candidate resembled. Good lord! I'm not kidding. Here it is. http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=5490774 (Message edited by Gingellgirl on January 16, 2008) | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 4647 Registered: 10-2003 |
Fox 2 is meant for watching in the mornings only. Somebody let Al Allen in! He's cold out there. | ||
Gingellgirl Member Username: Gingellgirl Post Number: 126 Registered: 04-2007 |
Oh boy. I just realized they were interviewing Borat!! | ||
7_and_kelly_kid Member Username: 7_and_kelly_kid Post Number: 55 Registered: 12-2007 |
The only guy I could get my weather from from was........................... .you guessed it! Sonny Elliot!..........sigh........h ow do! | ||
Rb336 Member Username: Rb336 Post Number: 4551 Registered: 02-2007 |
i guess you have to listen to wwj during evening drive time then | ||
Parkguy Member Username: Parkguy Post Number: 206 Registered: 04-2007 |
TV journalism in Detroit is an oxymoron. The reporters don't report, they simply get video. They don't develop stories, they check the headlines in the paper, then rush to do a video version of what the papers have already reported. They don't cover anything that doesn't have pictures to go along. A confrontation caught on tape that creates dramatic tension is primo material in their eyes. Better yet, all of the above with a crying mother added to the mix. There are only three or four actual reporters left in town-- they fired the rest and hired rookies at bargain prices, and they have gotten what they paid for. They go for fast, cheap, easy, and flashy. Hmmm. That sounds sordid... | ||
Dannyv Member Username: Dannyv Post Number: 76 Registered: 08-2007 |
Parkguy just about has it right. I would only offer that TV2 in Detroit has the Problem Solvers which has led to Federal investigations into corruption in Detroit and Ecorse. Alonzo Bates was tried and convicted. The former mayor of Ecorse and a contractor are under investigation by the FBI and EPA. No other local station has done as much. | ||
Wash_man Member Username: Wash_man Post Number: 550 Registered: 05-2006 |
Don't worry, February sweeps is only about 2 weeks away. Steve Wilson is sure to show up. | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 1615 Registered: 02-2006 |
I saw a commercial for the 10:00 news last night here in Chicago that went like this: "The 5 foods you may eat every day that cause cancer!" Random woman with child on her hip: "I was very shocked...and surprised" "This story at 10" Ugh. The best part is you know they just found that woman, told her what they were going to report on, and asked her "Does that shock you? Are you surprised?" | ||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 1401 Registered: 12-2005 |
Here's the source for many of the "news stories" coming soon to local TV newcasts across the nation: Al's Morning Meeting - Story ideas that you can localize and enterprise. Scroll down to the Jan. 14th entry to read the blurb suggesting vitiligo as a story subject that is prompted by Lee Thomas' reporting and his recent book. | ||
Dustin89 Member Username: Dustin89 Post Number: 182 Registered: 07-2006 |
I was just about to post a thread about how weak the stations have been. Channel 7 has fallen down a bit lately, in my eyes, and their new meteorologist seems pretty amateurish. One specific problem I have noticed is a lack of coverage of the minimum manning ballot proposal in Pontiac--and now that it has failed, I wonder if any of the news stations will cover the possibility of & actual occurrence of a state takeover of the city of Pontiac, and massive police & city hall layoffs. | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 1389 Registered: 09-2007 |
I don't patronize the media anyway (outside of the weather forecasts). If I really was interested in something not concerning me, I can find other ways of doing so instead of paying the bills of people who could care less about providing us with real reports (like the guy below). https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/5/124894.html?1200509049 (Message edited by detroitrise on January 16, 2008) | ||
Jrvass Member Username: Jrvass Post Number: 400 Registered: 01-2007 |
Anyone remember Kirk Knight in the morning? He used to sign off with "This is your friend, Kirk Knight". Sometime after the test pattern and morning farm report. I used to tell my mother the news before she could read it in the paper. She'd ask "How did you know that?" (I was a 3-5 years old). I'd say "My friend Kirk told me." Baffled her for years until she found me watching the TV at 5am. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 2574 Registered: 01-2005 |
"Sometime after the test pattern " Jrvass, you just put yourself in with us old timers. I'll just betcha a substantial number of DYers don't have the foggiest idea what you meant by "test pattern". | ||
Fareastsider Member Username: Fareastsider Post Number: 778 Registered: 08-2006 |
A number of weeks ago Channel seven had a " be the 7th caller contest" for Hannah Montana Tickets.....need I say more. | ||
65memories Member Username: 65memories Post Number: 508 Registered: 10-2003 |
Parkguy does have it right. The local newscasts have became caricatures of themselves. There is no real professionalism...gone are the Bill Bennetts, Ven Marshalls, Mort Crims of the industry...instead we are given young reporters right out of Specs Howard who mispronounce names and streets and have no real sense of American or Detroit history. And the producers don't pretend where they get their news anymore...they actually hold up the Freep or News and show you the story that piqued their interest. Emery King and Huel Perkins have been the last of the viable anchors. | ||
Bigb23 Member Username: Bigb23 Post Number: 284 Registered: 11-2007 |
I HATE all the tie-in's to Oprah,American Idol,Dancing with the stars etc. What a waste of air time! Give us local news that can or will affect our lives, not entertainment or primetime T.V. drivel. I change the channel right then. And whats with one minute of News and five minutes of commercials, off,on off,on for 1 1/2 hrs?  | ||
Mommydearest Member Username: Mommydearest Post Number: 13 Registered: 08-2007 |
The "non-news" is also sloppily reported in the national news as well. ABC reported on the "Detroit" auto show, not the North American International Auto Show. Even books have succumbed to sloppy proofreaders. Big turnoff when the first page of a book has spelling and grammar errors. Wonder what they're teaching in elementary school these days. | ||
Jrvass Member Username: Jrvass Post Number: 401 Registered: 01-2007 |
Ray1936, Remember the stations signing off with the Star Spangled Banner? Now they don't play it on TV unless you watch CBC Hockey or the Olympics. Old timer? I'm only 45 but I sure feel like it today after moving the snow blower yesterday to get rid of 5" of fluffy, white, crap. Wrenched a muscle in my shoulder. I'll bet most DY'ers don't know that "Felix the Cat" was the first TV star either! http://www.felixthecat.com/his tory.htm | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 4308 Registered: 12-2005 |
 This symbol meant that you can watch all you want but this is all you're going to see until morning, so why not just give it up, kid. | ||
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289 Post Number: 214 Registered: 08-2007 |
thats more interesting then most paid programing, cam karmen on fox 2 needs glasses or i,m just not awake yet, i hate local 4, except for the nite cam. | ||
Mcp001 Member Username: Mcp001 Post Number: 3203 Registered: 11-2003 |
This has been touched on before, but right now, I don't have the time to dig up the link. Nevertheless, local journalism in Detroit is a sad, pathetic joke. With the exception mentioned above of the actual investigative journalism (regretfully, only during "sweeps"), calling the local news a caricature of itself doesn't do the term justice. Hannah Montana isn't news. OJ Simpson going to jail (and being subsequently released), isn't news. {Fill-in-the-name-of-the-celeb rity-of-the-week} getting {arrested/hospitalized/pregnan t/on a soapbox} isn't news. Lee Thomas' skin condition isn't news. If I want celebrity news or fluff, I'll watch TMZ or ET. Instead of picking up today's paper and showing how stupid they are using it as their sole source of news, where's the talk of the foreclosure crisis? Where are the interviews with the political party mucky-mucks on the election fiasco (and not the puff piece mentioned above)? Where is the talk of the budget surplus? Where is the discussion about property taxes going up when home values are declining? What's really going on in Iraq at the moment (and not the obliquitory:fly your flag at half-staff announcements)? Local news stations lurking on this site for leads, try reporting along the lines mentioned above. | ||
Craggy Member Username: Craggy Post Number: 295 Registered: 10-2003 |
McP...of course, those discussions you are looking for are taking place EVERY DAY on public radio. | ||
Mallory Member Username: Mallory Post Number: 228 Registered: 05-2006 |
Bill Bonds and Lou Gordon WHERE ARE YOU????????? | ||
Screamingfit Member Username: Screamingfit Post Number: 33 Registered: 03-2006 |
You control a population by keeping them scared and uninformed. I believe the mass majority of people have and want their heads in the sand, anyway. | ||
Gingellgirl Member Username: Gingellgirl Post Number: 128 Registered: 04-2007 |
Channel 62, hear our plea! Bring quality journalism back to TV news! | ||
Novine Member Username: Novine Post Number: 353 Registered: 07-2007 |
I'm no old-timer and I remember test patterns and the Star-Spangled Banner (and Oh Canada on CBC) sign-off. We haven't had 500 channels for that long. | ||
Dannyv Member Username: Dannyv Post Number: 78 Registered: 08-2007 |
One of the things I like about the local CBC out of Windsor are their short documentaries about the history and background of the buildings in the Windsor area. With all the great architecture in Detroit and the history and stories behind them, it would really be a step forward into raising the respect and appreciation for what we have here in Detroit. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 921 Registered: 02-2007 |
You're as young as you feel.. LOL yeah right. I remember after the late movie, there was nothing on. Then we had the "Late Late movie". I still remember that sign off thing. A guy flying a fighter jet, Something about thrusting the jet through the clouds and touching the face of God.. Anyone remember that? Or was that a sign on thing? | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 922 Registered: 02-2007 |
DannyV, agreed. We need that too. Unfortunately, everything is so commercial here. I was watching Mythbusters last night, every time there a company logo is on a bucket or someones hat, they have to censor it by defocusing or whatever they call it. Sort of takes away from the Realism of Reality TV. |
