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Published weekly...or so--usually on Friday.
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Journalism in the Dumpster
By CHUCK NOVAK *
A neighborhood-based news reporter in Chicago
In the July 6th Issue of the Chicago Media Examiner, we exposed WBBM-TV reporter Vince Gerasole swallowing public relations baloney at the Taste of Chicago.
Move over Vince, Channel 2 anchor Tracy Townshend and reporter Kyung Lah are joining you at the lunchroom table reserved for Unquestioning Reporters Who Eat P.R. Baloney Sandwiches.
On WBBM's 10 p.m. newscast on Monday, July 23, the station aired a "report" on Mayor Daley's Dumpster Task Force and its efforts to improve food safety in Chicago restaurants. The story was introduced with Townshend declaring that the Task Force "is kicking into high gear to make sure local restaurants comply with health standards."
Then Lah went through her report, in which she and a Channel 2 camera crew followed a Task Force food inspector through three neighborhood food establishments (two burger joints and a doughnut shop). In each case the inspector found the usual aesthetically unpleasant things you'd find in July in the Chicago area: flies and maggots in the garbage can out back, some stray rodent droppings on the floor in hard-to-clean areas, and the occasional piece of food that fell on the floor. So the bakery and one burger joint were shut down on the spot by the inspector; the other burger joint was allowed to stay open but was fined.
Sounds good so far, right? The city "kicking into high gear" followed by a get-tough inspector playing smack-down with a few greasy spoons.
But wait. This good story gets even better.
Near the end of her report, Lah says that the Mayor's Dumpster Task Force was founded in 1994 with workers from the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation; but that it wasn't until "after an investigation by CBS 2 Chicago's Pam Zekman" (during the November Sweeps in 1998) that the city added Public Health Department inspectors to the Task Force, which "gave it more teeth." About this reconstituted, toothier Task Force, Lah concludes, "Happily, they are more effective."
Responding to the report from her anchor chair, Townshend opines, "Clearly, they mean business."
"Absolutely," replies Lah, from her live shot next to a dumpster in an alley in Greektown.
Finally, just in case there are any Channel 2 viewers still not fully convinced of the smashing success of the Mayor's Dumpster Task Force, Townshend reads the Task Force's own statistics, showing the number of inspections in 2000 and 2001.
Great stuff, right? City inspectors doing their job, protecting your burgers and doughnuts from flies, maggots, rats and clumsy chefs----and all because the enterprising and intrepid Pam Zekman convinced Mayor Daley to add teeth to his Dumpster Task Force.
But wait. Before you nominate Pam Zekman for a local Emmy and before you call City Hall to ask how you can be the first to volunteer for Daley 2003, do something that Channel 2 failed to do: the math. (What, again?)
In her parroting of City Hall statistics, Townshend noted that in 2000, the Dumpster Task Force inspected 1,503 restaurants and other food establishments. In year 2001 to date, she said, the Task Force has inspected 553. Do the math, and you can see that the Task Force is on a pace to do about 1,100 inspections this year, or 26 percent fewer than last year.
How exactly does that constitute the Task Force "kicking into high gear"?
OK, now we have a major hole in the story, with discerning viewers starting to see the baloney sandwich behind it. So just as a city inspector looks for maggots in a dumpster, let's lift the lid on this story with a little old-fashioned fact checking.
Call City Hall and ask to speak to both Health and Streets and San (consistently mispronounced several times by Lah as "Streets and Sans" but hey, maybe she also says "Soldiers Field"), and you'll find city officials admitting that Health inspectors have always been a part of the Task Force. Just to verify, do an online news archive search and read about health inspectors working with the Task Force to close a number of restaurants, including a Loop Bennigan's in 1994.
See what's going on here? Not only do we have WBBM-TV swallowing public relations baloney from City Hall, but then Channel 2 piles on its own p.r. baloney about Pam Zekman. This baloney sandwich is a double-decker!
One last thing: will someone please call Medill and Columbia to make mathematics a required course in journalism school?
Wingo Bingo, Anyone?
By JOHN F. KUCZAJ
Earlier this week, the FCC OKd the acquisition of Chris Craft by News Corp. For those of you who don't know, Chris-Craft owns 10 TV stations around the country-including New York and Los Angeles. The acquisition by News Corp. now means that Fox owns two TV stations as well as the New York Post newspaper in New York. Owning two TV stations in large TV markets is just fine these days, but rules say that you cannot own a TV station and a newspaper in the same market.
When that cross-ownership rule was put in place, the Tribune got a permanent waiver in Chicago and later, Fox got a waiver to keep the Post when they bought WYNW in New York. Fox now joins Tribune, Hearst, Scripps-Howard and other publishers who support the removal of the cross-ownership rule. Fact is, the rule makes no sense anymore and will probably be eliminated by the FCC soon. When that happens, the newspaper biz in Chicago could get interesting.
After the rule falls, I wonder if News Corp. will purchase the Sun-Times again.
But wait, John! Rupert Murdoch bought the paper in the 1983 and sold it two years later before he drove it into the ground! That's true. But Murdoch's journalistic reputation has improved considerably since Mike Royko quit the Sun-Times in protest and declared, "No self-respecting fish would want to be wrapped in that kind of paper." Think about it: in 1984, Murdoch was known for publishing sleazy tabloids & launching a sleazy TV network. Since then, Murdoch has learned how to appeal to larger audiences in the U.S. he's broadened the appeal of the Fox network and, more importantly, cultivated a solid reputation for Fox News. In 2001, you can point to the Fox News channel and the newscasts on Fox stations around the country as proof that News Corp. knows the New York Post style isn't going to work everywhere.
In a couple years, once Hollinger sucks all the money they can out of their real estate deal, the struggling Sun-Times will be ripe for a new owner and would be an obvious target for Murdoch. By that time, Hollinger will be finished strip-mining the paper.
Maybe Rupert learned his lesson and would run the Sun-Times differently this time around. Besides, the more I read about what Hollinger is doing, the more disappointed I get with the paper. Would Murdoch REALLY be worse than the hosers who own the paper now?
Geez! How screwed up are things when I see Murdoch as preferable to Hollinger to own the Sun-Timesr?
Chicago Tonight Offers Perspective TV News Won't
By JOHN F. KUCZAJ
Thursday night's "Chicago Tonight" on Channel 11 was about the silly St. Sabina thing. The Network Chicago website says you can submit questions, so I did and, of course, none were used. Then on Friday I get an e-mail saying thanks, but I should post my opinions on the message board. Why ask for questions if you don't want them? Anyway, the show was interesting because the two guys from St. Sabina were oddly smug and defiant while the two guys from the South Suburban Conference were anxious to keep talking and iron out solutions. If you only follow the TV news reports of the incident, you would have been shocked at how arrogant and un-Christian-like the St. Sabina people really are. Too bad Phil Ponce didn't try some of my questions, including:
- St. Sabina would only be admitted to the conference as long as no special conditions were forced on them, yet now they are making demands that special conditions be forced upon every other school in the conference before St. Sabina accepts membership. Isn't this highly hypocritical?
- Why does St. Sabina want to take away a parents' right to decide what neighborhood to send their children? How can they hold it against an entire school when it's ultimately each parents' choice?
- Jesus Christ led by example, never by intimidation. Why doesn't St. Sabina lead by example, join the league and let the cards fall--then make their case as incidents may occur rather than deal with hypotheticals as they are now?
- Why doesn't St. Sabina just make a guarantee on the safety of visiting teams in the conference?
One of the Conference guys mentioned that Fr. Pfleiger keeps disobeying the Cardinal while all 20+ parishes in the Conference are following the Cardinal's lead. How can you trust St. Sabina when you hear things like that? Are Chicago's news organizations really THAT scared of Pfleger that they refuse to point out his folly?
For More Relevant Information, Watch AMW
By JOHN F. KUCZAJ
Today on "Fox News in the Morning", Tamron Hall and David Navarro interviewed John Walsh via satellite about the Bradley kidnappings. Tamron asked about the Chandra Levy case and Walsh mentioned some things that blew my mind-such as the reports of a suspicious white van in the area at the time and two recent missing person cases in the area where Chandra lived that are eerily similar.
What? I didn't know that!
The only things I keep hearing about this case involve Congressman Gary Condit. How come "America's Most Wanted" is the only place these leads are reported while everyone else (except Dan Rather) keeps pounding Condit? And if CBS really wants to stay above the fray, why aren't they reporting this?
Hello!! What other news am I missing?????
Take a look at the previous issue: Friday, July 20
Take a look at the previous issue: Sunday, July 15
* Pseudonym
Published weekly...or so--usually on Friday.
If you'd like to contribute, e-mail your article to the editor
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