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CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CHICAGO NEWS MEDIA
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This Issue from John Kuczaj:
• What the Hell is this crap about? Part 2
• CMEmail: Porch collapse coverage
What the Hell is this Crap All About? Part 2
In the middle of the May sweep, I ranted about how lame the "special report" stories were. I can't say the 2nd half of the sweep was much better, but there was ONE sweep story that knocked my socks off and just about restored my faith in Chicago's News Directors. Just about.
It's not easy to come up with special reports that will attract people to a given newscast. It used to be that newsrooms would pride themselves on their unique voice and original thinking. Unfortunately, originality is a rare commodity in today's television newsroom. High ratings are the new goal of today's TV news, with quality coming in a distant #2. This is true for all TV newscasts, whether they admit it or not. Channel 7 can crow about the quality of their newscast simply because they have high ratings, while Channel 2 is forever revamping their newscast in search of ratings, not a better-quality product. If you have the ratings, you continue to have a job--if you have low ratings, your job is in jeopardy.
The enemies of quality newscasts are curious creatures known as "consultants". These parasites like to attach themselves to the outer skin of a TV newscast and feed on fear while also causing anxiety in the organizations they "help". It is important to stress that consultants are not any more intelligent than you or I, except in the astounding way in which they are able to charge exorbitant amounts of money for their "services". The job of a consultant is to tell TV news operations what they are doing wrong and how to fix it. They get their knowledge by analyzing what successful TV newscasts are doing, then trying to duplicate that formula at less-successful stations. The thinking goes like this: "Gee, That station in Miami is getting huge ratings, so obviously if I tell that station in Chicago to do exactly the same thing, THEY will then get huge ratings and I will be able to buy a Yacht." It is important to note that the record of successes vs. failures by any given consultant is difficult to track, yet falls somewhere between the success ratio of psychics who help in missing person investigations and the percentage of times "tails" comes up on 50 flips of a quarter.
News Directors like to use consultants because it takes some responsibility off of them. Some corporate-type person will usually suggest that they hire a consultant to evaluate how to "improve" their newscast. The News Director will then pretend to not like the idea (thus keeping the veneer of individuality and setting things up if the consultant's ideas fail) but grudgingly accepts the "help" of the consultant. The consultant will then spend some time "analyzing" the market and its newscasts (in some circles, this is known as a "cold reading" - see John Edward, James Van Praagh, etc.) and then come up with some great "new" ideas that will set the newscast ratings on a rocket ship to the stars. In all cases, these great ideas are taken from successful stations in other TV markets. The News Director is now in a no-lose situation by instituting the consultant's ideas. If the ideas work, then the News Director gets to keep their job and ride the success. If the ideas tank, then the News Director can remind the corporate-type that they were against the idea of a consultant in the first place, so the News Director gets to keep their job and try to fix the mess that the corporate-type made by hiring the consultant.
Okay, so that's the primer on consultants. An equally insidious by-product of the consultant is the "idea database." Basically, it's a list of things that have worked in other markets. The most popular idea database is the "Sweeps for Dummies" database. Is appears that all of our TV newsrooms have access to this database, and are using it liberally. This can be seen in the "coincidental" duplication of stories in May.
- Want tips on cutting down on stress? Channel 5's Dr. Deanna Lites did a story on April 29th. If you missed that, maybe you saw Channel 7's Cheryl Burton do a story on April 30th.
- Hey! Wanna learn some quick & easy self-defense? Channel 2's Tracy Townsend showed you 4 moves on May 5th and then Channel 9's Robin Baumgarten gave some carjacking defense tips on May 6th. Waitaminit, Channel 5's Kim Vatis profiled self defense moves for women on May 16th!
- Did you say self-defense? What about self-defense for kids? Channel 5's Dick Johnson showed us that on May 7th, but if you missed it, Channel 2's Tracy Townsend did it on May 11th.
- Want to see how Air Marshals are trained? Channel 9's Randy Salerno did a story on May 5th. If you didn't see it then, maybe you caught it when Channel 5's Jennifer Mitchell did it on May 10th. Of course, this assumes you didn't see Channel 7's Paul Meinke do it way back on February 18th!
- That new do-not-call list for telemarketers is really popular, huh? Channel 9's Steve Sanders previewed it on May 14th. But perhaps you saw in during the February sweep, when Channel 7's Ron Magers previewed it on February 13th.
- How about that Matrix movie? Channel 32's Danielle Serino looked at the fans & merchandise on May 9th, so did Channel 7's Roger Ebert on May 12th while Channel 2's Richard Roeper talked about it on May 14th.
- Kids can apparently sleep through the alarm of a smoke detector. Channel 32 ran a "Fox Files" special report about this problem on May 4th. If you missed it, Channel 9's Juan Carlos Fanjul profiled this problem on May 12th.
- Did you know that men will respond to a woman's perfume more than women respond to men's cologne? Channel 9's Dina Bair explained why in a cover story on May 9th. A few days before that (my memory is hazy here), Channel 32 (I think it was either Lilia Chacon or Danielle Serino) did the same story with the same researcher but didn't hype it as a sweep report. I also swear I saw it on one other station as a feature story.
Coincidence, or not?
I report, you decide. Oh, wait--that's not right.
I report, I decide. It's not a coincidence.
Aside from the story duplication, we're starting to experience "home improvement overload" as Channel 2 ran with 4 stories, Channel 7 had four "Home Improvement Fridays" and Channel 5 even had a story on improving your home on the cheap. "The Idiots Guide to Sweeps" says do the following stories: Home Improvement, health, traffic & women's issues. Apparently, all the stations have the idiot's guide.
During the 28-day May 2003 sweep, there were 110 "special segments". Here's a recap, organized by station & relevance (in my opinion):
CHANNEL 2
Excellent (5): Pam Zekman reporting about job hunters getting ripped off by a search company and on the internet & Unlicensed psychologists, Antonio Mora reporting about a murder mystery at the U of I. Steve Baskerville stressing tornado safety (who says Skilling has the tornado monopoly?).
Good Info (3): Tracy Townsend with 4 self-defense moves women should know & self-defense for kids, Mike Parker on why Chicago's skies are not necessarily safer without Meigs Field.
Interesting (3): Vince Gerasole on remodeling your kitchen & on painting a room & on garden store advice.
What-ever! (13): Susan Carlson trying to determine if men or women drive better, Vince Gerasole on women's shoes & manicure tips & rearranging the furniture in your home (what the f---?) & finding the best Sundaes, Mary Ann Childers on the meaning of dreams & the health benefits of laughter & makeup tips, Richard Roeper on The Matrix Reloaded, Jay Levine on the local reaction to Annika Sorenstam playing in a PGA tourney, Bill Zwecker did 3-count 'em-3 behind the scenes stories on CSI & CSI Miami.
CHANNEL 5
Excellent (5): Renee Ferguson exposing the illusion of airport security, Dave Savini on safer IV lines not being used in hospitals & talent scout scams & soil contamination in residential areas. Lisa Parker on PCBs still found in schools.
Good Info (7): Anna Devlantes on testing the quality of your tap water & trend of insurers dropping more and more homeowner policies, Nesita Kwan on curing childhood obesity, Lisa Parker on shopping cart dangers for children & product rebate problems & tips, Dick Johnson in self-defense for kids, Kim Vatis on self-defense for women.
Interesting (9): Dr. Lites with your health IQ & cutting down on stress & junk food & hair removal, Anna Devlantes on the cost of saving time, Mary Ann Ahern on how girls benefit from playing sports, Dick Johnson on roller coaster injuries, Amy Jacobson on remodeling a room for under $1K, Kim Vatis on Chicago speed traps.
What-ever! (3): Rob Elgas on police property room auctions, Jennifer Mitchell goes inside Air Marshal training, Allison Rosati interviews Jane Pauley.
CHANNEL 7
Awesome (1): Chuck Goudie on the credentials of Local anti-terror managers.
Excellent (1): Kevin Roy on the growing problem of women addicted to gambling.
Good Info (6): Rob Johnson on Reservist families and employers coping during the war & safety of ephedra, Ron Magers and the SBC vs. AT&T/MCI phone feud, Alan Krashesky on how to get bargain travel, Sylvia Perez on Food sensitivity & baby teeth braces.
Interesting (11): Sylvia Perez on choosing vitamins & correcting vision while sleeping, Janet Davies on low-cost remodeling tips & gardening tips & bathroom remodeling, Tracy Butler on dangerous lightning, Cheryl Burton on stress, Roz Varon on Chicago traffic shifts and what's being done, Sarah Schulte on managing your messages, Leah Hope on the art of tipping, John Garcia on how to score hard-to-get tickets.
What-ever! (5): Cheryl Burton interviews Oprah, Janet Davies on shopping for furniture, Roger Ebert profiles Matrix Reloaded Mania, Linda Yu on internet auctions, Ben Bradley on outdoor extreme activities.
CHANNEL 9
Excellent (2): Dina Bair on Seniors getting cheaper drugs from outside U.S, Julian Crews gets Glenn Poshard to finally speak out.
Good Info (4): Steve Sanders on the Cook County cold case investigators, Judie Garcia on mercury in vaccines possibly causing autism, Robin Baumgarten on carjacking self-defense tips, Jackie Bange on baby car seat installation problems.
Interesting (6): Robin Baumgarten on the cell phones at gas stations email hoax, Joanie Lum on old Sears catalog houses in Chicago, Tom Skilling on weather affecting the Sears Tower, Judie Garcia on on-line predators, Juan Carlos Fanjul on smoke detectors not waking kids, Steve Sanders on the do not call list.
What-ever! (6): Allison Payne profiles Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Jordan profiles a slow eating food club, Randy Salerno goes inside Air Marshal training, Dina Bair on the power of fragrances & merits of cosmetic surgery, Julie Unruh profiles the finale of the WB's Dawson's Creek.
CHANNEL 32
Excellent (1): Larry Yellen profiles arsenic problem in Naplate, IL
Good Info (5): Mark Saxenmeyer reports on Catholic priest with alleged stigmata, Fox Files report on smoke detectors not waking kids, Larry Yellen on car power windows that can kill & bad house auctions, Anne Kavanagh interviews prison chick Betty Loren-Maltese.
Interesting (3): Saxenmeyer on grass-roots sales techniques for vodka in clubs, Robin Robinson profiles The Music Room & the Chicago Music Opportunity Project.
What-ever! (11): Saxenmeyer gets dirt from ex-American Idol contestants & an A Capella group singing Simpsons dialogue & finding prison brides, Danielle Serino on Hip-hop dubbed Kung-Fu films & NeighborHoodies & Romance via text messaging & the Matrix Reloaded, Robin Robinson interviews Fox's Bernie Mac, Tamron Hall on fancy pet pics, Fox Files on pet cloning, Nancy Pender on an addictive video game.
I'll note that on the lowest-rated night for news, Saturday, no station ran special reports. Also, Channel 9 & 32 tried some ratings manipulation by running ½ hour shows on some nights, followed by ½ hour "special reports".
Channel 9's Tom Skilling did an interesting, if un-newsworthy documentary on how weather affects the Sears Tower and Allison Payne did a half-hour on Chicago's high murder rate - excellent special report.
Channel 32's Rick DiMaio did an excellent half-hour on Tornadoes (NOT titled "It sounded like a freight train") and Channel 32 did a special about Chicago's terror drill. Yawn.
Overall, the May sweeps stories were fairly weak. Channel 5 seemed to have the best quality stuff, channel 2 the worst. I was really disappointed that there wasn't a sweep report that got me very excited. Then Chuck Goudie saved the day. His story "The Terror Managers" on May 20th was eye-opening. In the aftermath of the big terror drill and Mayor Daley moaning about terrorists at Meigs, Goudie pointed out that NOT ONE person among the Chicago, Cook County, or Illinois officials who are in charge of Emergency management-not one has been formally trained or accredited in Emergency Management procedures. As if that revelation wasn't stunning enough, Goudie showed the indifference those officials have to the training. He pointed this out to Chicago's Cortez Trotter, Illinois' Carl Hawkinson and Illinois' Director of Emergency Management William Burke and they responded with excuses and indifference-qualities that inspire confidence their leadership, to be sure. I hope Goudie follows this story up in November-seeing if these appointed officials actually care enough to get the training they need for their jobs.
CMEmail
I missed all the early coverage of Sunday's porch collapse, not aware of the tragedy until around 2pm. I tuned into CLTV, which was going wall-to-wall with the coverage and expected a recap of everything to that point at the top of the hour. Didn't happen, so I had to go online to get my news. Um-that can't be a good thing. I also got this interesting email about the early coverage:
"CLTV had a crew live right after the collapse happened, and a guy from WGN radio (gray-haired guy, didn't get his name) interviewing witnesses--he got 2 guys who were helping pull out victims before the Fire Department got there and were still shook up. He handled it perfectly, being really calm and rational. THEN, around 6am they put Jim Wagner out there, in front of the now-deserted wreckage...and he's choking up and crying! He was whispering into the mike to the point where he could barely be heard, all breathless as if he ran to the scene from his house, and kept shaking his head and drooping his shoulders. And he never saw any victims! The scene was cleaned up and washed down before he got there! The best question he could think to ask Cortez Trotter was "Was there more than one party going on, or was it all the same party??" Whuh??"
I know it's going to be hard to find CLTV viewers, but can anyone verify this opinion? Was Wagner doing a William Hurt-Broadcast News imitation, or were the emotions genuine? Also, did CLTV have some info that Cortez Trotter was actually at the party when the collapse happened, or was that just the dumbest question ever?
NEXT WEEK
My insights about the Sammy Sosa cork story.
IN THE CURRENT CHICAGO RED FACE:
- Daley reneges on campaign pledge, proposes superheroes handle gang crime
- Spike Lee files wrongful-name lawsuit against Lee Jeans, USA Volleyball
- TCAA: Say No to Speed
- East Niles Throw Gang Signs
- Dems Magical Makeover
- NAACP to picket Sox-Cubs series this weekend
- JAY MERRYMAN: Jay Williams will be missed
- Cool Again: Isaac Washington
Check it out at: www.chicagoredface.com.
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