My $.02: That Anchor Is A Jerk! So what?!?

There have been posts after posts on other blogs that specifically discuss television news recently about how horribly rude David Gregory of NBC/MSNBC is behind the scenes, during commercials, etc. I have been ignoring adding any of those entries which quote several sources that seem to confirm the information. Apparently, David Gregory is a JERK! While it has been filling up some blogs for weeks, I have refused to mention it. Today I reached my breaking point and decided it was time to add my two cents.

Maybe my opinion is shallow, but here it is summed up into 2 words: who cares? If being rude was a crime most of this nation would be in jail. If I had a nickel for every one of my coworkers who has been discourteous to me this year, I would likely be able to buy a nice steak dinner. Yet, I don't go home and read about their behavior on a blog. And why should I? I shouldn't. One of the rudest individuals I ever worked for was a brilliant meteorologist with quick wit and great camera presence. As a member of the viewing public, I would much rather watch someone who understands the workings of the atmosphere than someone who copies the National Weather Service forecast and adds pictures.

Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating for rudeness. Rude people grate upon my last nerve. In the arena of broadcast journalism, however, my main concern isn't their conduct off camera but how they conduct themselves on air. The exception to this would be if they were to do something that was illegal and break the law. Those individuals should be punished accordingly and details about their behavior is fair game. Some examples that come to my mind in this regard would be KOLR 10's Steve LaRocco or CNN's Richard Quest.

In short, I would much rather have someone bringing me the news that is talented, capable, and a little egocentric, than have to watch a bumbling idiot who can't string two words together who has never said a rude thing in their life bring me my headlines. So enough with all the posts about someone with an ego. How about a little bit more time on the important things: the coverage of the news itself? What a concept! A news blog covering the coverage of the news!

From Larry and Keith To Bill...

Fresh off of her interviews with Larry King and Keith Olbermann, Fox News has announced that Sen. Hillary Clinton will be interviewed by Bill O'Reilly and portions of that interview will appear both tomorrow and Thursday on his television show, The O'Reilly Factor. This will be her first appearance on the highest rated show in cable news. Sen. Barack Obama has yet to appear on the show.

The Blackout Is Over... Obama Arrives On Fox News Sunday

It had been 772 days according to the Fox News tracker. It had been that long since Chris Wallace, anchor of the program, challenged Sen. Barack Obama to appear on the Sunday show before he accepted. This morning the counting is over.

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Obama pretty much killed the idea of any more debate with Sen. Clinton between now and the May 6th primaries in North Carolina and Indiana. He cited the fact that he and Clinton had already debated 21 times while Wallace seemed to indicate it was because of the fact that the last ABC debate went poorly for him.

If you miss the morning installments of Fox News Sunday w/Chris Wallace on your local FOX station, you can catch it again this afternoon 5 p.m. central time on the FOX News Channel.

FOX 4 Chief Meteorologist Ties Global Warming To... Hitler?

Wow!

Well, this isn't something you read about every day. Apparently FOX 4 Chief Meterologist Mike Thompson recently went on a rampage concerning global warming. He even went so far as to invoke the name of Adolf Hitler within his recent blog post.

What in the world is going on? I am not even going to wade into this deep water, but Bottom Line Communications has already done so. Here is their story on it.

Life Of Jason Added To The Blog Links

I know, I know... what has taken me so long. It is true that Life of Jason is a great blog! I hope that you will check it out by clicking on "Life of Jason" on the links to my right. His insight truly does conjur up some great online conversation.

University of Missouri Students Set Police Car Ablaze

The Columbia and Jefferson City television stations have been buzzing the last 24 hours with the news of 2 students setting an MU police car on fire. There is no word at this time exactly what their punishment will be for this crime. They were charged with 3 felonies. What is interesting is the difference in the story as reported on KOMU and KMIZ. It is obvious that apparently one has more insight into what actually took place than the other. I will let you decide which one is which.

For the details from KOMU, click here.

For the details from KMIZ, click here.

The story could not be found on KRCG's website.

I Guess The S In MSNBC is for Sports

MSNBC will be airing the US trials for the Olympic qualifiers on Sundays at 11 a.m. each week for the next 13 weeks leading up to the kick-off of the Olympic games. This weekend will be the first week, according to the press release from NBC. It will feature the women's marathon trials.

While it isn't news, I am thrilled that it isn't another edition of Lockup or MSNBC Investigates that the network is so famous for *insert sarcasm here*.

New Reporter at KY3

KY3 has a new reporter. Kristin Nelson joined "The Place To Be" this week, coming to the station from Traverse City, Michigan. According to her profile on ky3.com, she is a graduate from Michigan State University. Hopefully she will be right at home here in the Ozarks. Her complete biography is available here.

Pennsylvania: HILLARY WINS; CLAIRE SPEAKS

NBC and FOX NEWS have called Pennsylvania for Hillary Clinton. Nothing yet from CNN. The big question remains... by how much? Is it enough to keep the fight going for Sen. Clinton? Can she raise more money? So many questions... many more hours of coverage to come.

UPDATE (8:00 p.m.): KY3's David Catenese is reporting on his blog that Claire McCaskill will be speaking to KY3 live via satellite at 10 p.m. If it is an exclusive, that is quite a get for KY3.

Pennsylvania: TOO CLOSE TO CALL

No call by any of the news organizations this evening as the polls officially closed this evening at 7:00 local time. We shall see what happens as the night progresses. One has the wonder if Obama already being in Indiana is a good sign for his campaign and a bad one for Clinton.

Getting To Know... Josh DeBerge

Whether it was from his time at KOMU in Columbia or his recent move southward to KSPR in Springfield, Josh DeBerge has a busy time keeping his eyes to the skies. Recently (between flooding rains, severe weather outbreaks, and tornadoes) I had a chance to chat with Josh.

2K:How is life behind the scenes at KSPR?

JD: Life "behind the scenes" at KSPR is good. I think the thing I admire themost about the people here is how hard working they are. It's no secretthat we're the underdog in the market, but that just means we work evenharder and I think it shows in the product we put out. The atmosphere, forthe most part, is laid back and relaxed. Everyone's excited about the movewe'll be making into a new facility in the next year or so!

2K: Is there one thing you have learned in your time at either at KOMU or at KSPR that you wished you would have learned in college?

JD: College certainly teaches you the ropes of forecasting and theins-and-outs of television. But I wasn't prepared for the hateful peoplethat are out there. I guess it isn't something that can be taught but Iwas surprised at how rude and thoughtless many people can be - whetherit's after cutting in to their favorite program, busting a forecast, orsaying the wrong thing.

2K: KSPR has been leading the way in connecting with the viewers indifferent mediums, such as the Weather blog and the new chat room. Why is this important to you?

JD: There are several answers to this question. When we first tossed aroundthe idea of the blog it was primarily because no one else in the Ozarkswas doing it. We felt it would be a unique feature that could provide awealth of information for people in southern Missouri and northernArkansas. It has exceeded all of my expectations and blog trafficcontinues to grow (the active weather of late certainly hasn't hurt).It also gave us a chance to connect on a more personal level with viewersand weather enthusiasts. We realized that the days of being a one-waycommunication tool are gone. With the Internet at everyone's fingertips,viewers want more information than we can give in a 3 minute weathercast.We can give an almost unlimited amount of information on the blog.I should say that a blog associated with a television station certainlyisn't new, but I think the interactivity we've brought to it is! Forexample, during the January 7 tornado outbreak, viewers asked questions onthe blog and almost instantly got an answer on-the-air. It helped usrefine our coverage to better serve our viewers as we got feedback andquestions. Many people are at home, scared, and we've been told time andagain that our personal responses put them at ease. Now, as the blog getsmore and more popular it becomes much more difficult to keep that personaltouch, but we'll continue to do it as long as we can! The chat is just areal-time verson of the blog and it shows promise!My thought about it all is that people make better decisions when theyhave an abundance of accurate information. I want people to make gooddecisions during severe weather and if manning the blog or chat is theanswer, then I'm going to do it. I guess above everything else, that iswhy it's important to me.

2K: Do you have an I-Pod? If so, what songs are on it?

JD: I have all my favorite songs on my I-Pod Nano and I actually like not knowing what song is coming up next. About half of it is filled with whatall my friends call my "melancholy mix" which is collection of indie,alternative, and R&B. The other half is filled with Christian music. Ialso don't mind techno on a long drive.

2K: What are some of your favorite tv shows?

JD: Me and my girlfriend are completely obsessed with LOST and we're weeklywatchers of Prison Break. I like Top Chef and for some reason, every timeAmerica's Funniest Home Videos is on...I'm watching.

Regional Edward R. Murrow Award Winners Announced

Recently, the region 5 Edward R. Murrow awards were given out. Below are some of the major winners from Missouri. For a complete listing of all awards across the nation, click here.

Large Market
Overall Excellence: KMBC, Kansas City
Hard News: KMOV, St. Louis
Investigative Reporting: KCTV, Kansas City
Sports: KSDK, St. Louis
Website: KSDK, St. Louis

Small Market
Overall Excellence: KYTV, Springfield
Spot News: KYTV, Springfield (2006 Tornado Outbreak)
News Documentary: KRCG, Jefferson City (KRCG in Iraq)
News Series: KOMU, Columbia (Immigration In-Depth)

Hillary Clinton LIVE!

Senator Hillary Clinton will be Larry King's guest tomorrow night (Monday) on Larry King LIVE at 8:00 central time. It happens to be the night before the Tuesday Pennsylvania Primary, which is make or break for her. I am not for sure if she is booked for the entire hour or for just a couple of segments.

Out of Town

I will be out of town and unable to blog through Sunday due to my job. I will be back to blogging early next week. Sorry for the delay.

Ooops... Fox News Blooper.

Inside Cable News blogs today about a blooper on Fox News regarding Republican Presidential nominee John McCain and his wife Cindy. I think it is priceless personally! Check it out here!

To Break Into Programming Or Not, Part Two

Earlier this month, I asked the question about when television weather teams should break into programming. I received a couple of responses from two Springfield meteorologists that deserve some attention.

First, KY3 Chief Meteorologist Ron Hearst gave a good breakdown of their station's policy:

"As for our policy we do a cut-in for each tornado warning. If the warning is for Greene or Christian ‘counties we do wall to wall coverage for the life of the warning. If a confirmed tornado is on the ground doing damage and is headed towards a populated area out in the rural area we will do extended coverage. I reserve the right to do a cut-in if I see significant weather developing. I must use good judgment here as programming and commercials play a role. "

He also offers some insight about what the FCC requires. Below is a fascinating insight into an aspect of local news and weather coverage that many don't realize:

"Since KY3 is licensed to use the public airwaves we must provide a public service, part of that service to inform the public of pending weather events. Each time a tornado warning is issued we do a cut-in to alert the public of the details of the warning. The FCC is also requiring stations to provide written safety information and storm related details. Since we are not closed captioned all the time this has lead to lengthy interruptions. This is not a small matter and the FCC has been very harsh on stations who do not comply. One station in Florida had two closed captioners on duty during a hurricane. Still some vital information was not processed on time and they were fined several hundred thousand dollars."

KSPR Chief Meteorologist Kevin Lighty also weighed in on the subject.

"As far as our policy at KSPR if people’s lives or property are in danger because of a storm we will opt to cut-in to programming to inform them about it. Most of the time the cut-in to programming is usually for only tornado warnings, BUT sometimes we will for severe thunderstorm warnings. Our perfect example would be on Monday when a storm was not tornado warned for Dallas county we still opted to go on the air because of what WE saw on our radar in regards to rotation and winds in the storm. In doing so we made the right choice because an EF-2 tornado was spawned from that storm. You have to use your own instinct with storms as to if you should go on. Of course when you cut-in to peoples favorite shows you will make them mad especially if it is NOT for the area they live in, and I say that is just too bad. I tell those people, "hey tell you what, we will take that off of your next month’s bill since you missed part of that show." (remember no one pays for the over the air channels) My job is to warn the public of impending life threatening weather and that is what I will continue to do, even if I have to cut in during the middle of LOST. It is obviously a fine line you have to walk but safety of my viewers will come first before any TV program ever will."

Interesting reading to say the least. Please note that I contacted meteorologists in every market in the state and would love to hear the policies of the other areas. KY3 and KSPR are the only 2 stations to respond back.

Brandon Beck Profiled

Show-Me Opinions has a profile of KY3 morning meteorologist Brandon Beck. Check it out by clicking the link here. He is truly a very good meteorologist and the Springfield television market is lucky to have him.

Getting To Know... Mallory McGowin

It has been a while since we talked to a local tv news personality to find out about life behind the scenes. KRCG's Mallory McGowin has done a lot in her short time at the station. She graduated from Drury University in May of 2007. I recently had a chance to ask her a few questions:

2K: Why did you choose to go into television journalism?

MM: My response seems to be a fairly common one reporters give to the question of why we entered this business. I decided to enter television journalism because I loved the idea of meeting new people and learning new things everyday. I love print and online journalism, but the visual aspect of television news was also very appealing to me. I love to shoot and edit video, write, and talk with all kinds of people so this was really a perfect fit.

2K: What is one thing you have learned on the job that you wished you would have been taught in college?

MM: Since starting my broadcast career almost a year ago, I've learned just how fast-paced and time-crunched this business really is. I'm not saying college instructors leave this part of the industry out of their lectures, but there's no way you can begin to grasp how much pressure there is until you are in the middle of it all!

2K: What is one thing viewers would be surprised to learn about the newsteam at KRCG?

MM: I don't know if viewers would be surprised by this or not, but the people on our newsteam are really, really funny. It may not seem like it on the air, but we've got some pretty heavy-hitting comics sitting in these cubicles. So, in the midst of the average fast-paced newsday, we still find time to telling a few side-splitting jokes and watch the occasional hilarious video on YouTube!

2K: Do you have an I-Pod? If so, what artists are on it?

MM: I know this makes me sound incredibly dull and out of touch with reality, but the I-Pod I have was actually given to me by a friend who got a new one and I do not actively download music since leaving college. But, what I do have on my playlist is a very hodge-podge mix because I like all kinds of music. There's everything from Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town to Steve Miller Band and Van Halen. I also love Michael Buble, Pat Benetar, and Nora Jones. That's quite a list, huh?!

We will hopefully have more getting to know segments in the days and weeks ahead.

Katie Is Going Nowhere

That may be the most true statement surmised by the recent information that has surfaced indicating that Katie Couric would be leaving the anchor chair at the CBS Evening News after the Presidential Inauguration in January of 2009. CBS fervently denies these rumors.

The biggest potential tragedy that seems to be bubbling up across the net would be the possibility of CBS ending an evening news program all together. That, in my opinion, would be disastorous. Maybe that is because I cover news, but it would appear to me that the network would be much worse off it were to cut the program. That would only leave its lowly-viewed morning program, the Face the Nation crew, and the 60 Minutes team left. It would leave the network at a disadvantage during breaking news and would also damage its credibility further.

If Katie does leave, the answer has to lie in bringing in someone from outside of CBS in to anchor that news program. I don't think Russ Mitchell or Harry Smith have what it takes to pull the evening newscast out of the ratings cellar. Time will tell what happens. Until then, we will all just have to watch.

Coverage of the Flooding Across Missouri

Below are some internet links to media outlets who are covering the flooding across the region. I have truly been impressed with the resources devoted and the quality of the coverage coming from the stations I have had a chance to watch.

Overnight Evacuations Along Lake Taneycomo

Rain Renews Flood Concerns

Piedmont Flood Victims Asked To Evacuate

Carl Junction Water Rescue

Flood Evacuations in Monett

Happening Now: Table Rock Dam Increasing Output; Flooding Imminent

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE TANEYCOUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS IS INCREASING THE WATER FLOW FROMTABLE ROCK DAM. RESIDENTS ALONG LAKE TANEYCOMO WILL SEE A RISE INLAKE LEVELS OF THREE TO FOUR FEET FROM THE CURRENT LEVELS AT NOON.RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO CLOSE VALVES ON PROPANE TANKS...AND SHUTDOWN POWER AT THE BREAKER PANEL BEFORE EVACUATING THEIR HOMES. ASHELTER HAS BEEN SET UP AT THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ON HIGHWAY76 IN BRANSON.

She's Baaaaack!

Kathie Lee Gifford, formerly of Live w/ Regis and Kathie Lee is back on morning television as the co-host of the Today's Show's 4th hour. She has been drawing quite the press coverage lately and it will be interesting to see if she can boost the ratings of that hour. It is important to note that in many markets, she competes head-to-head with former co-host Regis Philbin.

Here are a couple of reviews of her performance thus far:

Kathie Lee Back On The Morning Shift

Kathie Lee Gets Mixed Reviews

"More cutoffs than on a busy interstate in rush hour"

Breaking News... Genocide? Nope. Iraq War? Notta. A House on Fire in Oregon? Of course!

First of all... I am happy to report that Spud, a fellow blogger of TV News, is back up and running after taking a brief hiatus. Today, he was on "fire" about the decision of MSNBC to continually update its viewers on the status of a house on fire in Oregon.

He does a good job of analyzing the situation here. The bigger question that goes largely implied, but never really stated in this article is this: what qualifies as news on a cable network. I can guarantee you that if my house caught on fire, it would never make CNN, MSNBC, or FOX News. It would be lucky to make the local news.

Who is Kansas City's Funniest Meteorologist?

I informed you last week about a comedy show and contest going on in Kansas City trying to find out the funniest meteorologist in the metro. 4 meteorologists competed: Katie Horner, Carli Ritter, Bryan Busby, and Brett Anthony. So who is Kansas City's funniest meteorologist? You can listen and vote yourself.

Go here to listen and vote. I was pleasantly surprised at the ability of all 4.

To Break Into Programming Or Not... That Is The Question

With the recent severe weather and flooding across many parts of the Show-Me State, one has to ponder exactly when and how the decision is made to break into programming. Some times the decision is easy. Take the May 4, 2003, and January 2008 tornado outbreaks for example. When tornadoes are on the ground and causing major damage it is easy to make the decision to preempt MUST SEE TV or CSI Night or whatever show might happen to be on.

Monday's severe weather episode is much trickier. Many of the storms that weren't actually tornado warned spawned tornadoes. When should local tv meteorologists jump in front of the camera and warn viewers? Is it ever a waste of time? I know what my personal thoughts are on this subject, but that isn't the point of this post. What do you think?

Breaking News... Rita Cosby Lands Show on CNN

BREAKING NOW...

The Huffinton Post is reporting that CNN will annouce tomorrow that Rita Cosby will begin hosting a one hour long weekend show Saturday and Sunday evenings on CNN @ 8 p.m. eastern. The show is likely to be titled "Around The World w/ Rita". The move comes as quite a shock to the cable news community who figured that Rita Cosby would have no more future in cable news after she was let go from MSNBC, the 3rd rated cable news network.


Wolf Blitzer was quoted as saying: "Rita Cosby is a tremendous anchor that gets the big interviews. She will be a welcome edition to CNN."


Fox News Host Bill O'Reilly immediately pointed out Cosby's left-leaning tendencies on his show The O'Reilly Factor and asked viewers to boycott all products advertised during her show.


No word yet on whether or not Keith Olbermann will name me one the worst people in the world alongside Rita Cosby for posting a fake news article and wishing everyone a happy april fools.