Why I Hate Local TV News: Reason #4,321

Really, all four stations should combine and use one common tag line: “We Make Mountains Out of Molehills!”

All week, they’ve been trumpeting a planned protest against Oncor. Finally, yesterday, after daily publicity, the Great Protest occurs — and “almost a dozen” people show up. What does “almost a dozen” mean? Eleven? Ten? Ten and a small child? I give WFAA credit, though. Even when nothing came of it, they still had the cojones to run the story again. For which I can only say, it must have been a very sloooow news day. No wars, no health bill, no financial stress, nothing else much going on.

6 comments

  1. At least this is in the realm of a news story, though. I hate – and I mean hate with the passion of a thousand white hot suns – how there is always one not even well-disguised advertisement read from a teleprompter by one of the anchors every newscast now.

    @ 6:28 pm on March 19, 2010
  2. Bethany, can you give me an example? I do a newscast every night and in our two-hour newscast, there’s not one 1 ad that we disguise as news. If it’s a sponsored element, we say so….(true for sports, too, btw).

    @ 10:10 pm on March 20, 2010
  3. Bethany, does Wick still ignore your emails and comments even though you’re now an intern?

    @ 2:56 pm on March 21, 2010
  4. A protest isn’t a story until it actually takes place. Too many groups get publicity for announcing something that doesn’t happen.

    @ 9:17 am on March 22, 2010
  5. @ 7:46 pm on March 22, 2010
  6. This from Fake AP Stylebook: Characterize public meetings where no one shows up as “sparsely attended.” Describe half-full meetings as “standing room only.” 5:00 AM Mar 23rd via HootSuite

    I’ll bet HootSuite’s been to some school board meetings.

    @ 12:54 pm on March 27, 2010

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