From a sage TV media observer who knows a few things...
The big problem is KTVU starts with the assumption that the people that actually do the job on a daily basis know nothing, hence the need for consultants. That explains a lot of why local news in is the dumper. Trash the model, then blame employee headcount for the loss in revenue that is sure to follow. The new news director is taking a template of failure and running with it. Amazing that a tribute to YouTube like KRON can beat any station, much less KTVU. But it has come to that. Rather than even taking into account quality of content, they are focused on the nonsense like graphics and story count. Sizzle is useless when the steak has become the sole of an old Bass Weejun loafer.
This post makes me think of a story I heard in college: In the Soviet Union car manufacturers received incentives based upon the weight of their cars -- thus the cars were sh*t but hey they certainly weighed a lot. Is this what KTVU is doing by counting the # of stories rather than the quality? The news product may be sh*t but we got a lot of it!
ReplyDeleteThe story counts are only really high during the morning newscasts, and they do it to make sure the show is fast-paced. People don't want in-depth news in the morning. They're busy getting themselves ready for work, and the kids ready for school. The just want to know the important stories of the day, if traffic is bad, and if they need a jacket, or umbrella.
ReplyDeleteDig back twelve-fifteen years. Packages used to run over 2:30. Now they rarely go over a minute-twenty. And I mean the Ten O'Clock. I don't watch in the mornings.
DeleteActually no. Story count is mandated from COX in Atlanta, which literally looks at each and every newscast to make sure they stay with the story count. Which explains why you get so many crap stories with a map of Salinas about some who cares nonfatal stabbing incident or minor drug bust. Packages can not under any circumstances run more than 1:30 second with anchor lead in. This means some of the best journalists in the Bay Area can't tell the sorts of stories that anyone wants to watch.
DeleteThe Morning News show sucks because they still have that LA drama queen Dave Clark as a anchor. Dump that clown and move Mike Mibach into that slot. The show would improve just like that. And get rid of that dumb sign off "thank you for trusting KTVU". Lame
ReplyDeleteCh 2...the cheap, all you can eat buffet of local news. Ummm, more starch please : )
ReplyDeleteI worked once for the then-advertising agency that did KTVU's ads. After legendary news director Fred Zehnder retired, the suits told our agency's owner they were going to really take over now (the new news director, Andrew Finlayson, was and is a sock puppet) and that Fred, who built the station from the ground up and hired all those great reporters (Vacar, Williams, Fowler, MacKenzie, etc.) was "just lucky." They were going to do better now that he was out of the way, they said. Flash forward not too many years. Yeah, right. But the people in suits still think they know something. They couldn't run their daughters' lemonade stands.
ReplyDeleteOff this subject, but did anybody listen to 910 today? I did for 15 minutes and had to turn the dial. Joel Riddell and someone else named Corey(???) Don't know how it went after 15 minutes, but the first 15 were ridiculous. Talking nonsense to each other -- about a crying kid at Starbucks who was humored by the clerk and stopped crying, about getting a driver's license at the DMV and I forget what else.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Gil's format of no callers, but at least what he (and Frosty and Ed Baxter) does has informational value. Today was a total mess.
Joel Riddell's voice grates me in the worst kind of way. Hearing him on the radio is like having a bad case of jock itch. With that said I tuned Gross out months ago, the final nail in the coffin was Rhoda's permanent spot on Fridays. Talk about grating voices! Hers hives me hives
DeleteI have 2 Rules Rule 1 Never eat anything made in Union City. Rule 2 never trust a Radio Talk Show with more than one Host.
DeleteI don't understand why anyone listens to "consultants." They're telling you what you were doing is all wrong. Well, who in all likelihood told you to do those things? Consultants. Who will you hire when things go out of whack again? Consultants. So if they were wrong in the past and they will be wrong in the future, why should I believe they will be right in the present?
ReplyDeleteActually, though, I *do* know why people listen to them. No New Director ever lost his job for following consultants. In a way, they're the perfect people for a skittish manager because they are the ones who get blamed and you are saved. THAT'S why everyone listens to consultants. They're great whipping boys and they don't work for the station, so they are relatively safe. You just did you job be listening to these experts, so you are relatively safe too. And the news continues down its road of glorious mediocrity.
Still Radio, but off topic. When is Gil Gross coming back? I appreciate him a lot more after this week of varying hosts. Some hosts had a good way of talking to the listeners, but lacked a strong radio voice, others had the requisite voice of resonance, but lacked fluid articulation. That job of running one's mouth for a living is probably not as easy as it first looks. Hopefully, Gil returns by Tuesday. I just hope he is done re-playing that radio ad he does with his wife, the one where he brings up "Non-Severance-Delivery, where the cord is allowed to drop away on its' own. I don't want to hear her say "Uhhhggghh!!!" in disgust ever again.
ReplyDeleteHas to be better than a Sweet Jack Spot Or Del Olson and his Rhino Shield
ReplyDelete