The Outraged Liberal marvels at Channel 7 clamming up on such a juicy story about a high-powered nabob allegedly going berserk at Logan before getting to Channel 4's distressing lack of real interest in public safety - namely, its promo campaign for an upcoming report on killer sushi in Boston:
... [I]f this stuff is so bad for you, don't you have a journalistic responsibility to put the word out now, before people get sick and/or die?
Think they'll just ride off into the sunset, though?
The Outraged Liberal, himself a recovering journalist, explains why this should matter beyond not having a familiar face on the tube every night:
Meanwhile, Amy Derjue catches Herald Honcho Kevin Convey chanting "We're number 2! We're number 2!" because the latest Metro audit numbers show the freebie now has a smaller circulation than the Herald. Which, given that it's given out for free, might seem hard to do.
After yesterday's shooting/standoff up the street from us, here's my new news hierarchy:
First, check Channel 4 and Wicked Local (the latter is where I first read about the shootings). Chances are, they'll have the news first (however, Wicked Local only covers Roslindale, West Roxbury and Allston/Brighton).
The next day, check the Herald. They'll likely have photos and a lot of details (in this case, the more seriously injured person's name - which the paper got from his grandmother - and details about the SWAT team being called in).
Then, if you're really bored, check the Globe, where, if you're lucky, you'll get a desultory story that reads as if the reporter never even left his desk.
D.R. is a regular listener:
... Listening to Rea requires intelligence - the intelligence to understand that not everyone agrees with your view, the intelligence to recognize that people of good will can come to different conclusions. Rea panders not to the lowest common denominator, but to the highest common denominator - and that quality will make him an iconic figure in Boston talk radio. ...
Over the past year or so, Channel 4 has gotten wicked good at breaking certain kinds of local stories - if there's a fire in a T tunnel or a bad crash on I-93, you can rely on their Web site to have it first. And then there's this, posted today:
Tom Brady & Gisele Caught On Tape 'Hooking Up'?
By David Robichaud. David Robichaud? Wait, isn't he a real reporter? Who gets paid and everything? A lot? The Web version of the story ends:
Is there something more you would like us to know about this story? Do you have a news tip to share with WBZ?
Yes, there is something more I would like you to know about this story. IT SUCKS.
Channel 4 breaks the news: A New England Patriots cheerleader is featured in this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Stupor Tuesday? Tom Menino in a Giants uniform? All because Menino wants to come up with a plan to keep drunken college students from going on a rampage IF the Patriots win?
Also, WBZ 1030? That poll about whether Bostonians would rather go to a Patriots rally or vote on Tuesday? What drugs did you take when you came up with that? It's not like it's really an either/or thing, unless, of course, there are no police present, because Menino stupidly decides the Herald is right and rips up his police plan and the rally becomes the parade out of the first Batman/Joker movie (you know, the one with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson) and thousands of terrified office workers can't get home to vote because they're trapped in a murderous downtown hellhole by hundreds of marauding, angel-dust encrusted drunken college students.
Just sign me,
Curmudgeon for a Day.
Via Skadz:
Steve Garfield, meanwhile, practiced journalism by walking around and says he was very impressed with Channel 4's online/on-air efforts on primary night, which included an online chat room:
... They were broadcasting on TV38 throughout the night, with a live text chat for viewers to talk with the anchors. First time I've ever seen this in Boston. It was groundbreaking for Boston TV to have on air anchors text chatting with viewers. BZ even had a segment where the anchors read some of hte chat comments on the air. ...
He does have some suggestions for improvement.
Tai Irwin is pissed at the state of local radio journalism in general, but in particular as practiced on the Traffic on the 3s station last night:
Dan Kennedy watches in slackjawed amazement as WBZ-TV "news" broadcasts a 2-minute paean to a CBS-branded sports bar being built at Gillette Stadium:
... You know that little plug the Boston Globe gave to a Red Sox DVD that its corporate cousin NESN produced and that I poked fun at? I take it back. Not a problem. Not when a network-affiliate newscast broadcasts a two-minute commercial for a bar that its parent company is opening. I'd rather drink alone.
Last night, at the end of the 11 o'clock newscast, Jack Williams answered viewer e-mail. One was from a woman who wondered why the TV crews went berserk covering that Needham murder but don't seem to show a similar amount of urgency in covering murders in inner-city Boston.
Williams, in that stentorian voice of his, said Channel 4 went into Crisis Emergency Mode because Needham schools were locked down and the station will always play up any story involving a possible public-safety issue.
The Globe has activated its Severe Weather Cliche Command Center to warn us that Hurricane Noel is "churning" up the East Coast and is expected to "pummel" Cape Cod and the Islands, where mariners are even now "bracing" for high seas and "scrambling" to secure boats.
Tons of links to audio and interviews of longtime WBZ overnight host Larry Glick.
NOTE: In the days after I posted this, somebody posted replies alleging that this was, in fact, a murder, and pointing to specific people as the suspects. I'm not the police and have no way to gauge the truth of the allegations, so I've taken them offline in case they are not true.
Bruce Allen discusses that Manny quote (you know the one, the one that's been repeated about 67,000 times already) and why all it proves is that Manny should never talk to the media again.
And speaking of TV reporters making the jump to radio, let's not forget David Boeri on WBUR.
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