Local TV news going downhill?

[mr.jaynes]

There are some who allege that news is tilted to the left, others who feel that news tilts rightward. Some allege that news tilts to whatever the prevailing ideology is in charge of the country at any given time. Others allege that there is no bias at all. All sides make good, fact-based arguments for their position.

I somewhat lean towards a no-bias position, but am moving beyond that to another position. To wit, it's not even a matter of bias. For me, local and even national news in any market or outlet seems driven by sensationalism, and said sensationalism always tends toward what news (or what passes for it these days) is coming out of Hollyweird.

In 2007, we've been inundated with the Anna Nicole Smith-Lindsay Lohan-Britney Spears-Paris Hilton stories that seem to be treated with importance equal to the Iraq War and the Gulf States' recovery after Hurricane Katrina. And I think that news in general has become more tabloidized over the years.

By the way, did anyone catch Brian Williams on Saturday Night Live last night?

[Ibanez]

Local news is terrible...but as long as Natalie Sentz is still on KJRH I will continue to watch.

[mr.jaynes]

quote:Originally posted by wavoka

Local news is terrible...but as long as Natalie Sentz is still on KJRH I will continue to watch.

Who is Natalie Sentz?

[Ibanez]

quote:Originally posted by mr.jaynes

quote:Originally posted by wavoka

Local news is terrible...but as long as Natalie Sentz is still on KJRH I will continue to watch.

Who is Natalie Sentz?

The picture doesn't do her justice.

I've met her a couple of times out in public and she is beautiful.

The love of my life. Just don't tell my wife.

[mr.jaynes]

quote:Originally posted by wavoka

quote:Originally posted by mr.jaynes

quote:Originally posted by wavoka

Local news is terrible...but as long as Natalie Sentz is still on KJRH I will continue to watch.

Who is Natalie Sentz?

The picture doesn't do her justice.

I've met her a couple of times out in public and she is beautiful.

The love of my life. Just don't tell my wife.

Ever notice whenever you see your local TV people out in public and they just seem different somehow?

[Kashmir]

In the summer we were food shopping at Wally mart.  We were on the bread aisle and Mr. Kashmir says "OMIGOD, LOOK!"  It was Lori Fullbright from channel 6 looking at the wonder bread.  I said "WHAT??" and he said "Look, they have the cheddar jalapeno totillas!!!"  (he had been searching madly for them for a while...and didn't notice Lori.)  Unfortunately, Lori saw the whole freak out over tortillas and probably thinks we are real freaks.
LOL!

[mr.jaynes]

quote:Originally posted by Kashmir

In the summer we were food shopping at Wally mart.  We were on the bread aisle and Mr. Kashmir says "OMIGOD, LOOK!"  It was Lori Fullbright from channel 6 looking at the wonder bread.  I said "WHAT??" and he said "Look, they have the cheddar jalapeno totillas!!!"  (he had been searching madly for them for a while...and didn't notice Lori.)  Unfortunately, Lori saw the whole freak out over tortillas and probably thinks we are real freaks.
LOL!

And Lori Fulbright is...?

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc

B/c I don't watch TV news, I'm always shocked by the stupidity when I see it.  Local news is total crap.  If nothing bad happened that day, they find something hideous SOMEWHERE in the country to talk about (I thought it was supposed to be LOCAL news!  Not national fearmongering...).  They also go out of their way to create some "fear" that you should have.  ("Is your snack food killing you?!")

All it does is cause fear among people and perpetuate the myth that the world is dangerous and all people are bad..."horrible things are happening everywhere and no one is safe!"  "Your neighbor might be a child molester!"  "Radon gas kills Kentucky family!" (or whatever).

What goes unreported every day is that several hundred thousand people went about their business, safe and unmolested.  Neighbors helped each other.  People smiled at one another, and laughed together.  Strangers were kind.  Thousands volunteered their time all over town.  Folks in grocery lines let others jump ahead.  Kids fell off their bikes and total strangers stopped to offer comfort and first aid.

Whenever there's a disaster, we're always amazed at how many people respond, and how many people want to help.  We shouldn't be amazed.  People do inspiring, kind, and generous things every single day...it just doesn't make the news.

I'm guessing you and I are fairly close enough in age where you might remember when news was exactly that- news.  It's in the last 25 years it's become a form of entertainment with multiple news outlets on cable and satellite, and infinite more places to find it on the web.

I guess demographic studies must show that people won't tune in for Pollyanna stories anymore, only blood, fear, and debauchery.

It's the ultimate in reality television (which I can't stand either).

[mr.jaynes]

"Dog bites man" stories don't seem to resonate as much as "Man bites dog" stories do.

[buck]

I agree Natalie Sentz is adorable. You just have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to see her. Channel 2 by far has the best looking female reporters.

[Alex]

What I don't get is why the station seems to refuse to put Natalie in the anchor chair or even let her sub in when one of the regular anchors is out.  And yet they list her as the fourth of the team in their promotions.  Clearly she is popular and she is good at what she does.  When they finally let her do a piece with personality like at the home and garden show or something not involving a car wreck or fire, she is even more adorable when she gets to smile and show her real self.  Now that Erin is off on maternity leave, I thought this was a perfect chance to let Natalie have a studio spot again.  I would tune in much more frequently if Natalie sat in the studio each morning and we saw more than 2 minutes of her.

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by mr.jaynes



By the way, did anyone catch Brian Williams on Saturday Night Live last night?

I did and he was absolutely fantastic, he was funny as all get out.  Almost as funny as Algore when he was on.

Here are Alexa.com rankings for Tulsa TV news sites: KOTV/104604; KTUL/189804; KJRH/336657; FOX23/392617

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by buck

I agree Natalie Sentz is adorable. You just have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to see her. Channel 2 by far has the best looking female reporters.

you said natalie sentz and butt crack...uhhuhuhuhuhuh...

What ever happened to Ohmydilly Nelson?

[mr.jaynes]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

quote:Originally posted by mr.jaynes



By the way, did anyone catch Brian Williams on Saturday Night Live last night?

I did and he was absolutely fantastic, he was funny as all get out.  Almost as funny as Algore when he was on.

Here are Alexa.com rankings for Tulsa TV news sites: KOTV/104604; KTUL/189804; KJRH/336657; FOX23/392617

Al Gore did a pretty good job when he'd hosted, just as Brian Williams did. When the host isn't necessarily an actor or isn't blatantly pushing a movie, it's always fun to watch. Not that I don't enjoy SNL, I do because as it's a tradition for me. It's just that I like to see all kinds of different hosts.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by mr.jaynes

"Dog bites man" stories don't seem to resonate as much as "Man bites dog" stories do.

It's propably more a factor of what piques viewer interest than some liberal-conservative agenda.
Take for example the report of a child molested in a Tulsa public school.  Is the story more about the crime, or the TPS spokeswoman who stormed out of the interview when confronted with questions implying that TPS was keeping it quiet?
http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1107/471112.html