by Larry Mendte
Local news more and more is becoming about marketing and less about the news.
News managers judge a newscast and all its parts, not by the quality of the journalism or the clarity of performance, but by the numbers it gets the next day. Ratings and revenue have become the sole measures of success.
There was a day when you would never hear terms like "women demographics, "tie-in" or "highly promotable" during a news meeting. Now those terms dominate the discussion. "Topics" are discussed, not stories. Because topics are something you can promote; stories take too long to explain. And since stories are no longer important, reporters must keep them between one minute and a minute ten, barely enough time to get the who, what, why and when in - forget how.
Politics and issues? Too boring and too complicated. Just show me the polls, make it a horse race, and move on to the great video of that dog rescued from the flood waters. Forget the homes and the people - show me the dog.
Topics and video. Video and topics. Fad diets and fires. Car chases and the new disease to scare the bejeesus out of you.
There is no news in the news anymore, let alone quality storytelling.
That is why the Emmy awards are important, especially in this climate. There must be a standard of excellence and right now awards like the Emmys are all we've got. I would always want to work on a report or a special with editors, photographers and producers who wanted to win an Emmy because I knew quality and not the clock was on their minds.
The Emmys are certainly not a validation of work, but it is a celebration of a year's worth of excellence.
After the staccato images of gratuitous crime stories and weather coverage, the latest cosmetic surgery, specials that aren't special, deceptive teases and investigations that are anything but, one day a year is put aside to celebrate the exception to what has become the rule.
That night was last night in Philadelphia. Congratulations to all those who were nominated, who won and who support the local Emmy awards.
You are making a difference. _____________________________________________________________________________________
0 comments:
Post a Comment