Media Rant Ahead...

It's been awhile since I've done a journalism related post, but I just have to vent.
And considering the title of my blog and the decade I spent as part of the media, I feel like I need to express something.

I'm sick to death of all the self promotion "journalists" are doing these days.
It's not about how many people read your blog. It's not about how many people follow you on twitter. It's not a contest to see how many tweets or Facebook posts you can do in a 24 hour period. It's about REPORTING THE NEWS.

And you know what? If it's not about reporting the news for you, then you're not a journalist.
Period.


I don't care what event you're M.C.'ing later on. I don't care what restaurant sneak preview you attended. (which ethically speaking, you're not supposed to attend anyway, because you're not supposed to get free stuff. It's called payola. And I'm guessing that most of those free drinks/appetizers/meals for you and your date add up to way more than $25... the usual limit.)
I might care about what story you're working on... but even then... keep your opinion out of it. Just tell me what the story is and when to watch.

I know, I know, you need to get viewers, readers, listeners, whatever. How about this... do your job well and people will watch. I don't want to follow you on Twitter. I don't want a tease for what story you're working on for tonight on my Facebook status updates. I don't want to see call-outs to @whoever. (I assume this is a twitter thing, but since I flat out refuse to follow the herd to this site, I wouldn't know for certain. All I know is that a plethora of my media pals feel the need to do these things.


And the sad part to me is that we as a society seem to be eating this up. Why? Why? Why? I don't get it!

Don't get me wrong. I think technology has the potential to greatly enhance reporting. I love that stations post extended interviews or raw video on their websites.

But reporters and anchors aren't supposed to show their bias. They are not supposed to publicly state opinions. When they do... lines are crossed. Respect is lost. Trust is lost.

If you want to have a blog, fine. If you want to Twitter or Facebook, fine. If you feel the need to express yourself, create personal blogs separate from your TV/newspaper persona.

And please, for the love of all that is decent, don't spend valuable airtime/page space promoting it.

Raising the Bar

I feel like I've raised my own intellectual bar the last couple of weeks. In my old job, I had to scan many local news websites, including the small community newspapers here, looking for stories of relevance to the non-profit organization I worked for... either about us or about our industry. It helped feed my need for news while keeping me informed about the industry in which I worked. Over lunch, I would then peruse People.com or UsMagazine.com. Guilty pleasures, but not exactly stimulating.

Now that I've changed jobs I've had to adjust my reading material. Once or twice a week I will have to prepare headline reports for executives, which means I REALLY need to understand my new industry (retail) and what would interest these executives. So now I'm reading the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Women's Wear Daily, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, LA Times... all online of course. But I'm absolutely wallowing in these publications like a pig in mud. It feels so good to be on top of current events again and be reading these hallowed publications. I feel smarter reading these.

The new job is challenging me on an intellectual level. I want to learn everything about my new company so I can represent it well. I need to be an expert on it, after all. I'll be representing the company in media interviews eventually, so I need to know my stuff (er... their stuff). I'm getting more excited the more comfortable I'm getting with my team. I still have a long way to go in terms of getting up to speed, but I'm definitely off to a good start!

More on Russert

I borrowed this quote from CBS...

CBS offers this quote from Walter Cronkite:

“Broadcast journalism lost one of its greats today. Tim Russert was a giant in our field – a standard-bearer of journalistic integrity and ethics. His masterful interviews and round-table discussions are legendary. This is a tragic loss for journalism and for all who were privileged to know him.”

Russert was just fair. He was Catholic, but he never let his religion get in the way of his reporting. He did his homework, as every good jounalist should. He asked the right questions, demanded answers, and never backed down. He did all of this in a way that never angered his guests. He treated them with the utmost respect. Tim came to Milwaukee to shoot an episode of meet the press the weekend that my station hosted a Presidential debate in 2004. Non-essential employees were not allowed to hang around (I was considered non-essential, but man was I dying to attend the taping!) so I never got to meet him. But I heard he was so gracious to everyone who came in that day.

Above everything else, he was a husband, father, and son. My deepest condolences to his family, and his extended family at NBC. Young journalists, and young people in general can look to the man as an example both personally and professionally.

My Newsroom Home

For 10 years, my home was in the newsroom. It was a noisey place, with police scanners, computers "ding-ing" with instant messages and wire service alerts. Oh, and the constantly ringing phones and network squawk boxes also contributed to the cacophony.

It was inhabited by quite a wiley cast of characters, that’s for sure.
There were anchors of all sorts (the dad type, the mom type, the cool older sister, the naughty cousin, the gay uncle, the surly jaded uncle who no one wants to claim.)

The reporters were more like siblings. Some desperate for attention. Some so bent on success they could barely remember your name. Some brilliant, they were the ones who made you really proud. Others were friends you wouldn’t want to live without.

The producers were my people. We had no desire to be on-camera, we just wanted to make news. We worked hard together, forged strong bonds, drank too much, stayed up too late (or too early depending on the shift). We saw each other through bad relationships and good ones, holidays away from our real families, and created our own little version of home with each other.

I had two newsroom homes. One in Davenport, Iowa, the other right here in Milwaukee. I still keep in touch with friends from Davenport (we even convinced one couple to move here!) even though they have almost all moved on to other markets and careers. Since I left my newsroom home in Milwaukee, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well my family there has kept in touch with me. They saw me grow up there, during my 8 years as a news producer. I got engaged, got married, graduated from grad school, bought my first house, got a dog, and had my first baby… all with their support and encouragement. When I go back to that newsroom now that I’m on the other side (in Public Relations) it still feels like I’m going home. I hope I’m always welcome there.

Epitaph Vs. Epithet

This is a grammar lesson for all reporters, wanna be reporters, and writers out there.

THE WORD IS EPITHET... SOMEONE USES A RACIAL EPITHET, NOT A RACIAL EPITAPH.
Actually, NO ONE should use racial epithets, but if you're going to refer to them in your story, you might as well use the right terminology.
See the definitions below... you'll understand. This is what prompted this missive.

ep·i·thet
–noun
1. any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality: “Richard the Lion-Hearted” is an epithet of Richard I.
2. a characterizing word or phrase firmly associated with a person or thing and often used in place of an actual name, title, or the like, as “man's best friend” for “dog.”
3. a word, phrase, or expression used invectively as a term of abuse or contempt, to express hostility, etc.

ep·i·taph
–noun
1. a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.
2. a brief poem or other writing in praise of a deceased person. –verb (used with object)
3. to commemorate in or with an epitaph.

The news bug… I’ve still got it.

I haven’t lost my taste for news, and I hope I never do. Today while driving back from an appointment during my work day, I saw all three TV news helicopters hovering over downtown Milwaukee. My first instinct was “Breaking NEWS!!!! What’s going on I have to know!!” So I tuned my radio to the low-power station that the local Fox affiliate broadcasts over… nothing by TMZ-TV. Blech! I turned on the AM station that is run by the same company as the NBC station… talk radio with no interruptions. Darn it!!! I had to know what was going on. Was is a car accident? Hostage situation? Marquette Interchange construction disaster? Building on fire? Streaker running down Wisconsin Avenue? It was driving me nuts… a short trip, but one worth taking!

The battery in my phone (which isn’t a blackberry, but essentially is… it’s a MotoQ) was dying so I couldn’t check email or try to log onto a news station website. So I started racking my brain… what is going on today? I watched the news last night, listened to the news on the radio this morning. It finally hit me! Day Without Latinos march! Traffic was tied up all over Downtown while the people marched. Nothing like a good demonstration to get the old news juices flowing again!

Ridiculous Titles for TV News Coverage

I saw an example of bad judgement today on the news. Sensationalism at its worst. The murder of a local bartender was presented with graphics that read "Cold Blooded Murder." Give me a break. Aren’t most murders, by definition, cold blooded?

It’s redundant. Someone doesn’t just walk around with warm fuzzies and gun another person down, do they? Same goes for “terrible tragedy.” When was the last time you heard of a wonderful tragedy?

Sometimes clichés or redundancies get into a news script because you are pressed for time and don’t have time to seek them out and fix them. But trying to label news coverage with sensational titles is just irresponsible. A good rule of thumb is... if you are struggling to give something a title, maybe it doesn’t need one. “Bartender Murdered” may sound boring, but it tells the story, it’s easy to write to, and it won’t be outdated. Managers will sit in an office and rack their brains trying to figure out a title for coverage, but often there’s no thought given to how easy it will be to write that title into the coverage. They seek input from other members of the news team for titles, then shoot down the most obvious ones that will work in favor of awkwardly worded sensational junk.

I can count the number of times my suggestions for titles of coverage were actually used on one hand. I hope eventually stations will see that those over-the-top titles only turn viewers off.

Voter Turnout is a Joke

35% voter turnout for the primary? Are you kidding me? And we’re excited and proud of this?

We are a nation at war, whether you support it or not. We live in one of the most heavily taxed states (and despite those taxes have really crummy roads, which should be repaired with some of that money). It is a presidential election year. Every able-bodied person who CAN vote SHOULD!!! It’s our civic duty. Our country was founded with the intent of creating a government elected FOR the people BY THE PEOPLE! Hello? Anyone listening? The people that refers to… that’s US!

There are few excuses for not voting.

Can’t get to the polls? I believe there’s a hotline you can call for a ride. Most political parties will drive people to the polls.

No time to vote? The polls in Wisconsin are open from 7AM to 8PM. You make time for what’s important. Or vote absentee.

Don't know where you need to go to vote? Call the election commission in the municipality in which you live. Or call City Hall. They'll point you in the right direction.

Think your vote doesn’t count? In the past few years there have been a number of local contests that have been decided by just a few votes.

Don’t want to drag the kids? I can understand that to a point, but you’re setting an example by taking them with you to vote. One of my most vivid memories is my mom taking my younger brother and I with her to vote at the polling place at Cottage Hospital in Galesburg, Illinois. I remember how cool it felt to go into the voting booth (which was fitted with red, white, and blue striped curtains), closing the curtains, and watching my mom punch the ballot. I asked her lots of questions. I must have been in grade school at that point. That experience left an impression on me. My siblings and I all were super-excited to be able to vote when we turned 18. I think I’ve missed one election since then… and it was a really small local primary. And I felt bad about it for weeks.

I don’t care which political party or candidate you support. That’s your business not mine. And notice, ever the journalist, I kept my own personal politics out of it! That’s my business, not yours! Voting is a right and a duty that our forefathers and foremothers fought for. You have no right to complain about the government or the state of this country unless you get out there and vote. So remember this as the campaign season continues. When October rolls around, cast your vote absentee if you think you can’t make it to the polls. Call your friends, family, neighbors, whoever and see if they need a ride to the polls. Remind all your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers to vote.

I’m on a mission to get the voter turnout percentage up to a respectable number. I hope you’ll join me.

Center of the Political Universe

Wisconsin is at the center of the political universe today with the primary. Actually, it's been the center for about a week now. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Mike Huckabee have all spent a good deal of time touring the dairy state this past week. I hope they enjoyed the stay. Wisconsin is a pretty great state!

I must admit it feels weird to be out of the media loop this primary. I know I keep saying the same thing over and over. I sound like a broken record. There’s this weird camaraderie in TV news to begin with, or at least there was at my station. That feeling gets more intense on election night.

The group of producers that I worked with had known each other for so long that we developed this shorthand. I knew that Gary liked to break the tension with movie lines (mainly from “Office Space” and “Animal House”) and occasionally with lines from Beatles songs.
I knew that a picture of a Panda or a really cute dog would cheer Erin up… although candy usually worked too. And a good dirty joke always won Rob over. Amy and I relieved stress by cruising the celebrity trash websites for dirt on our favorite stars. Sometimes we needed to toss a Nerf football. Sometimes we needed to take a walk back to the art department.

As random emails from my former co-workers appeared in my inbox throughout the day (Erin left the “election theme music” on my voicemail!!!! hilarious!) I realized I was missing out on that excitement. I don’t miss working till god-knows-when, but I do miss being “in the know.” I miss stalking the wires for the latest returns. I miss coordinating live shots in the control room. Producing the perfect election cut-in, praying there would be results to show. I miss yelling at people in the stress of the moment, and knowing that later things will be okay, because things said under deadline stress don’t count.

I really felt like I was part of the democratic process on election night. It was a pretty cool job, and I'm glad to know that I got to be part of the process for a decade. I'm also glad I've moved on and found a job doing something I feel good about, that I enjoy, and that allows me more time with my family.

Missing the Rush

The NIU shooting story caught my attention today, for obvious reasons. It's a sad story, but it made me really miss news for a brief moment. When there are big breaking national stories like that, newsrooms have access to many different wires services that provide you with tons of information. Not being able to access that information was frustrating today. Since Illinois is my home state I was particularly interested in the story. It really made me miss my old job, if only for a minute.

I'm in a Journalist's Hell

It's Super Tuesday, and my DirecTV is OUT!!! "AUGH!!!" to quote Charlie Brown.

It's very odd to be out of the media in an election year as big as this one.

(I know... finally a post about the media. The title of the blog finally comes full circle.)

For the most part, I haven't missed the craziness of my former station. I miss the people. I'm a know-it-all, so I missing knowing every detail about every story. But I don't miss the stress. I don't miss the egos. I don't miss the Monday Morning quarterbacking of the managers (i.e. coming up to you after your show and questioning your lead, when the lead hadn't changed in the 4 hours before the show aired).

But I'm going to miss working election night. True, it always posed a child-care challenge. But election nights really made me feel good about my job. It was so cool waiting for the results to come in knowing we could be wating history in the making. Watching the acceptance and concession speeches, listening for just the right soundbite, then yanking a tape from a machine, racing back to the edit bays to tell the editors "I know exactly where the in- and out-points are." It was really a rush.

It's especially odd for me, because this time, my old anchor is now working for the competition. It's great form him. He is a Journalist... with a big J. I strove to be a big J journalist. Now he's doing political reporting for the competition. It's a great fit for him... as our stations was headed about as far away from Big J Journalism as you could get.

"Explosive investigation!"

"The food you eat could kill you!"

"The food you eat could prevent death!"

"More exclamation points!!!!!"

But now I can't even watch Super Tuesday coverage (mainly to see who survives, and to see how much of an impact the very late Wisconsin primary will have, if any) because of the snow storm! I'm sure tomorrow all the stations will all be in wall-to-wall coverage of the 18-24 inches of White Death we're supposed to get tonight. Okay, I don't miss over-hyped weather coverage either, even though I know and understand how much it can drive up ratings.

This media mom will just have to get her news from the internet tonight.