USA Today on this sorry business

[Pringle]

The poor TV and radio people are beside themselves trying to figure out what they're going to do without good newspapers to read the news out of.

Boo hoo:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2007-03-11-media-mix_N.htm?csp=34

That being said, this is just another sign to run for the hills from journalism.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

The poor TV and radio people are beside themselves trying to figure out what they're going to do without good newspapers to read the news out of.

Don't they have printers?

 

[Pringle]

The poor TV and radio people are beside themselves trying to figure out what they're going to do without good newspapers to read the news out of.

Don't they have printers?

I think the point is that if newspapers aren't as good (with less resources), they won't have as much good stuff to rail about.

 

[Editude]

In my first real job, at a radio station, I desperately needed the local rag to hit the driveway before the sun rose so I could get started on the morning newscast. It's not quite the same to rip and read some random blog.

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

In recent years, because of their own cutbacks, radio and television "have increasingly been relying on newspapers and wire services to do their newsgathering for them," Rosenstiel says.

This is just great.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

I think Rosenstiel is completely wrong.

I've worked in TV/radio for 13 years. Never have I seen less emphasis on newspapers than I do now. TV/radio is hiring more reporters than ever and expecting more from them.

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

I have to admit, the image of TV and radio guys pounding their fists on the table and hanging their heads because they can't read the newspaper on the air makes for a great punchline. And believe me, in the relatively small market where I work, it's something that happens all the time, especially with radio guys.

There is, after all a huge difference between the CBC and the average network affiliate or local sports talk radio show.

 

[Starman]

The poor TV and radio people are beside themselves trying to figure out what they're going to do without good newspapers to read the news out of.

Boo hoo:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2007-03-11-media-mix_N.htm?csp=34

That being said, this is just another sign to run for the hills from journalism.

Thanks a lot. USA Today itself was one of the biggest root causes of the fundamental problem.

 

[jambalaya]

In recent years, because of their own cutbacks, radio and television "have increasingly been relying on newspapers and wire services to do their newsgathering for them," Rosenstiel says.

This is just great.

I've always thought this was the norm.

Am I wrong?

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

It's obviously a cliche among newspaper folks about the on-air folks. It does a disservice to a lot of very good TV people.

It's true there are a lot of useless walking haircuts working at the TV stations in my area. But there are also a lot of lazy good-for-nothing hacks working at the newspapers in my area.

 

[Taylee]

I have to admit, the image of TV and radio guys pounding their fists on the table and hanging their heads because they can't read the newspaper on the air makes for a great punchline. And believe me, in the relatively small market where I work, it's something that happens all the time, especially with radio guys.

There is, after all a huge difference between the CBC and the average network affiliate or local sports talk radio show.

I live in a major metro and when the guy gives the morning sports updates, you'd swear he was on the ****ter reading the paper. He gives info as it's presented in the paper, quotes too. This isn't a news station giving sports updates. It's the sports station. The Fan. The Ticket. The Homer. Whatever its name is.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

Long time ago I was working in a medium market, I think about 600,000 people including suburbs at the time. One of the TV sports anchors used to call us asking for high school scores. SE finally says don't call here again, we're busy, you can pay people to call in the scores like we do and you can pay people to take the scores in the office like we do, so **** off. Guy keeps calling, trying to disguise his voice. SE says next time, give him the scores, but give all of them wrong. We did, and he never called again.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

I might have to delete my own post, but as a former print guy now in broadcast, I get sick of the print people thinking they are the last virgins in journalism.

Yes, there are some lazy broadcast people out there. Very lazy. But, there are some very, very smart news & sports directors in radio and TV who recognize now that they have to be faster and they have to be accurate. It's not only at the CBC, wingman. It's everywhere. We are expected to be better, and that's the way it should be.

 

[Dan Rydell]

Great story, Frank...........And great move by the SE.

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

I might have to delete my own post, but as a former print guy now in broadcast, I get sick of the print people thinking they are the last virgins in journalism.

Yes, there are some lazy broadcast people out there. Very lazy. But, there are some very, very smart news & sports directors in radio and TV who recognize now that they have to be faster and they have to be accurate. It's not only at the CBC, wingman. It's everywhere. We are expected to be better, and that's the way it should be.

Great points. And anybody who says there aren't hardworking, news-breaking people in TV and radio is an idiot.

But -- and I say this with great respect, because you're a much more accomplished journalist than me -- the fact remains that there aren't very many newspapers who get all their information from the local TV station.

There are a LOT of TV and radio stations whose newsgathering consists of examining that day's local paper and skimming USA Today.

 

[Ellis Redding]

I might have to delete my own post, but as a former print guy now in broadcast, I get sick of the print people thinking they are the last virgins in journalism.

Yes, there are some lazy broadcast people out there. Very lazy. But, there are some very, very smart news & sports directors in radio and TV who recognize now that they have to be faster and they have to be accurate. It's not only at the CBC, wingman. It's everywhere. We are expected to be better, and that's the way it should be.

Great points. And anybody who says there aren't hardworking, news-breaking people in TV and radio is an idiot.

But -- and I say this with great respect, because you're a much more accomplished journalist than me -- the fact remains that there aren't very many newspapers who get all their information from the local TV station.

There are a LOT of TV and radio stations whose newsgathering consists of examining that day's local paper and skimming USA Today.

Our paper and a local affiliate are owned by the same company, so we're constantly hit upon for "convergence." Most of the time, that means doing stuff for the TV station with nothing in return. But they're good people over there and they do work hard to get their own stuff. However, I can't say the same for one of the other affiliates, which several times has been caught flat-out lifting features from our sports section (stuff they couldn't have gotten anywhere else). Our ME wrote them a letter, no response. He wrote a column on it. No response. They still do it, and there is no recourse. One of us steals something from another paper without attribution, and we're pilloried (and rightfully so). TV or radio steals from papers, and it's ignored. Why is this?

 

[Clever username]

It's obviously a cliche among newspaper folks about the on-air folks. It does a disservice to a lot of very good TV people.

It's true there are a lot of useless walking haircuts working at the TV stations in my area. But there are also a lot of lazy good-for-nothing hacks working at the newspapers in my area.

Hey, I don't work in your area.

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

But you look so familiar...

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Starman had a great story about this.

 

[SixToe]

the fact remains that there aren't very many newspapers who get all their information from the local TV station.

Are there any who do?