Sunday, July 1, 2007

KMTV Has Shuttle Landing Covered

KMTV (Cox Channel 5) delivered Sunday afternoon on its promise to cover "breaking news" by being the only station to broadcast the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis, riding piggyback on a modified 747, at Offutt Air Force Base.

Action 3 News anchors Carol Wang and Carlo Cecchetto told viewers the media was only given two hours' notice that the 747 would land at Offutt Air Force Base. However, a thread on eomahaforums.com provided more than 36 hours' notice, as well as a phone number to call for the latest information.

eomahaforums.com also has an extensive gallery of photos shot in and around Offutt Air Force Base.

56 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats to 3. Obviously they were on the ball.

Anonymous said...

On a side note:

Sean, the black background is cool, but hard to read. Especially the blue font.

Anonymous said...

That's why they're Action Third News!

Anonymous said...

Who cares about LIVE coverage of the shuttle landing? Anyone that took time out of their Sunday to sit in front of their TV to see that crap needs to get a life.

Is the black background to remember John Clark?

Anonymous said...

This is really something. No matter what anyone says this is an important event in this area, as the most people around here will never get the chance to see the Shuttle on their home ground. Good job channel 3!

Anonymous said...

No one is saying it's not newsworthy....that's what the 10pm news is for...the point is that breaking into programming for LIVE coverage is stupid...offer it on the internet instead if you must

Anonymous said...

Sean, Unless this black background is in honor of John Clark (by all means leave it if it is) .. it is difficult to read some of the stuff of the words such as the archive

Anonymous said...

Good hustle by 3, but not worthy of breaking into coverage.

Anonymous said...

Whereas I do not watch Ch. Third on Sundays due to a lack of interest in infomercials - shouldn't your story read: "by being the only station to broadcast the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis [LIVE]"? All the stations broadcast the video of the landing at 10 PM.
Also, is it "breaking news" if you know that an airplane will land in two hours time? If this is the case, shouldn't Ms. Wang be on live right now telling us about the next Delta Airlink arrival out at Eppley?

Anonymous said...

Good hustle??? This isn't a basketball game.

Anonymous said...

Anyone else find it funny that when one of the stations, in this case it was channel 3, actually devotes some time and energy to local news coverage, they get criticized?

Anonymous said...

8:21 AM:

It just proves that the local stations in this town are damned if they do an damned if they don't. This was breaking news and should have been shown live. This was an important event that rarely happens, as was in evidence by the number of people that showed up to see the event. And no; I am not an employee of Channel 3. Again, good job Channel 3. Some of us out here support your efforts.

Anonymous said...

But that's the thing: people showed up for it...it was PLANNED...it wasn't breaking news...if I cared, I would have gone...or I would have watched it at 10pm or on the internet...but if I don't care then I still should be able to watch regularly scheduled programming

Anonymous said...

I would've watched it had I been in town... even if it was planned. It is a very rare, special event and I would've much rather have watched that than whatever crap was on on a Sunday afternoon in the summer. Not everyone can get there to see it, not everyone knows about it that far in advance for whatever reason and some people want to see it in its entirety, not just a VOSOT.

Anonymous said...

9:56 AM:

This about more than just what YOU want to watch. There were quite a number of people that did care, as evidenced by the people that DID turn out and those that were parked along the road behind the base viewing the shuttle with binoculars. Channel 3 did an excellent job with this.

Anonymous said...

9:56 AM, Cry me a river. Grow up.

Anonymous said...

I don't think it will matter much anyway, since TV viewership isn't very high on a Sunday afternoon, especially the weekend before the 4th.

I really like Jim Sidelickey's account of how he loaded up the family in the car, and found out you can't just drive up to the military base and get in. Simply amazing how 6 gets stupider and stupider by the day.

Anonymous said...

Too funny. You know he was saying to his kids, "Don't you worry. They'll let me in. I'm from Channel Six. If I play my cards right, they'll probably even give me a copy of the nuclear launch codes"

Anonymous said...

I heard that six did a story last night about some lady getting scammed for her social security number. They used her actual card with her number on the graphic that went on the air. They couldn't be that dumb? ...could they?

Anonymous said...

Hey, 4:21, unless you actually saw it - you couldn't be that dumb to comment on it?.. could you?

Anonymous said...

The black background ain't cool and it ain't easy to read. About 2 more days of this and I'm outta here. Sorry.

Unknown said...

FYI:

The site was "darkened" for 24 hours to acknowledge the death of WOWT News Director John Clark, who died Saturday.

Anonymous said...

All this horseshit proves is that what passes for breaking news in this cowtown is actually a breaking feature story.

Anonymous said...

i don't like ch 3.. but i was happy the broke in to show the event... this has a local connection... do you watch the news?

Anonymous said...

9:56 PM:

I've been in much larger markets and this would have been breaking news as well. I think you need to get out of Omaha once in awhile and check out some other larger markets.

Anonymous said...

I think the term "Breaking News" has been way too overused. When I have the tv on cable and I see the term breaking news on the screen I figure there must be some cute white woman missing in Florida. Not really breaking news.

Of course Ch. 3 should have broken in. Of course it was interesting and local if not overly newsworthy.

It only becomes "Breaking news" if the plane crashes.

Anonymous said...

The effort to show the shuttle piggy-back landing was newsworthy, but it was not "breaking news." However, anything KMTV does at this point is irrelevant. They are hopelessly in 3rd place (in some cases, tied with KPTM). As long as they continue with their current plan and team, KMTV will remain in the ratings dungeon. The ONLY way this will ever change is if Journal Broadcast Group completely cleans house, gets rid of any remnants of KMTV--including the call letters, and starts over from scratch. It's not that they don't have any talent at Action 3...it's just that anything and anyone currently there has become so tainted because of the legacy of a station that was left to die. May KMTV soon rest in peace and a new station be born...SOON!!!

Anonymous said...

According to www.breakingnews.com, "'breaking news' is news that is happening now." So for the people who think that this event wasn't "breaking news" or worthy of live coverage... there you go. I'm so sick and tired of the people on here giving definitive, WRONG answers on here as if they are the second coming of Christ. Again, there really is incredibly ignorant people in the Omaha market that think their OPINIONS are FACT. Perahps because Omaha is a small market where many don't have much experience is the explanation for having such morons...

Anonymous said...

Well said 9:21 AM. This was news. It seems as if the television industry in Omaha is damned if they do and damned if they don't. What do you people want, anyway? If they don't go out and chase the story you want to crucify them and if they do go out to chase a story you crucify them. You can't have it both ways people.

Anonymous said...

Hey does any body know who Michelle Leach is... The reporter Channel Sux hired about a month ago... She's terrible... Could somebody write and tell me where she came from?

Anonymous said...

Here's my problem with the "breaking news" moniker.

If everything is breaking news nothing is breaking news.

Breaking news should be used for important stories that would generate the viewers immediate attention.

Using your defintion at traffic jam at 90th and Dodge at 5PM is "Breaking News" I would suggest unless that traffic jam is caused by an overturned nuclear waiste truck it is not.

Anonymous said...

"Breaking news" only means it is happening at that exact moment. I think all news stations' mgmt. has to filter through what is newsworthy and what is not, whether or not it is "breaking news" or if the station mgmt. should break into regular programming.

Unknown said...

From the Friday, May 18 edition of the Omaha City Weekly:

New Reporter Hired at WOWT
WOWT's replacement for reporter Rebecca Kleeman is Michelle Leach. The Hastings native has previously worked at WEYI in Flint, Mich., at independent station "6 News Lawrence" in Lawrence, Kan., and at NTV-ABC in Kearney.

Anonymous said...

Was that Leach reporting from Rosenblatt on fireworks this evening? She said in describing the fireworks, "these ball sized shells" in stead of ball "shaped" shells.

Now I've got big balls, you've got big balls, but Grucci got the biggest, balls of them all!!!

Anonymous said...

Another great hire by Channel Sux. Is the goal to staff the entire station with retards? They're within a couple of on-air personnel of doing it.

Anonymous said...

Another insightful post which only reinforces the weakness of this forum.
August can't get here soon enough so the children will be back in school!

Anonymous said...

I heard from a friend...That Michelle Leach watch fired from NTV in Kearney for stealing...

Anonymous said...

herb, if you don't like this forum, don't read it. it's not like you're a hostage. or are you? blink once for yes, twice for no.

Anonymous said...

you guys are stupid. grow up! herb you're right, August can't come soon enough for these "kids" to go back to school. I can't understand how people can slam a station which has been number 1 for the longest time. They wouldn't be number 1 and they wouldn't have so much viewers if they were NOT good.

The reason they're number 1 is because they're good, very good. WOWT is one of the most respected news operations in this region. From their talent to their producers and production staff.

I'm not saying the other stations don't do well either, it's just they don't have the same viewership WOWT has and has had for the longest time. This market will always be a two horse race (between WOWT and KETV) There is no room for Action 3 News or at best KPTM. No matter how hard they try, Omaha will always be a WOWT market. I can see it staying that way for a long time into the future.

Grow up kids and quit your bickering!

Anonymous said...

So basically you're saying that the best Omaha has to offer is a group of people who cannot spell, use proper grammar or seem to have any grasp on what is going on in the real world. If mediocrity is what Omaha desires, than it will get what it deserves.

"When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity."

I learned that back at school with the other idiots who don't know that WOWT is of course the symbol of quality and success. I can't wait for August!

Anonymous said...

The thing that's so funny is that if you'd put 99% of these 'experts' up in front of a camera, there'd be urine running down their legs.

It's really easy to speak of mediocrity when you're asking whether your customer wants his tea refilled on a daily basis.

Get some real experience about what you harp on then get back to us. "Seem to have any grasp on what is going on in the real world" - how do you justify this and would you give us a few examples please?
Is it YOUR opinion? If so, why should anyone give a rat's a** about it? What qualifies YOU to toss out your pearls of wisdom - other than anonymity on a bulletin board....

Anonymous said...

AMEN! 1:25 PM. Last time I checked 12:11, it was KETV who had several misspellings and mispronunciations on air. Last time I checked it was good old channel 7 reporting information directly from scanner traffic. What's very funny, KETV's producers will adjust the copy to: "KETV NewsWatch 7 has just learned within the last half-hour or few minutes" with breaking news that WOWT just reported on.

Give me a break, an example of a true news leader in this region is WOWT. And it will always be that way. No matter how hard you attempt to pick apart WOWT and crucify them with meaningless nonsense, WOWT will always be at the top of the ratings. And I hope it stays that way. I hope WOWT continues the tradition that John Clark only helped cultivate and develop.

Anonymous said...

You know, each & every station has it's good & bad points. It's just sad that you have all these intelligent comments like "this person sucks" or "this person's a retard" on what could have been a useful board about local broadcasting.
Toss in Sean's rather unobjective anti-wowt bias in his posting & you basically have a bitter, venomous site that's good for a few chuckles and that's about it. If that's the objective that was intended when the Reader began hosting this - mission completed.

Anonymous said...

Examples of "Seem to have any grasp on what is going on in the real world"? Let's see, by his own admission, Jimmy Siedlecki thought he could just load the kids in the station wagon and drive onto an important military installation.

Isn't that enough evidence right there? Or do I need to dredge up his "Serk DAY so-LAY" gaffe from last year?

And don't come back with "so he made two mistake" defense. There are plenty of others. You asked for examples and these are two that pop to mind automatically.

Anonymous said...

I think that the apparent arrogance of the people who inherited the success Clark worked hard to achieve will do nothing but open the door wide open for the also rans in this market to move up, should either of them get their act together. I really don't see what there is to brag about on behalf of WOWT these days.

Also, 1:15...if posting as anonymous weakens an argument completely, wouldn't your "argument" also be invalid? Unless your name is actually anonymous.

Also, for examples, all you have to do is pick any WOWT newscast at random and start picking them out.

Anonymous said...

At least Jim has the humility to laugh at himself over this point. It has happened to others as well that are not familiar with this area.

On another note; if you have constructive criticisms, you are more than welcome to contact each station through their websites. I have done this and have received responses from each of the stations regarding my concerns and questions. But, I don't berate the on air talent or the way they proceed with various items. I ask a question and relate what I think might make them better, and the response is generally favorable.

If you have a legitimate beef; contact the stations instead of posting it on this blog. Offer constructive criticism with solutions instead of berating someone because you don't like their looks or their delivery. Holy cow, people, that is the way to change it. But I guess a lot of you would much rather gripe about the problem than fix it because then you wouldn't have anything to gripe about anymore.

Either offer some constructive criticism or shut the damn television off. Geez, it's real simple simpletons.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone ever e-mailed the gm's at the stations with a question and got a decent resonse?

Anonymous said...

If you give them (the stations) some constructive criticisms instead of belittling what they do for no apparent reason; yes, they (station management, on air personalities) do respond.

Anonymous said...

One could make a full-time job out of sending WOWT's dithering GM "constructive criticism."

It concerns me that an alleged news operation needs to be told that it's a good idea to spell words correctly, have mikes on at the right time, anchors directed to look at the right camera, pronounce words properly....the list goes on and on.

Is it so outlandish for us to be irritated when a station routinely fails to me these most basic expectations?

Anonymous said...

Have you even tried to make a concerted effort to contact the station about this? Also, you need to focus on both positives and negatives. What they do correctly and what needs improvement. My experience has been that they have contacted me with explanations and a concerted effort to make changes.

Anonymous said...

I called the station today to ask what happened to Loretta Carroll.

They hung up on me.

Anonymous said...

Let me try this again: Why should anyone need to make a concerted effort to tell people in the business of communication that precision, and accuracy in spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and content are essential? Is it asking to much to assume that they would police themselves?

Anonymous said...

Who determines what content is 'essential'? You?
Awfully nice of you to program all the local newscasts for free.
You sound just like the tools who say - "I'm a loyal Ch. X viewer, but you didn't show my son Jimmy at his baseball game I told you about, so I guess I'll start watching Ch. Y."

Anonymous said...

9:59 PM:

If you don't like it, then don't watch it. Why don't you try giving them a call, leaving a message or e-mailing them to let them know where their errors are. The industry of television is so fast paced that there are going to be errors from time to time. Sometimes you need to look past those and see what it is that they do right.

Over all, and this comes from having lived in much larger markets, Omaha has some pretty good news people. I have yet to see a community where the television talent is as involved in the community as these folks in Omaha are. Yes, they may not be top talent like NYC, but they fit the Omaha market just fine. Good job to all you folks who work in local television on all FOUR stations!

Anonymous said...

There's FOUR TV stations in Omaha?

Anonymous said...

Let's go back to the shuttle and its exciting arrival in the Omaha Area. This is almost as exciting as a Star Wars/Star Trek convention.

Signed:
Captain Kirk's hairpiece