Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Coming in this week’s City Weekly

We don’t want to scoop ourselves too much here, but I thought I’d give you blog watchers a taste of what will be published in the City Weekly, hitting the streets Wednesday afternoon. (The entire column from the print edition will be published here soon.)

Matt Geiler of KXVO-15 10 o’clock “news” fame is back on local TV. This time he’s a pitchman for Reagan Buick. Find out what else Geiler’s been up to in our print edition.

And speaking of TV pitchers, how about Veronica Todd, former traffic reporter for KETV-7? She’s still appearing in TV ads for Huber Chevy, but what else is Todd, who also goes by the last name of Tevelde, up to?

Also in this week’s print edition of the Media Watch, another local TV station is about to begin offering a 4 p.m. newscast, joining WOWT-6, who has had a 4 p.m. newscast for the several years.

And more on Kay Kriss, Jack Swanda and Lite 101.9 FM.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I miss the KXVO guys!!! Their goofy antics made it a pleasure to work in news! hehe

Anonymous said...

Another 4pm newscast? Whichever station it is (hopefully KETV) it should be ten times better than that crap channel six is putting out.

Anonymous said...

I think it will be kptm news at 4

Anonymous said...

In response to 8:45, what kind of crap do you think WOWT is putting out? It can't be more disgusting and putrid than the shit flying out of KETV every day?

Come on now, any television station who asks such stupid questions during press conferences and releases the names of fire victims before their fathers have been notified should not be considered as a reputable and professional shop. KETV may have increased their ratings through the years, but their news judgment, ethics and order seriously fall below the line of professionalism and quality work.

You can produce quality content, include flashy graphics, a dose of "we'll put it on the air, just to be first" and you can have a product of high quality. But that's it. Time and time again, I've witnessed major errors and poor decisions, many of which were committed by management.

It is without a doubt, KETV will always remain number 2 in this market. They don't have the viewership WOWT has and they certainly don't have the reputation. Omaha and Bellevue Police have openly stated how much hatred they have for KETV and Action 3 News, none it has been directed toward WOWT. That's the difference between WOWT and the rest of the TV stations here in Omaha.

Call it crap, but those who understand the profession, I think you'll come to respect WOWT more as a news operation which has never favored inaccuracy and unethical practices over truth and responsibility.

8:45, get with the program and stop supporting a station which seriously lacks ethics and professionalism.

Anonymous said...

In response to 6:57, what kind of crap do you think WOWT is putting out? It can't be more disgusting and putrid than the shit flying out of KETV every day?

Come on now, any television station who asks such stupid questions during press conferences and releases the names of fire victims before their fathers have been notified should not be considered as a reputable and professional shop. KETV may have increased their ratings through the years, but their news judgment, ethics and order seriously fall below the line of professionalism and quality work.

You can produce quality content, include flashy graphics, a dose of "we'll put it on the air, just to be first" and you can have a product of high quality. But that's it. Time and time again, I've witnessed major errors and poor decisions, many of which were committed by management.

It is without a doubt, KETV will always remain number 2 in this market. They don't have the viewership WOWT has and they certainly don't have the reputation. Omaha and Bellevue Police have openly stated how much hatred they have for KETV and Action 3 News, none it has been directed toward WOWT. That's the difference between WOWT and the rest of the TV stations here in Omaha.

Call it crap, but those who understand the profession, I think you'll come to respect WOWT more as a news operation which has never favored inaccuracy and unethical practices over truth and responsibility.

6:57, get with the program and stop supporting a station which seriously lacks ethics and professionalism.

The above comments are directed toward anonymous comment 6:57.

Anonymous said...

Nice job 12:47/12:50 - way to pay attention to which previous post you were responding to. LOL!

Anonymous said...

12:47/12:50 is obviously from WOWT and feels the need to criticize KETV to self-promote and make him or herself feel better. KETV's product is light years ahead of any of the other station's newscasts.

Anonymous said...

Former Jana Murrell was 1st runner up in the Miss Earth USA pageant held recently (if anyone cares).

Anonymous said...

I want to father Fubar's children.

Anonymous said...

KPTM/KXVO

Anonymous said...

KPTM has a $ pm Newscast...Thats another hour of TV time we will never get back

Anonymous said...

Thats 4 pm

Anonymous said...

Good to see John Knicely checking in and posting on this site, not once but TWICE. I'm sorry, I shouldn't accuse the Knice-guy of being the one to post, but his verbage & grammar were along the lines of what he would write...assuming he knows how to form a complete sentence that's not fed to him on a teleprompter.

3, 6, and 7 (sometimes 42) all have their strengths, but bear in mind that the Omaha market is traditionally a "springboard" market for bigger/better places for the on-air staff. So to expect CNN quality with minimal salaries isn't fair.

Anonymous said...

TO 8:42 AM and 8:02 AM --

Explain to me, how the hell is KETV's product better in quality and "light years" ahead of the other stations here in town? Explain to me, do you watch KETV on a daily basis or do you work for them? Just exactly, where is your proof that KETV is oh so much better than WOWT or Action 3 News?

In my criticism of KETV, I pointed out several true facts regarding their misinterpretation of information. Their poor decisions and mistakes have cost them a lot of viewers and that's a fact. I've heard from many people, that they don't like to watch KETV because of the errors, mistakes and inaccuracies.

It's great to offer a powerful consumer segment and I-Team. It's awesome that KETV has flashy and eye-catching graphics and content. It's all even better if they would do it right with a lot more discipline and better news judgment.

I'm looking at the technical side of things. Those who just watch TV in general and don't understand or appreciate the value of a newscast will probably never realize how much hard work goes into producing a newscast of high quality. It feels even better when you've hit the air with accurate information using only what you know to be the truth.

Anonymous said...

The reason WOWT isn't DIS-liked by local agencies is that it covers so little local news and coverage it does do is poor. Look at most crime coverage from WOWT...you'll see a graphic map and info from a PIO press release. On KE you'll get VIDEO from first on the scene photographers, information from eyewitness accounts plus emotional reaction, along with follow-ups the next day.

So maybe that safety first is what trips your trigger...but I'd rather go with More Complete Coverage.

Anonymous said...

12:57, You'd rather go with "More Complete Coverage" and several idiots along with it ehh? Being the first on the scene and gathering eyewitness accounts doesn't make you number one or any better in my book. As a viewer, I would like to see more news coverage that is accurate and ethical.

As you point out the positive sides in KETV's news coverage, may I remind you that most of the information reported on air by KETV is gathered from scanner traffic. How can you say that KETV gets video and information from first on the scene photographers, when most of the first details are coming from scanner traffic? A little unethical and inaccurate I would say?

You sound like you're writing a promotional piece? KETV's sloans: "More Complete Coverage" and "Omaha's News Leader" DO NOT match their ethics, accuracy and news judgment. Truth and accuracy doesn't matter to the folks over at KETV. Being the first on the scene and the first to report something DOES MATTER to KETV.

You even said so yourself when you describe having video from first on the scene photographers. KETV has always been so sensational, I've head that from many people over the years. In fact, through research years back, Channel 7 was found to be the station for crime reporting. They did so much of it. In recent years, they've backed away a bit, and I do enjoy many of the feature stories they've done.

Overall, I think every station in town puts out quality newscasts every day. Each stations has its flaws and I'm not saying WOWT is the best every day. Every station works with what resources it has been given. You try your best every day and hope it all goes well. Perfection doesn't exist.

Anonymous said...

12:57
Omaha's News Leader is a WOWT slogan...and you misspelled slogan.
Accuracy and mistakes are not as important as you profess?

Brian said...

9:45 - uh, 10:19 said that stuff, not 12:57.

"What time is it?
Four thirty
Its not late, naw, naw,
Just early, early, early"

:-p

Anonymous said...

Hey 10:19 you must not watch WOWT's weekend eveing newscasts. They are the poster children for on-air mistakes and technical glitches. Also to say KETV uses scanner traffic and goes on-air with it is false. We (yes I work in the newsroom) get our information confirmed, then we report it. I can't tell you how many times we have heard WOWT and KM uses direct scanner traffic info (even refering to it) in their live reports. I will not name names, but at least one of your reporters continually listens in on our breaking news live reports and then turns around and says the EXACT same thing. THOSE ARE THE FACTS!!!!!

Signed,
ilovenews

Anonymous said...

Goodness. I think all you really have to do is listen to the tv stations and count how many times you hear the words 'tragic' or "gruesome" or "shocking". I think you'll find WOWT leads the pack in those 'sensational' words..

Anonymous said...

My this has turned into a snippy little exchange between competing stations. As one who has worked in a newsroom and monitroed newscasts on a semi-regular basis I would say all the Omaha stations have strengths and weaknesses and all do stupid stuff in the name of "breaking news" and being more competitive. There are times during a day when all newsrooms are very thinly staffed and real info gathering is a challenge. Many of the production people working in Omaha stations (actually photogs and even reporters) are still in school or fresh out of school and often poorly prepared to deal with the breaking news scramble. You have stations trying to compete and get stuff on the air like the big markets, but the combination of inexperience and understaffing is a challenge.Also TV folks need to understand the reality that the average viewer (no, not Sean Weide TVO'ing every newscast) does not view a newscast in the same way that we in the business do. They don't sit there with a stopwatch to see who spent the most time covering a story. They aren't impressed with lame self-promotion. Most of the time they aren't flipping back and forth to see who got there first. And a ratings book is not a grading book -- it is simply a measure of who they watch. In a relatively conservative Midwest town such as Omaha, familiarity, likability and perception of trustworthiness rank very high. Hence a team such as that of WOWT currently or the Schrader-Scott era at KETV of the late 80's and early 90's will generally be at or near the top. I'm not saying accuracy, reliability and production values aren't important and I'm guessing every news director in the market is driven crazy by the shoddiness that flares up at times. But Omaha is what it is these days...main anchors probably making 6 figure salaries..young photogs, reporters and producers making mid 20's and learning on the job. Sometimes its a strange mix.

Oh...the KETV ilovenews person --time to get off the high horse. You guys are the same as everybody else.

Anonymous said...

Thank God for the World-Herald and a healthy "off" button on the remote.

Anonymous said...

just blathering about the news...
Great post. You hit it right on. I was only trying to point out to WOWT-lover that he/she needs to take off the rose-colored glasses. The quality at 6 has dropped for some time. I admit 7 has its issues, but I am going to defend my station when I see inaccuracies.

Thanks -- ilovenews

Anonymous said...

Blathering is correct in pointing out that ratings don't change much when you look at them over 10 years or so. Still, it's fun to find out who the newsroom insiders and fanatic viewers see as having the best day to day product.

Anonymous said...

Let's face it, they're all bad.