An Atlanta friend sent me your recent article from the Constitution on local TV News(?). It was most enjoyable and frightening.
I spent thirty years on-camera in the Augusta market as both News Director and Anchor. The years were from 1956 to 1986. It was a great experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was fortunate enough to be able to walk away from it when it quit being enjoyable.
Your article was accurate and bluntly, but beautifully, to the point. My wife kids me now that I would probably be in court constantly being sued for vioating some reporter or anchor's civil rights. I would no doubt be the most politically incorrect individual on the air.
I find it practically impossible to quietly watch local news, be it Augusta or Atlanta, because of the sorry direction tv news has taken.
It was good to read a view of it that so accurately matches my own.
Thanks.
Jim Davis

Just wanted to thow this ar you: enjoyed your
comments> As a guy who came of age during the early
seventies and grew to like history and news, with
horror and a great sense of loss I watched the evenig
news change from what you discribe to what it is. I
do not even own a television set anymore.

Noetheless I have come across a Journal you might
already know of MEDIA STUDIES JOURNAL. In their
Spring/ Summer 1998 issue they devote the entire issue
to the question WHAT IS FAIR. Some of the articles
touch echo some of your points. Its good to know that
if ever there were a group of Nerds who wanted to
march down to a Television Station and see whether
anchors did indeed have wind ups in their backes, I'd
be among them.

Dear Mr. Murphy:

Over the weekend I read with great delight your recent column in AJC's Viewpoints section. My wife, who is the PR director for the Dougherty Co. School System, clipped it and shared it with me. I work part-time as a PR director for Worth Co. Schools. But before that, I was sports editor for 25 years with The Albany Herald. So I have had an upclose look at the radical changes in the last two decades in both print and electronic media.
Your column was so on-target with the silliness that is going on. We watched with amusement a few nights ago as a reporter for Albany TV stood in the dark in front of the school administration building to give a "live" report on reactions to Gov. Barnes' Education Reform Bill. When we had the threat of a bad ice storm (Feb. 4), another TV anchor got mad when my wife refuse to come to the station to talk live about why the system was closing school in anticipation of danger for our kids.
In Albany we have a 5:30 news, a 5:00 news, a 5:30 news and a 6:00 news. I wonder how to they decide which murder story goes where? We have 90 minutes of news, much of which is spent telling us what is coming up next in the broadcast segment. And these teasers are always fun. For example, an anchor will say something like, "An NFL Coach called it quits today. Sports director ____ ____ will tell you who when we come back." All the time the anchor is talking, film is running of the coach. Where's the mystery?
Since I was in sports so long, I guess the most grating thing to me are the (1) "How important was it for you...(2) What were you thinking at the time...(3) What does a win like this mean...ad nauseum. What happened to the art of interviewing? I think what we are experiencing is a combination of a lack of knowledge about the assignment on the part of the reporter and ears that don't listen to answers given to questions. The service we get as "TV customers" is about as poor as we receive as consumers when we walk into most retail stores where untrained and uncaring people are working.
Well, Billy, just wanted to know there are those of us out here who agree with you wholeheartedly. Print media is bad, too. The other day, the daily for which I once worked, had a banner headline "Dead Man Stands in the Way of Land Development."
I don't think the headline writer was purposely trying to be funny.
Feel free to email me at my home address : gehri4@aol.com I would like to share your thoughts on the passing scene.
Sincerely,
Paul McCorvey

Hey Billy, Your article in Friday's AJC Viewpoints was right on time, could not have said it better. Great article! Thanks!!!!!!

Mr. Murphy: Read your article and I agree 100%! In July,1998, I went
"cold turkey" and gave up watching the local "news" and I've never missed
it! I feel that today's shows are the electronic equivalent of village
gossip, they don't provide news, they provide "information". I submit: If
an apartment complex burns, and you have no friends, co-workers, family,
acquaintances, etc. affected, then is that news?; however, Saddam Hussein
invades Kuwait and is poised to take over a significant portion of the oil
production facilities..is this news? you bet it is!! My decision to quit
was bolstered by little blurbs such as: "This could affect your health, a
special report Thursday night @ 11 ( if it is that important, why wait?)
and the fact that I noticed that stories from earlier in the week were
recycled at the end of the week. Also the overusage of "a shocking report"
etc., etc., ad nauseam. Well, I did not intend to rant this much, but you
really touched on a topic that I fell strongly about! Have a great day!

YOUR LAST FRIDAY ARTICLE IN THE CONST WAS GREAT I SIT HERE AND FUSS
AT THE NEWS CASTERS BUT THEY DONT SEEM TO PAY ME ANY ATTENTION I
UNERSTAND THAT SUNDAY NIGHT THEY HAD A NEWS BRIEF ON BODY ODORS I AM
GLAD I MISSED IT

IN MY FORMER HOME IN S W GA I WATCHED TALLAHASSEE----ALBANY AND
COLUMBUS AND ALL WERE BETTER THAN ATLANTA

ACTUALLY THE NATIONAL NEWSCASTERS ALSO GIVE MORE HYPE THAN NEWS

KEEP FUSSING AT THEM

BERT EHRLICH
A N 86 YEAR OL RETIREE IN ATL

FROM DADDY BERT IN "LANTA

Thanks for the article, I agree and if you move from one channel to another you get the same reports. You might add the TV sports announcers who after a player has made a good run or catch shout "and his future is ahead of him". Where else would it be?

Thanks again

Louie chance
chancel@bellsouth.net

> I couldn't agree with you more, Billy,
>
> * * * and really appreciated your column.
>
> I have witnesses to prove that
> I would think that your AJC column was
> telling it the way it was, too.
>
> Be that as it may,.I thought that you might
> know of some folks in the Atlanta, GA area
> who would be interested in helping us conduct
> flexible/part-time publishing research
> interviewing assignments.
>
> There is no selling or telemarketing involved.
> We would appreciate your review of the following
> and will welcome any questions or suggestions.
> > > >
> Thank you again for some great thinking on your part..
> > > >
> > > > Richard Bracker

Right on!
Can you believe the evening "news" (HA!), lasts from 5:00 to 7:00 PM? Not
only do they have nothing to say, it takes them two hours to say it.

Thanks for expressing my fellings exactly!

Mr. Murphy:
If there were a Pulitzer Prize for truthful letters yours today would win hands down. I agree with everything you said about the news. Somewhere along the way they stopped reporting the news and started, in many cases, blowing a simple non-story story into something sensational.
I have long thought that the so called Freedom of the Press needs to be re-defined. The founders and writers of the Constitution could not possibly have imagined what would today, include itself in the Press. Present day television news should not enjoy the same protection as a newspaper. They should be held to a much higher standard, and legally accountable for their actions. Only when that happens will we see television news go back to reporting the facts and letting the citizens decide what is important to them.
Thank you very much for having the courage to write that letter. I can't believe the AJC actually printed it. Perhaps an oversight??

Roy Conner
royc@ellijay.com

Mr. Murphy,

Thanks for your article in today's paper concerning the local news. I feel
the same way. It has gotten to the point where I don't feel comfortable
watching the local news with my children. "If it bleeds, it leads" has
never been more true. As a matter of fact, I am having a difficult time
separating the local news from the topics on the Jerry Springer trailers.

Perhaps, one person at a time, we can change the tone and tenor of these
programs. Once again, I appreciate you putting into words what a lot of
people think

Best regards,

Joseph W. Gooch
Program Developer, Training Technology
Dept. 993, Delta Air Lines
(404) 715-7809

Dear Mr. Murphy,

I read your piece on local TV news today. I thought it was pretty damn
funny and accurate. If you really wanna find out how bad it's gotten, try
to not watching any TV for about 3 months, then watch again.

The thing is, people keep watching so the producers must be doing something
that people want. You can draw your own conclusions about the quality of
the lives these folks lead. I used to think that 'getting and spending' is
the number one religious denomination in our country. But I've got to
modify that because of your piece. We like to watch ourselves, especially
on TV, and especially when we're at our very, very worst. Getting,
spending, and watching. That's what we do. Surely we can't go on like this
for much longer.

Thanks.

Glenn Miller

I enjoyed your article this am. I think the real problem with the local news is they have allocated way too much time for it and will fill it with whatever they can to continue to justify their existence. I used to be a dedicated local news watcher until it dawned on me that somewhere along the line this really wasn't news I needed to know. Voila! That insight gave me 2 extra hours every day that I had been wasting on my "addiction". Since I am self employed I can, and do, watch Oprah every day. Channel 2 however, seems determined to capitalize on this audience with their incessant interruptions to bring us "breaking news" that they are always the FIRST to report. This endless self-promotion for what is only rarely news has further turned me off. I think the only way they can cram this stuff down our throats is to shove it at us while we are in the middle of something we would rather be watching. The only answer to the mess that is local "news" is to revert to a half hour per day of it. Then they would need to use some common sense to decide what is really important to report and I might actually watch it again.

Well said. I share your dismay if not disgust. Maybe unbeknowns to us
they have cardboard backdrops of all these places and don't actually go
out there -- except they would then have to stage the weather. On top
of their sterile on-the-scenes reporting they are out there on the very
roads they are telling us to stay off because of the danger to
everyone. One station even had a vehicle involved in an accident trying
to cover the ice storm from the scene of the carnage.

We don't even bother with local news at night anymore. In addition to
the points you made there is the "beating a story to death" syndrome. I
mean, how many times do we have to see that trees are down and
electricity out. They preempted our favorite TV program on Sunday
morning to go on and on and on about the storm adding virtually nothing
we didn't already know. I regret the loss of a gorilla, but come on
folks, he's passed on. We have to put up with the obnoxious "you heard
it first on --------" or, "exclusive to channel -----" as if only they
discovered this piece of news. Somehow our views on what is newsworthy
and how much human misery we can stomach seem to differ widely from
those managing the news stations.

Thank you Billy for your article on News Reporting in the Atlanta morning paper. As you wrote it has become so bad that I just turn it off. I fully believe that the first qualification for those folks to be hired is how fast they can spit out words. The whole thing just becomes a bunch of gibberish with incorrect reporting and mispronounced words. Most of the time is consumed on bragging about their service and telling what will be reported next or in a few moments.

During the last ice storm the whole gang incorrectly reported when and how much we would get. The channel 11 weather reporter approached that with this statement. We reported that the ice and snow would be here at (whatever times they had said) but "UNFORTUNATELY" that didn't happen. WOW! What was he wanting?

Thank you again you are correct. 90% of that junk I couldn't care less about.

Charles K. Smith
115 Sunset Court
Roswell, Ga. 30075-3019

A Great Big THANKS Billy Murphy for the TRUE story you wrote in this
mornings Constitution about our local TV stations.
It is too bad that the statins will not take heed.

I was there when WSB TV went on the air.

James E. Sledge

Mr. Murphy,

Wanted you to know how much I enjoyed your op-ed piece in today's paper. You
nailed it! I especially liked your observation about the "Quest for Bigger
Breasts" segment. Who do they think they're kidding? Sadly, many of the
people who regularly watch the local news probably wouldn't know the
difference between good journalism and the sensational entertainment these
clowns regularly trot out.

As someone who graduated with a journalism degree a few years ago, I
determined very early on there was no way I could stomach a career in
broadcast journalism. To me, local news is very similar to the carnival
barkers at a county fair-- each one yelling louder than the other to get you
to walk over to their booth. It's truly disgusting.

Anyhow, great work! If you receive any responses from local TV anchors, I
would appreciate you forwarding them. I can always use a good laugh.

Best wishes,

Kevin Avery
Lawrenceville, GA

Great article. Right on target.
--
Dave Gamber

Enjoyed reading your editorial and thoughts on local TV news. Since moving here from Dallas, Texas, 13 years ago, I have yet to be impressed by the local news here. It is pretty lame what they can come up with at times. If I've heard or seen something during the day that I found interesting and thought to be newsworthy, when I turn on the local news I usually do not hear anything on it, mostly insignificant, petty items--often oversensationalized.

And I am so glad you mentioned the on-location reporting--I think this is the biggest joke and a waste of manpower and money. As you said, the incident is long over and nothing left to see, or it's dark and you couldn't see anything even if there was anything to see. And reporting live from in front of a jail or hospital--who cares?!! The same thing can be done in the newsroom without having to spend the time and money to send out a crew and expensive equipment.

What happened to the days when the stations cared about what their news anchors looked like in front of the camera? I am amazed about some of the clothes they wear, and the make-up and hair styles (and hair colors) can be somewhat comical and distracting.

Do you think the news stations will heed your article or what the general public has to say? Here, in this town, I doubt it.

Jamie Starkey
Lilburn, Georgia

Bill,

Sign me up in the Disgusted with Monica Club ! Your editorial is right on target about the slide of LOCAL NEWS into the journalistic sewer. I'm sure it won't be very long before Jerry Springer is guesting on 11 ALIVE. It's frightening what the people will settle for.

And did you ever wonder about the order of the stories on a typical evening? Open with Bill Campbell's police flap, follow with murder of Defense Minister in Belgrade, fire in Doraville, Pete Rose's fight for Hall of Fame, triplets born in taxi in San Francisco...and if we have time or if we didn't sell enough ads -- stick in another multi-car pileup of that timely feature on school bus safety. A random walk through the worldwide visual landfill. Yada, Yada, Yada...whatever it takes to fill in between the car ads and the program promotions and the weather at 25 after the hour - which was the only thing you wanted in the first place.

And don't forget to stay tuned for our hard-hitting report entitled "Are your headlights bright enough ?"

Very well said. Newton Minnow would be proud of you. What else can we do ?

john givens
roswell