Other than "breaking news" and the run-of-the-mill traffic accidents and such, most "news" we are treated to usually consists of regurgitated press releases or "media handouts". Fort Wayne sees very little "enterprise" reporting where a reporter actually sniffs out a story and reports on it. The now-retired Mike Dooley of the News Sentinel and, to a lesser extent, Frank Gray of the Journal Gazette are the only two reporters who do actual reporting that is not in response or reaction to an existing story or event. Think about this the next time one of the "blow-dried" TV news anchors stares into the camera and proudly states "as we were the first to report"...... sure, pal.
Below is a portion of a Press Release from The City of Fort Wayne's web site proudly crowing about our beautiful Martin Luther King bridge. The second screen capture is how WOWO, and most other media in our town handle such a news story. Check the links out to the content of each and count and compare the paragraphs; note they all start and end with the same words. While some media may polish or rewrite such PR offerings, many, like what WOWO has done here, simply cut and paste the copy while adding their logo as if it were original reporting.
Here's a portion of the City's screen capture:
http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/latest-news/2354-city-landmark-receives-state-honor.html
And here's a portion of WOWO's screen capture.
While WOWO does share news "resources" with the AP, Indiana's NewsCenter and the Journal Gazette, you will notice that WOWO gives no credit to the City. It's just cut and paste.
Seems ironic that school children might be tossed into terminal detention ... for something Fort Wayne "journalists" do every day.
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