Someone at WANE TV needs to step up and take responsibility for the laughing stock the station's news is becoming.
Tonight (11/24) at 6pm, while the female anchor read a story about Snider High School being evacuated due to a report of smoke in the building (false alarm) viewers saw B-roll video of the previous story about the deadly house explosion in Ashley, last night. While the the anchor properly and efficiently read the Snider story, we were treated to 15-20 seconds of video of the smoking remains and rubble of a house explosion. Uh, not good.
This is the same outfit that thinks State Boulevard intersects with a small ditch named Spy Run Creek. While it crosses over Spy Run Creek, streets don't intersect with bodies of water.
It was WANE TV, last month, that promoted a mayoral debate that happened 8 years ago. "Hello, Matt Kelty"!
Yes, the same WANE TV that runs a news story for something that has not happened yet.
And who can forget the last shooting at Piere's parking lot. Every news outlet in town used Piere's name, except WANE TV, who called it "a night club in the Marketplace of Canterbury". Playing favorites to protect their friends. (Yes, WPTA copied from the police press release that spelled Piere's incorrectly). But they did name the business, as did every other news outlet in town.
And we thought the kids in the WOWO news room were bad. This bunch is another story.
Someone needs to take responsibility, someone needs to fix this mess.
A crusty old TV assignment editor asked the Maven a rather curious question the other day.
"Given the scandal at the City Clerk's office, why hasn't anyone (media) followed up with other governmental offices to find out what policies and procedures are in place to prevent this kind of scandal in their office?" It's a good question and a great story idea because it may put some cranky citizens at ease, and afford other government offices the opportunity to be viewed in a positive light.
To the Maven's knowledge, there have been no stories addressing the subject.
Why?
The joke about Fort Wayne media is that it's not news, unless there's a press release ... or a smoking-gun video tape.
For reasons which are mostly explainable, media outlets seem to do their jobs only when prompted to.....pushed into action by a press release or, "that damned video tape".
Is media is lazy, or just being overly cautious? The Maven feels it's a combination factors, the least of which is the desire for many entry-level reporters to "pay their dues" and move on to larger markets. They go through the motions, knowing they won't be here in a year, and owe this audience nothing. Grand Rapids and Indy await.
People who own/manage media have other reasons to be cautious about what their reporters put on the air. For the most part it has little to do with legal concerns, but most likely those media executives are petrified about making powerful politicians and important advertisers angry and vindictive. That can directly impact sales, revenue, job security, and the quality of the plastic surgeon performing their wife's new boob job.
If you're looking for objective, responsive media, you won't find it here.
File this in the "If you were from around here, you'd know..".
Car runs off State Boulevard and lands in Spy Run Creek. Simple enough.
NOT, if you're WANE TV.
Since the home of "15 Finds Out", can't seem to find their collective asses, even using both hands, we're provided with one of the worst written news stories of the week.
The Maven has added some helpful editor's marks to the story.
WANE TV "journalists": Twice in the story you call it a ditch, once you call it a creek. The fact of the matter is it's an actual body of water known as Spy Run Creek.
There is no intersection of State Boulevard and Spy Run Creek. The actual intersecting street is know as either Eastbrook Drive or Westbrook Drive which run parallel with the Creek.
And whoever taught the writer that it was a grand idea to begin a story in such a limp and impotent manner should be beaten with computer keyboard.
What is amazing to the Maven, is the fact that most WANE TV "journalists" cross this intersection numerous times a day and night, on quick runs to the Lassus Handy Dandy at State and Clinton for Red Bull and cigarettes. Must have never looked at the street signs.
First it was NBC33's breathless news story that the Henry campaign was using a revolutionary, new technology called QR codes on their yard signs. In their haste to cut and paste the campaign press release into their iPads for immediate broadcast, NBC33 neglected to recall that QR codes have been used since 1994 and have been used on Fort Wayne political print advertising for the last two election cycles. Why let the facts get in the way of a good news story that helps your candidate?
Now the media is celebrating another technological milestone from the democrat incumbent's stable of campaign geniuses. A Townhall Meeting via text and this new thing called "social media"! The Maven can only imagine the cluster-foxtrot this will become. But, again, we gotta support our guy. Media has a vested interest in the status quo, after all.
Here's an example of WOWO's Breaking News report:
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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): Campaigning in Fort Wayne is taking a on a new twist.
All candidates put up yard signs, go door-to-door and take part in community events.
Monday afternoon, Mayor Tom Henry's re-election efforts take to cyber
space. He'll be holding an electronic town hall of sorts as he takes
questions from text and social media.
Campaign officials say its not only their job to engage residents to
share the Henry message, they have also make it convenient for voters to
share their concerns.
You may have noticed a number of large signs around the community
showing a text number and Q-R code. Those are strategically linked to
key election information
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The Maven wonders out loud if all of this is good PR by the Henry campaign or just the fact that those who write the news and decide what goes on the air are just easily-impressed young adults who would rather discuss technology, new music, and/or the latest, trendy drink that Club Soda bartenders have created.
In addition, the election is less than 24 hours away, one would think that informed voters already had enough information to make their decisions....instead of waiting to the last minute to play journalist and question Mayor Tom via text and "social media".
While the inept, lazy and otherwise disconnected FW media are fawning over the stunning technological superiority of the Henry campaign, the Maven understands the only attention from the media involving Mitch Harper's campaign was just a single question for the candidate, asking where he was planning to vote. Hmm. One would think that "15 Finds Out" could find that out.
