Another Mass SHOTING ... Really?

First, on Monday night, WPTA21 repeatedly runs a stale news update in primetime saying "coming up at 5pm" during Dancing With The Stars, and then today, WANE-TV embarrasses themselves, and poor Pat Hoffman, with a graphic that defies explanation.

Why do our local stations continue to do everything they can to tarnish and damage their credibility?

Perhaps because the audience no longer demands that local TV media be anything more than just chewing gum for the eyes. 

Well, since you asked.....

No, you should thank your lucky stars that your producer took the initiative to keep you from looking like an idiot. 

Considering some of the pronunciation gaffes your colleagues over at WPTA21 commit daily, the Maven is amazed they have not tried to hire your producer. 

Promote the person, or at the least, buy them a steak dinner. 

Why?

Why do the kids in the WOWO news room think that a preview of Netflix June offerings is "local" news? 

Answer: Millennial over-think logic: "I live in an apartment, I can't afford a $400,000 downtown condo since I work in the media, but I can afford $9.99/month! A great discovery, thus, it is news. Since my apartment is in Fort Wayne, it's local news!"


Why, if the Indy 500 was Sunday, and millions of people saw the Ruoff Mortgage car win the race, are local media only now, days later uncovering this fact? WANE TV on Tuesday, and the Journal Gazette on Wednesday.....

The answer to "why" works better as a multiple-guess question. 

A) The media did not know that Ruoff was a local company or understand the connection until a cranky salesperson or manager started hollering. 

B) The media, running bare-bones staff during the holiday didn't have anyone who could write an understandable news story. 

C) The media held the story until more eyes and ears were available to read or see the story, since media does not think anyone watches or reads during a holiday. 

Only the Shadow knows......

15 Finds Out.....eventually

The Maven saw this go by on Facebook, and just had to check it out. 

We can always "count on" our friends at WANE TV to bring us the latest news.....even if it's a month or two old. In the news biz, we call that stale. 

Tonight's big story: 

An important story? Yes. A timely story? Not so much. 

While the anchor team breathlessly told us about the skyrocketing cost of this life-saving device, other media had the story last week.

Another had it six weeks ago:

15 Does It Again

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. 

WANE TV - Directionally-Challenged

WANE TV news writers (emulating Marconi-award winning WOWO News) seem to be confused with simple Fort Wayne geography. 

Every public school kid in Fort Wayne knows that Maysville Road, Georgetown and the intersection of State and Inwood are squarely found on Fort Wayne's NORTHEAST side. WANE TV, however, has other ideas. 

 

The Maven is undecided and completely unclear if this is an example of ineptitude, stupidity, or just general lethargy toward their audience. However, in the final analysis, it's probably just a good, healthy case of "who gives a rat's ass".

Fort Wayne, the most ........

It started years ago when Men's Health Magazine first ran a poll that included Fort Wayne as one of the "Fattest" cities in the country. Then it continued.....these so-called "polls" listed us as the most unhappiest, angry, ignorant and unfunny places on the planet. 

In essence, these polls mean nothing....they are merely a way for publicity-challenged outfit like, Men's Health, to create a stir and translate that into free publicity. Our Fort Wayne media, given pre-made, packaged stories, take the bait. And since most of the kids writing and producing the news are not from Fort Wayne and really don't give a crap about the audience they serve, they gladly pass on the fodder as "news" and can leave early for drinks at Club Soda.

For more than a few hours today WPTA/21Alive tweeted a link to a story about this "poll" on their webpage (now removed) from a national real estate outfit, which the Maven will not name. Like all the rest of these stunts, it's a bullshit poll that does nothing but insult our city and it's people. According to the poll, Fort Wayne is one the most boring places in the free world and parts of Arkansas. 

Of course, WANE TV is still running the story, and by their words, appear pretty excited to slap Fort Wayne and it's residents in the face. WANE TV seems to have a hate/hate relationship with it's audience. While the same might be said about the kids in the WOWO news room, the Maven believes the WOWO issue is more of ineptitude as opposed to blatant hate for those they serve. Most in local media are here only for a short time, until they can create a good highlight reel....then it's off to Indianapolis, or Dayton, or Grand Rapids....where the process will begin again. 

The Maven is confused, since usually our media loves to champion any idea or project put out by the City administration as the greatest thing since sliced bread and the Wonderbra. Time and time again, local media play cheerleader for good and bad ideas to enhance the quality of life here. Why? Because the local media is heavily dependent upon local advertisers to pay the bills. Many of these local advertisers also have stakes in new development projects, and the media don't want to screw the relationship.

Why WPTA and WANE TV include bullshit articles, that insult Fort Wayne citizens, is a mystery. 

Perhaps we do deserve a title, the Maven would like to nominate our town as home of the MOST GULLIBLE MEDIA on the planet. It's a well-deserved title. 

This Is Bad

So bad, the Maven is at a loss for words. One of the worst-written news stories ever. Besides the obvious over use of the phrase "the officer", we're also treated to spelling errors, bad syntax and a first paragraph that's nothing more than a giant run-on sentence. 

Really. This is journalism in Fort Wayne......

They Have No Shame

It has been a long-standing tradition in media not to publish the names of the victims of suicide. Exceptions are made if the person is well-known, or if the editors feel there is a compelling reason. Otherwise, like the names of incest victims, those names aren't published.

Today, WANE TV and WOWO radio saw fit to cast aside that long-held courtesy by identifying by name, a man who was pulled from the St. Joe River on Friday. Both media outlets properly identified their source of information as the Allen County Coroner's office. Why the victim's name was published, is not clear, but the Maven will take a stab at it.....

The kids in the WOWO news room probably don't know any better and simply handled the story as they do most, by cutting and pasting from a media release. Generally, it's an entry-level job where clerical skills are more valued than news judgement.

As for WANE TV......they seem to be creating a brand for themselves. 15 Finds Out.....as if having a library card, an internet connection and a pushy attitude is a franchise. The News Bully seems more appropriate for them. They don't care who they hurt or who they trample on. The Maven would prefer to call them Rat Bastards. (sorry mom)

While the media is full of heart-breaking stories every day, the dynamics surrounding a suicide are unique to society. We would hope that the media would have compassion in special cases like this. 

The Maven does send Kudos to 21Alive and the Journal Gazette. They handled this story correctly and deserve to be recognized for their efforts.  

15 Finds Out? Sure

Just one question. 

Will WANE TV also report how the media has historically bent over backwards to coddle and protect Glenbrook Square in their news coverage, always at the expense of the "other mall" on the South end of town? It's gone now. 

The double-standard has become legendary. A purse-snatching, sexual assault, or shooting was always reported as occurring at "Southtown Mall", but a purse-snatching, sexual assault, or shooting on the North end was always reported as occurring "in the 4200 block of Coldwater road". 

Glenbrook's big ad budget, and the threat of losing it, has colored the news coverage in Fort Wayne for decades. 

And WANE TV was an integral part of it.

If we are going to point fingers at who is screwing Southeast Fort Wayne, let's include everyone. 

Selective Protection?

Wonder how much trouble WANE TV will have keeping the advertising contract with the local Budweiser distributorship? The Maven is quite sure the suits at AALCO Distributing have been chewing some ass at WANE TV and their corporate home office.  

One would think that WANE TV is making a pretty gutsy decision to portray a well-spending advertiser in a rather embarrassing light. 

Quite a difference from how WANE TV bent over backwards to protect Piere's Entertainment Complex/Knife-&-Gun-Club during the most recent fatal shooting in their parking lot a few months ago. While every other media outlet in the city named Piere's by name, WANE TV never did, instead their stories indicated the shooting took place in "a parking lot in the 5600 block of St. Joe Road".  

If you don't remember, the Maven can direct you to this.......

http://fwmediamaven.blogspot.com/2015/03/its-not-what-15-finds-out-its-what-15.html

So, why the change is policy? Either WANE TV is playing favorites, or they are approaching the level of the WOWO news room for ineptitude and stupidity. 

Scaring The Daylights Out Of The Audience....

When you can't influence your audience with good journalism and solid reporting.....

You cry "wolf" and create "straw man" catastrophes based on opinion and innuendo, all designed to create panic and drive profits. 

This is not responsible journalism. This is panic-inducing, trashy, and down-right embarrassing.  

Fort Wayne has enough problems and issues. We don't need a desperate TV station to create another imaginary boogie man.....

Either Way, The Media Reaps the Profits

With the passage and signing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, two things were predictable. One, a firestorm would develop, and Two, very few people would be able to explain what the law purports to do or what the law states. 

There is a reason for this. Media is counting on the firestorm in order to gain listeners, viewers, readers, and reap profits from advertising dollars generated by the increased audience. 

Media does this by putting their primary emphasis on the reaction to the law, and very little emphasis on the mechanics of the law, its contents, and/or intent. 

In other words, media see's their audience as a giant mass of ignorant individuals that they can easily manipulate into a revenue stream by targeting their news stories to provoke and inflame. Media has no interest in using their platform and power for education, nor for a forum to bring diverse opinion forward and seek solutions. If this were the case, this legislation, like this, might not be necessary. 

In this example, is not clear if WANE TV was trying to exacerbate and confuse audience emotions and feed the firestorm intentionally, but this story rather speaks for itself.  

As users, sometimes reluctantly, of the media, we must remember that they have a large stake in labeling people/groups, sensationalizing the information about them, and pitting them against each other. It generates revenue, increases profits, and adds to the corporate bottom line. And all of this is done on the emotions for the audience the pretend to serve.

It's Not What "15 Finds Out", It's What 15 Leaves Out.....

Media does not give you the whole story. Why? Inept reporting and/or fear of losing advertising revenue are usually the top two reasons for this malfeasance. 

Last night's parking lot shooting at Piere's Entertainment Complex is a near textbook example. 

21Alive/WPTA/ Indiana's News Center story accurately identifies Piere's, but misspells the name. 

WANE TV's story give a generic address but does generically mention a night club on their Facebook story, but conveniently leaves that out of the story on their WANE.COM web page.

The Fort Wayne Police Department press release, as it should, provides the exact address, names the nightclub, misspelling it as Pierre's (that's where WPTA copied it from). Press release courtesy of http://www.aroundfortwayne.com/blog/

So, the Maven draws these conclusions: 

WPTA did no original reporting on this, they just copied the FWPD press release, including the misspelled business name.....and used that ugly generic "bullet" picture as a graphic. 

WANE did some actual reporting providing a photograph of the parking lot, but for some reason, WANE saw fit to "protect" the name of the business. 

The cynics among us must conclude that WANE reporters/employees must have large, unpaid bar tabs at Piere's, or WANE management is afraid of losing existing/potential advertising revenue from Piere's. 

Many will remember how, for many years, media "protected" the golden advertising goose known as Glenbrook Square mall. If a purse snatching took place there, the media dutifully reported it at "4201 Coldwater Road". A similar purse snatching at Southtown Mall was always reported as "Southtown Mall on Fort Wayne's south side", often times mentioning the specific name of a store. 

That reporting dilemma no longer exists, as FW media presided over the death of Southtown and continues to exploit crime stories, which apparently, only take place in the Southern half of the city. 

Media Tidbits

Cut and paste? How can you screw that up?

From the WPTA story

And the WOWO story

The moral of the story, is that if you're going to copy off your neighbor's paper, you might want to try to copy correctly.....

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A simple rewrite of a police press release about the dangers of firing a gun into the air to celebrate New Year's Eve. But leave it to WANE TV to screw that up. Hey WANE, it's a toy gun (the orange tip). Do you think your viewers are idiots or did you want to be politically correct? Or,do you just not know what a real gun looks like? 

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And the Catch of The Day goes to WPTA.....

An earlier version of this story said that the Diocese had cut the award to Herx. Apparently someone at WPTA wisely rewrote the story before lawyers for the Diocese or others caught the screwup.  

Nice save.

WANE TV Lowers The Bar Further

The Maven can appreciate that it's the holidays, which means people are off and those without much seniority are stuck doing their job and that of someone else. It's a fact of life. 

However, the bar can only be lowered so far. 

From our friends at WANE TV today:

Perhaps the brakes took a break? Sorry, the Maven cracks himself up sometimes. 

Here's a ProTip for those in the WANE TV news room: If the thoroughfare is paved, has curbs, and is in an urban area, it's called a STREET, not a road. 

And to make this gem complete, the on air reporter mentioning a new street name in downtown, it's called VAN BURN Street. Please make a note of it, thank you. 

Hard News Goes Limp

Really, WANE TV? 

This is news?

At best it's feature fluff. 

One might consider that WANE is schmoozing a finicky advertiser, or, perhaps WANE now sells "opportunities" within their "news". 

At any rate the Maven could never imagine even the revenue-challenged Journal Gazette stooping to put something like this on their front page.....

WANE TV's Obsession With Killers

Just what is it with WANE TV and their seeming obsession with killers and accused killers? There's another "special report" coming up this week to be presented by Alyssa Iverson on the 11pm newscast, Wednesday, Oct. 1.
The Maven is unclear how interviewing this man will do anything except drive ratings and revenue. It certainly won't help the family and friends of the victims to move on with their lives. 

Just weeks ago, WANE profiled the alleged killer involved in the now-famous Eby Avenue murder. That's the murder we all saw replayed over and over again from surveillance video. That "special report" painted an extremely sympathetic portrait of the accused complete with yearbook pictures and a gentleman identified as a forensic psychologist offering excuses for the man's alleged actions. While the accused man is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the WANE piece is a defense attorney's dream road map to a hung jury. 

The real reason for this "obsession" probably rests with the fact that from a business standpoint this type of exploitation of emotions and people's loss is a very inexpensive way to increase audience ratings and advertiser revenue. 

Sick obsession, or shrewd ratings/revenue generator?

Only those at WANE TV know the true reason.

Change of Venue Nearly Guaranteed

The old saw about "just because you can doesn't mean you should" might apply here. 

The over-active Adam Widener of 15 Finds Out fame is putting the WANE TV news reputation in jeopardy once again with his latest effort:

WANE TV thinks it's important that you know all about the childhood of unfortunate Charles Benson, now accused in the Eby Avenue murder, which thanks to WANE TV's grainy footage, we've seen 1,000 times. The yearbook pictures, the stories of a once promising young child who, because of the mean streets of Fort Wayne, suddenly became a murdering monster, er, make that an alleged murdering monster.

The story, which aired Monday, and is online now, works very hard to portray poor Charles Benson as the real victim in this tragedy. In fact, Mr. Widener never mentions the name of the actual murder victim, John Damarcus Holman in his story. He's the dead guy, remember? He's the person who's family now grieves. But, WANE TV and Mr. Widener seem to forget about that. Oh, the anchors do mention it once in the intro to the story, but that's all the play the real victim, the dead guy, gets here. 

While it's a pretty boring and mundane story, it is complete with an expert Forensic Psychologist pontificating and musing about environment and society and it does offer a rather complete road map for Mr. Benson's defense attorney. It will be an invaluable tool in guiding a confused, teary-eyed jury to a verdict of not guilty. What a great way to taint the prospective jury pool! The Maven bets the first thing Mr. Benson's attorney will ask for is a change of venue due to media publicity. If the Maven were the judge, the Maven would tend to agree. 

Before someone gets up on a chair and starts screaming about Freedom of the Press, let's remember that WANE TV and Mr. Widener have a spotty record when it comes to their "investigations".  Oh, sure, they ran some money-begging scammers out of town, and some will say they only took the credit while others, including law enforcement did the actual leg work.   But the Maven is willing to give them an 'attaboy' on that one. 

A couple of years ago, 15 Finds Out stuck their media elitist noses into a police-involved auto accident. WANE TV and Mr. Widener found it necessary, for reasons unknown, to publish the complete disciplinary records of each officer involved. None of the information in the police officers records had any bearing on the accident investigation, but WANE TV wanted you to know. Independent accident investigators found no wrong doing in the case. However, many in the police community and community at large took issue with the story, and WANE TV suffered a minor backlash for what many saw as an  attempt to tarnish the reputations of two City police officers.

And then there's the case of the Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man who kidnapped and held 3 women captive for more than a decade. WANE TV fell all over itself attempting to locate Castro's sister who reportedly lived in Fort Wayne. She'd been interviewed by the national media and WANE TV wanted an interview, too. They never did locate her, but in their efforts to find her, WANE TV reported that her house had been foreclosed upon and that she had been evicted from a local apartment complex, five years ago. How that relates to three kidnapped women in Cleveland is not well understood. Seems more like they tried to trash her reputation instead. Vindictive?

The bottom line is just because media can dig up information, usually public information, the choice of how it's used, when it's used and for what reason it's used in publication, should always be questioned. In this case, there is a possibility that a man might go free for murder if WANE TV and Mr. Widener's sympathetic news story touches just one juror.  

Curse of the Certain Unnamed Individuals......

The Maven takes great interest in comparing how different media outlets treat the same news story. 

The kids in the WOWO news room cobbled together this ditty today, with the help of their "partners in news, 21Alive. That's a nice way of saying they cut and pasted the story from the TV station website.

Ah, yes, those "certain unnamed individuals. Now, if the kids in the WOWO news rooms were watching WANE TV, instead of 21Alive, they might have know the identity of those "certain unnamed individuals" who were threatened.

Oh, and here's a little pro tip from the Maven. When arrested and participating in the "perp walk", never, ever make eye contact with the media's cameras.....unless, of course, you attorney plans on using an insanity defense. If that's the case feel free to growl and drool, if you desire. 
Threatening to eat members of the working press is also a crowd-pleaser. 
You are welcome.