Those Rand McNally Moments

Many reading this blog will have no idea who the gentleman in the meme is, but his message conveys the frustration of many in the mass audience. If you work here, you should, at the least, have a handle on local geography. 

Besides jumbling facts and figures (which they contort and confuse regularly), it appears those young "journalists" on our nightly newscasts, er, shows (sorry), seem to have no understanding of local geography. 

The Maven has a few examples:

The intersection of Broadway and Taylor, in the shadow of the transformative Electric Works project, wreaks havoc with the kids in the newsroom. Some say it's downtown, south of downtown, or west of downtown. A map would have been helpful on this one. Hint (it's southwest of downtown).

It's not just Fort Wayne geography that confuses the newsrooms. Hoosier state geography is also a mystery. Linton is a pleasant little town southwest of Indianapolis.

The Journal Gazette, a fixture in downtown for more than a century, is also confused about what downtown means. For the record, 2213 Fox Avenue is southwest of downtown.

What is it about Broadway that confuses these young skulls full of mush? It's still southwest. Hasn't changed in years.

Another example of misidentifying location. The 400 block of Poplar is South of Washington/Jefferson, and West of Calhoun (the traditional divisions on NE, SE, SW, and NW as used by the City of Fort Wayne). This makes it Southwest...but, apparently WPTAABC21Alive has other ideas...

So, what's the big deal you say. Besides the property damage caused by irate viewers hurling the shoes, dentures, and small animals at TV screens across the tristate region...these "errors" chip away at local TV's already dwindling credibility.

Confused Media Creates Confused Listeners/Viewers/Readers

A few days ago, the Maven had the privilege of having lunch with a few retired media folks. One of the more notable topics of discussion centered around confused listeners/readers/viewers. 

Taking a look at what our local media cranks out, it's easy to understand why they are confused. 

First off, the use of the word "councilors" to refer to the Fort Wayne City Council, can confuse. While the term has been used to refer to members of city councils in places like Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and other cities, the word, while accurate, has not been used extensively in the Fort Wayne market. One of the most harped-upon rules of news writing is to use the most common, understandable word to describe something. In the case of the infamous 9 who we elected every 4 years, "City Council", "Councilman", "Councilwoman", and "Council Member" are the most commonly acceptable and recognizable names for the body for residents of Fort Wayne. In the example above, would not it have been better to say "City Council approves..."?

Another point of confusion is that while the headline says "councilors" the body copy of the story does not use the word, even once. While it has been argued that the term "councilor" is gender-neutral and non-sexist and promotes diversity and inclusivity, the description of Sharon Tucker begs why the writer did not call her a "councilor" rather than "councilwoman". 

And while we're at it, there's the term "city leaders" referring to a governing body, such as the Fort Wayne City Council. They are representatives of the people who elected them. They do not lead us, they represent us. There is only one "leader" for the City of Fort Wayne, and that is the mayor. 

Media Gossip: Two Rumors

A couple of rumors from the local media rumor mill. One substantiated, one not.

Substantiated: The Maven has been copied on an email string that indicates that former WANE-15 anchor Heather Heron will be joining the WPTA ABC21Alive operation sometime around the end of September.

Unsubstantiated: Multiple tips about former WPTA ABC21Alive anchor Brien McElhatten moving into the anchor chair at FOX55's news operation in the coming months. Tipsters are conjecturing that Brien is waiting out a non-compete clause in his contract if one exists and is enforceable. In the meantime, he's reportedly enjoying the benefits of being a stay-at-home dad. 

Stay tuned...as they say...

The Weather Extremeists

The reality is that it's going to be really hot and humid today. 

The fallacy is that at some point this afternoon, we will all suddenly burst into flames if we don't follow the "helpful" (read PANIC) warnings coming from the local TV newsrooms.

The two leading news operations have stoked panic by declaring today as a "15 Fury Alert Day" and a "First Alert Day". Those carefully-researched and focus-group-tested phrases are designed to imply that any exposure to the heat and humidity of the afternoon will put our lives in serious danger unless we stay at home and lock ourselves in our climate-controlled "safe spaces" while watching their continuous coverage we can count on interspersed with commercials from those annoying Peterman Brothers HVAC charlatans claiming the "furnace is free" (hint-it is not free).  (Yes, it's a run-on sentence). 

We see this type of weather hype most often in the winter months when we are told an impending Friday snowstorm could bring us 12-18 inches of snow. As the days approach for the "storm of the century", the snow totals are "revised" Tuesday to 6-8 inches, then Wednesday it's forecast 4-6 inches. Finally, on Friday, most of us are treated to a light dusting of snow or just some flurries. "We sure dodged a bullet on that one, whew"! they will proudly exclaim.

All of this codswallop is by design. 

Somewhere in the last 10 years, TV stations quit calling their nightly news presentations "newscasts" and began to call them "shows". In essence, PT Barnum has replaced Ed Murrow. Somewhere along the line TV news operations embraced the ignorant idea that their viewing audiences consist of barely literate, mouth-breathing fools whose attention spans are measured in milliseconds. Therefore, to engage their audience, modern-day journalistic operations feel they have to present their "shows' with all the "flash/bang fireworks subtly" of a Trump MAGA rally. 

One of the most annoying aspects of today's situation is the premise that these weather extremes are somehow "new" and have "never been experienced" by mankind before. Kids, this is Indiana. This is August. It gets hot and humid every year, some years more than others. 

Why is this seemingly new to those on the TV? One explanation is that those who choose and present what we see on TV were born after 1999. The only Fort Wayne mayors they remember are Graham Richard and Tom Henry. So, with little real-world experience, a good old Hoosier heatwave is something to behold and fear. They forget that most people in the audience lived a portion of their lives without air conditioning in their homes, workplaces, and schools. They are unaware that cell phones and the internet did not exist until their generation. They also forget that the parents and grandparents of their current audience worked in the fields and factories in heat and cold without the benefit of modern HVAC technology...unlike the coddled young "journalists" of today who matriculated their way through Ball State in those air-conditioned dorms and classrooms. 

It's about perspective and understanding and respecting the audience. 

It's going to be hot today. Just like any extremely hot August day.

 
The weather information is necessary, but the hype is not. 

Adjectives "B" Us

The AP Stylebook is very clear on the use of adjectives in news stories. "When in doubt, leave it out, if you have to use one, make sure it is the right one." 

Since WPTA21 is owned by an outfit named Quincy Newspapers, one would think that there might be an AP Stylebook floating around their news room. Guess not.

"....Saturday's dangerous boating accident..."

While one might argue that all accidents could be seen as dangerous, res ipsa loquitur, the adjective used in this story is wrong. 

Giving the kids in the WPTA21 newsroom the benefit of the doubt that an adjective might be needed to convey the gravity of the situation, DANGEROUS should have been discarded and the word SERIOUS would have been a much better fit.  

But why pepper stories with incorrect or inappropriate adjectives? As local TV news operations across the country have struggled to regain their one-time dominance of local ratings and revenue, many "consultants" (every TV station has one) have worked to have stories written to emotionally impact the viewers. The idea is that viewers will "connect" at an emotional level and this will enhance ratings, revenues, and profit. 

From the Maven's point of view, the over-reliance on out-of-town consultants by local stations has not improved things, instead, these long-distance charlatans have made local TV news a cliche, at best. 

While the Maven might be coming down a bit hard on the kids at WPTA21, one has to be thankful that on Saturday, our Twitter feeds were not blown up with Baba, the News Whisperer, and that other guy on the news falling all over themselves and breathless reporting an ACTIVE BOATER on Lake Gage.