Search Warrants Take On Human Form and Function

OK, kids. Here's how it works:

1. A judge issues a search warrant.

2. The police serve the search warrant and

3. Seach the premises or area specified for the item or items specified. 

Please note, the search warrant is a piece of paper, it is not capable of performing human tasks....such as searching. That is done by police officers, real humans.

To state in your news story that "several stolen items were seized during the search warrant" is not correct. The items were seized during a "search", NOT a search warrant. 

Oh, and by the way, it's Daylight SAVING time. There is no S on SAVING. Check your AP Style book for that.....it's over in the corner of the news room.....under the lipgloss and eye makeup.

 

WOWO Leaves Out The Details, Again

Gotta love the kids in the WOWO news room. Such a nice story, WOWO being the good civic cheerleader hawking the impending tax increase to pay for Riverfront development. 

Nice story, even shows how little Fort Wayne earners will be impacted by the increase. 

One little problem. 

The kids cite $5.77 for an average household making $49,000. 

What WOWO news leaves out: will the increase mean Fort Wayne residents will pay $5.77 a year? 
Will we pay $5.77 a month? 
Will we pay $5.77 a week, a day, an hour?

If one bothers to click the link, and suffer through the story, yes, WOWO gets it right there, but their click-bait Facebook tease is dishonest and wrong to omit a key fact in the story. Lazy, dishonest, it doesn't matter. You are being manipulated into clicking on a story by being given as few facts as possible. 

Once again, media does it's best to confuse, confound and bamboozle those they purport to serve. 

Oh, it's $5.77 a month......small bite size chunks.....out of your paycheck. 

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......

Flaming Bottles and Lip Gloss......

The kids in the WOWO news room never disappoint.

First it was a "flaming bottle" that was thrown into a home. Kayla called it that because that's what the police press release called it.

The next day, Kylie updates the story, and the incendiary device is now called a "fire bomb". The Maven is unsure why the change was made...perhaps Kylie has a background with bombs and such. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a WOWO news story without a noticeable spelling error. Uh, kids, it should the "through" not "threw" the window. 

As the Maven mentioned earlier, the kids in the WOWO news room never disappoint. 

News....Maybe In An Academic Sense...

Please forgive the Maven for his absence these past days. Nothing personal, but there are things more important than what the collective Fort Wayne media spew forth on a regular basis. 

So, understanding that need for fun and hilarity, here's your "kids in the WOWO news room f*up fix" for the day. 

In an "updated" story about the City's second fatal hit and run, we are given this gem:

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The man killed in a hit-and-run accident early this morning has been identified. 

Authorities say 42-year-old Rufus Overbay of Fort Wayne died as a result from blunt force trauma. Just after 12:30 a.m., Overbay's body was found near Crescent State and East State Boulevard.

Ah yes. Anyone care to venture a guess as to what a "Crescent State" is and what does it have to do with East State Boulevard?

Too much lip gloss, I guess. 

...our partners in news at 21Alive...

The Maven wonders if 21Alive might be rethinking their reciprocal promotion agreement with the kids in the WOWO news room. By providing 'traffic reports' to 21Alive, the kids in the WOWO news room are allowed to cut and paste "news" from the 21Alive web site for use on WOWO. Think of it as permission to copy your neighbor's homework. The idea is one of "cross promotion". How that benefits the listeners/viewers may be a point of debate. 

For instance, Radio Shack will close 2 Fort Wayne stores. The 21Alive story includes the locations of the stores. The kids in the WOWO news room leave those details out of their story. Why? Since Radio Shack does not sell lip gloss, the Maven guesses that it's not an important fact of the story in their eyes. 

WPTA reports:

The WOWO effort:

Sharp readers will note that the last words of the WOWO copy "if any other locations will do the same". Hard to tell since the kids left out the locations that were closing. 

The Maven's advice: 21Alive needs to be a little more watchful on how the kids in the WOWO news room handle and present 21Alive's work product.....leaving out important details can be expected from WOWO, but when WOWO indicates that the story came from 21Alive, there should be a concern that 21Alive's news product is slipshod and incomplete.