Sweeps can KILL YOU!
Don Day | March 8, 2008I found this on my hard drive tonight — it’s a file sent to me by a friend several years ago: sweepscankillyou.mp3
(Feel free to comment, but help me by staying away from talk of the local news outlets!)
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Funny stuff! (and since you want to stay away from talk of local news outlets…team reports, etc)…I thank you for sharing it!
Having lived in Los Angeles and watched what passes for “news” coverage I think this was hilarious (but true).
Are you ever right, Rainshadow! I was in L.A. a few years ago and I could actually feel my IQ dropping as I watched the local TV news.
It was embarrassing that this crap was airing on major market stations.
I honestly think we’re no more than a few years away from when local stations, at least in the biggest markets, will feature occasional “guest anchors,” like movie stars and other celebrities who will sit in for a day or week and plug their newest projects in the process.
Credibility? That’s SO pre-1996 Broadcast Act!
I think they should bring J. Fred Muggs out of retirement. He was the chimp on the original Today show who was fired for biting the guests once too often. At 53 or so, I’m sure he’s mellowed somewhat.
I think there was some talk of doing this when Katie Couric left for CBS, but they hired Meredith because NBC thought she was a lot cuter.
Damned “PC” attitudes. There are some guests on the Today show that deserve to be bitten.
The: I also like the idea of turning the news programs into infomercials for the latest celebrity project or product. Yep. Great profit center there.
NOTE: There was a news personality in Seattle who would get all worked up over some injustice by the county (or whatever) and his gimmick was to wave an envelope at the camera and say “the proof is right here in these documents!”
The envelope was filled with blank paper.
It’s one of the reasons I decided to leave the world of TV news and return to my first love of radio. Not that all of the stations are that bad, but there are some that are apt to do anything during sweeps to grab attention! Thanks for posting.
“The: I also like the idea of turning the news programs into infomercials for the latest celebrity project or product. Yep. Great profit center there.”
Yup, Big Time cross-promotion possibilities.
“NOTE: There was a news personality in Seattle who would get all worked up over some injustice by the county (or whatever) and his gimmick was to wave an envelope at the camera and say ‘the proof is right here in these documents!’”
“The envelope was filled with blank paper.”
Was that Senator/News Anchor Joe McCarthy?
Nope. Not Joe McCarthy, but the idea is the same. I don’t think the anchor did all that well at stirring things up. The ratings weren’t all that great for the station.
I remember hearing about a weather guy on a Denver TV station that would throw a huge fit on the air during sweeps. He’d be all yelling about this and that then storm off the set. Ratings the next night were huge. People wanted to see if he came back. love to see that happen here!!
There are some TV news people I’d like to see storm off the set…and NOT come back.
If I ever get the chance to teach college level broadcasting again, I am going to force my students to listen to Don Henley’s Dirty Laundry on the first day of class… and then we are going to set the stage why this kind of mentality is NOT what journalism and news reporting is all about.