Posted on 10/14/2008 3:37:19 PM PDT by SE Mom
I have a BA in journalism, and over time have kept in touch with a number of people who are still working in that profession. So when one of them emailed me the following about the atmosphere in today's newsrooms, I wasn't surprised at all. This person does offer some hints at the end on how to push for more fairness in your local coverage:
....
It's unbelievable here. I've been through a few election cycles and have gotten pretty used to the open sneering every time a Republican candidate appears on the television, but this year is unlike anything I've ever seen.
Anchors were openly cheering when the news came out that Sarah Palin's daughter was pregnant. Some of the comments were so over-the-top childish and nasty that I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They're obsessed with her. They hate her even more than they hated Bush. And they all talk openly about how "stupid" and "unqualified" she is. It's pretty much a hostile work environment for the few conservatives who work here.
I've pretty much been keeping my head down and concentrating on my work, but yesterday was the final straw for me when some snot-nosed, twenty-something liberal producer responded to a request to take a phone call from a viewer complaining about lack of election fraud coverage by saying, "Tell him it's because we hate Republicans."
I want you to post this story on your blog to get the word out. The average person doesn't understand how obnoxiously left wing, the average local newsroom staffer is. The nightly newscasts they're watching every night are being put together by producers who have nothing but disdain for the people watching.
The irony is that these people are for the most part, some of the most ignorant, unimpressive individuals that you'll ever meet. They know next to nothing. They have no expertise in any area. They just repeat shit they read on the wires. Most of them aren't even from the communities where they work. They migrate from station to station, climbing the ladder as they go.
But they do think they're both smarter than and superior to you. Especially those of you who live in rural areas.
It's time people register their dissatisfaction about these clowns. It won't change the coverage, but contacting them in the right way can be hugely disruptive to their operations.
Here's how to do it. First, have a specific complaint in mind before you call. Make sure it's a local issue so they can't duck it. Be prepared, succinct, and polite. Study up on the topic before hand. Your goal is to put them on the spot and make them answer specific questions.
Local television newsrooms are extremely busy just before their newscasts air, so time your calls accordingly for maximum disruption. Most local stations don't have a dedicated call taker, so you're likely to get routed to whomever is available. It might be a producer, an intern, or even an anchor. No matter who you get, they'll be busy and stressed out and looking to get rid of you as quickly as possible. Keep them on the line for as long as you can.
Newsroom personnel hate to be questioned on anything. They're notoriously thin-skinned about their work. What you'll find beneath the surface if you're persistent is an almost unfathomable ignorance about the stories they cover. Expose this ignorance by asking them basic information about whatever story (or lack of coverage) you're complaining about. If the issue is voter fraud, ask them to explain to you their understanding of your state's election laws. In almost all cases, they will not be able to. Follow up by politely asking them how they can accurately cover stories that they don't understand. You'll probably get a nasty, defensive reaction. Congratulations, it's working.
If they try to blow you off, ask to be routed to someone in charge like the news director, assistant news director, an executive producer, or the general manager. If they lose their cool and hang up on you, call back and try to get the GM or news director. Ask them why their newsroom staff is rude to callers and appears to feel unaccountable. Follow up with emails.
I can't stress enough to your readers how important it is to be polite and informed. If you do your homework, you'll have these people spinning in circles. You may not be able to change their coverage, but it should knock a little of the arrogance out of them and make life more difficult.
There was the vocabulary I was looking for.
Re the “atmosphere more hostile than most of us can image” for conservatives in newspapers.
Now we know how the believers in freedom in Venezuela feel.
Just wait till Obama and his thugs get into power. They will make Chavez seem like a small-town politician.
Chicago politics comes to America.
That's fairly common on college campi. Walter E. Williams has said rather frequently that education majors typically have the lowest aggregate GPA. I do believe that if there wasn't an education major, journalism majors would take over that dubious distinction.
ROFL! Bravo:)
This might interest you!
I enjoyed the technical part of my job and miss that part of it but really don't miss the politics of the place.
I can actually point out "Quad Videotape Operator" as another of my many useless skills. The quad was in the same room as DVC Pro, DV, and Digital Beta.
If the quad was given a day's warmup time, it didn't give much trouble. It was an adventure getting it patched into a digital production router.
When they call Gov. Palin “Big Oil With T!ts”, a “crazy b!tch” (as Betty White did on air), “”
I used to wait on Betty White and her mother years ago when I was a grocery checker in Hollywood.
I always thought she was pretty nice.
If she really said this, I am truly disappointed.
I will never watch anything again that she is in.
Does she have an e-mail or website that I can register my disgust with her??
what about sociology majors?
He's the father of Bush Jr.
Neither of whom (out of however many senior/junior Bush pairs there are) were ever President of the United States of America. Hope this helps!
if you think all newsrooms are like this you are an idiot. It is true most people have to move from city to city to move up in the business. How many of you would want to sit in hodunk Iowa (or name another random state, I have nothing against Iowa personally) Newsrooms are filled with recent college grads who read everything given to them. In my experience there are just as many republicans as democrats in LOCAL newsrooms. I know many of you won’t believe that fact, but it is true. Calling and yelling as a producer or manager won’t make them change their newscasts. Especially in smaller cities they don’t have the time or manpower to care about people calling for ACORN coverage, just like they don’t have the time to care about the other side yelling about whatever. If you want coverage get people together, hold rallies, send press releases made well ahead of time, get local officials together. My friends who work in newsrooms hate nothing more than people who call and demand attention and then yell about not getting what they want. In smaller cities you’ll get a cock 20 something who thinks he or she knows best. In bigger cities you get someone in their 30’s or 40’s who actually do know news better than you. The point is just calling to complain doesn’t get anything done, think before yelling.
A person I knew was voting against Bush JR., I said I would not vote for Junior either.
He was happy and agreed he would never vote for Junior.
I showed him that Albert Gore JR. was the only Junior in the race.
I know the local affiliates in Washington and Baltimore are horribly biased.
They have no problem giving one side of a story, even if it means doing harm too minors accused of a politically correct allegation without evidence.
My ex-fiance (God bless her) used to be a producer for local television. She would be the first to tell you this is true. She used to have to move all over and eventually ended up working for the Fox Network in NY, where she eventually got tired and quit.
Welcome to Free Republic.
Did you read the post? Did you read anything in the post that suggested calling and yelling to complain? Did you read anything suggesting that even calling to ask questions would result in any changes in coverage?
Nor did you read that every local newsroom across the country is exactly like the one in the piece.
By the way- as a newcomer to Free Republic you might not want to start out calling people here idiots.
And about that paragraph idea we learned in middle school..
I forget where I heard this, but I believe it was after the 2000 elections and someone polled journalists as to which way they lean...conservative or liberal. 90% said they were liberal! 90%!!! That is why our voice isn’t heard.
LOL. Troll much?
Look, all kidding aside, are you seriously stating as fact that we must accept everything they spew just because they are older, that somehow age equals wisdom and they know what is news and the people don't? Are you seriously suggesting that as they age (and move up in the market) that their politics don't turn decidedly left?
Really?
By the way, calling people that share anecdotal evidence and using past experience as a guide, "idiot(s)," is hardly polite.
I’m a longtime reporter for a major newspaper. {By the way, it happened by fluke, not by pursuing the “profession.”} During the ‘92 election, when, because of our computer system, everybody had access to what everybody else was doing, stories about the elder Bush were “slugged” by words such as “trash,” “scum,” “liar.” Stories are identified inside a newspaper by what they are “slugged.” Now, it’s 16 years later, and the bias and arrogance is much worse. When I went into the office yesterday, the first three conversations I heard were all ripping on Sarah Palin. This, in a workplace where people are losing jobs daily because of multiple reasons including, obviously, the blatant bias combined with an even more disgusting elitism.
I dated a sociology major for a brief period of time, and she really wasn't my stein of beer. But I do tend to be a bit of a know-it-all, so take it for what it's worth.
When you get an answer about voter suppression, ask them to explain exactly what that is, could they clarify how voting is suppressed, and what evidence exists for suppression in any election since 19_ _.
I think that claim is bogus.
I’d like to know the numbers of personnel handling voter registration cards, how many precincts there are per county, how many ‘urban’ seniors are dismissed to ‘help’ with voting, etc., etc.
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