Saturday, February 21

Even feeling well, they bug me

The 10 o'clock news that Mom watches, KTLA, in Los Angeles, used to be a well-formatted, informative newscast. But then Hal Fishman died, and the whole broadcast went to hell. Now the station's got all these younger, "hipper" personalities and anchors who are ... how do I say it ... frickin' irritating. I had thought, and was taught in journalism school, that news (actual news, not opinion) was to be delivered with objectivity, with no personal spin or arch to the voice. On KTLA nowadays, this is not the case. Every little segment on the show is accompanied by some kind of comment, or conversation between the anchors, or even sarcasm.
I will totally admit that because I am sick, I have a shorter fuse today. And because of that, I was quick to spew off an e-mail to KTLA tonight. I sent it to the station management e-mail address:
Hello:
Please, please, please ask your news directors, anchors and personalities to just deliver the news. Their attempt at cute patter is distracting from the news they are trying to deliver, and has me pushing the mute button until I am sure that the next segment has begun. I understand the need to put forth a hipper, perhaps younger-skewing broadcast, but the subjective comments, asides and giggles are off-putting. I realize that I am only one person, but if you could put my e-mail in the, I hope, ever-growing file of dissenters for this format, I would appreciate it.
Have a good day.
I should have added a "p.s.": If you're looking for a freelance editor, proofreader or person on staff to kick you in the head when you stray into the ridiculous, please keep me in mind!

No comments: