TV consultants say that viewers love “live” shots.
That’s why virtually every newscast features a variety of reporters delivering their stories in front of closed schools and other buildings. Or standing next to a highway reporting on snowfall. Or 500 feet away from a shooting.
Many of the live shots don’t make any sense, but that makes little difference.
A great example was KCTV’s coverage today of the firing of KC Chiefs’ head coach Romeo Crennel (video below).
Was there any reason why veteran sportscaster Neal Jones did a live stand-up outside Arrowhead Stadium looking like he might get frostbite? He had so much snow on him it looked as if he was covering the Iditarod Dog Race in Alaska.
Alan Shope also did a snowy standup outside in the parking lot that also made little sense. After all, the news conference announcing his departure was inside.
Were Jones and Shope hoping a Chiefs’ official might be stopping by the parking lot to be interviewed? Are they still waiting?
WHY PICK ON 5?
Why single KCTV out? Fox 4 was doing live shots outside of Arrowhead during their morning show today, presumably to report on the possibility of coaching/management changes. I won’t argue the point that yes, the shots are pretty meaningless, but let’s not just pile on to one station here.
1. I happened to be watching KCTV tonight with friends when we all laughed at Neal Jones doing his report while covered in snow.
2. While live parking lot shots make no sense for anyone, if Fox 4 did them this morning at least it made some sense they didn’t know the news yet.
3. Why is everyone at KCTV so damn paranoid?
4. Happy New Year!!
FREEZING REPORTERS
I love seeing a reporter freeze on air. It’s like watching a traffic accident in slow motion!
DUMBING DOWN OF LOCAL NEWS
All of the local news stations do this stuff. Sometimes they will simulate an incident using their own props which is about as dumb as the reporting from an empty Arrowhead.
It’s all part of the dumbing down of local news. Even some long tenured respected reporters sound ridiculous reading their sensational scripts. But come next snowstorm, they will preempt the real pros (early network news program) so they can get us to work safely. All while they report from the salt loading facility, 20th & I-35, and interview hardware store workers and tow drivers.
OTHERS DID SAME
KSHB, KCTV and WDAF all did this. I don’t know about channel nine though for I really do not like them and try not to watch.
SEASON OVER
Maybe because season is over and won’t allowed in and KMBC did it from Studio maybe.
LEMMING EFFECT
It’s the lemming effect - what one station does they all do. When was the last time a news director said to himself/herself, “Hey, this is a dumb idea that would make us look really stupid, so maybe we’d better just stay put”?
ADMONISHED BY KMBC STAFF
Why does KMBC have Martin Augustine stand on the side of a road in Olathe where it’s snowing to tell us, breathlessly…..”IT’S SNOWING”. Not to mention the new guy from Florida chiding us to “take it easy out there and allow enough time to get to your destination safely.” Actually, I was prepared to drive with reckless abandon in the snow so I could get someplace early, but his admonition shamed me into staying home………….
99% OF LIVE SHOTS MAKE NO SENSE
The first line of your story answers the question in the headline.
I agree with you that it’s stupid. 99% of live shots make no sense at all to me.
I think the tv stations do live shots for p.r. They can say, “We reported live from the school where it happened…” Yeah. Even though at 10 p.m., the event was over, the school was closed, nothing related to the event was happening, and the reporters wanted to get out of the bad neighborhood where the school is located.
Also, seeing the trucks in the neighborhood is advertising for the stations.
Of course, the other side of that is that some of the reporters act terrified of people in the community.
For example, I once saw Martin Augustine in line at a restaurant. He was nervously avoiding making eye contact with anyone. I said hello and paid him a compliment on a story I had seen him do. He then turned on his on-air personality and was very animated. I almost puked at his phoniness.
Another time, I encountered Barbra Porter at a courthouse. She was all dolled up, was holding a tv5 microphone, and had a cameraman with her. I said hello and paid her a compliment. She smiled nervously, like “OMG! Now they all know who I am!”
Happy New Year, John, and everyone!
MICHAEL JACKSON STORY
True story: when Michael Jackson died, someone in town did a live shot — from Arrowhead, of course — recounting that the Jacksons had performed a concert there years ago!
CLASSIC VIDEOS
KOMU reporter attacked by sprinkler during stupid standup remote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5nLVyiBbU4
Carl Edwards has advice for mid-Missouri drivers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p45snUB6tqw
TAUGHT AT MIZZOU
In Columbia everyone has to do it because KOMU does it, and it’s a way for their 100s of students to pay their dues and get on the air. There are lots of standing at the side of I-70 with the traffic stopped or running, in front of some building where a meeting’s been over for hours, or for pure humor (standup reporter attacked by a lawn sprinkler system at 5 in the morning).
On the other hand, during the Snowpocalypse we had a couple of years ago, local NASCAR driver Carl Edwards appeared on a snowy standup on Hwy 63 in front of the station telling people not to even try going out since he had been stuck while taking a hospital employee of his wife’s home (Carl’s wife is a local rehab doctor). Hey, if a NASCAR driver gets stuck, you don’t need to be out, either.
(Funny part was the reporterette didn’t know who he was and tried to run him off; cameraman and control room had a laugh because they all knew who it was.)
LIVE SHOT OF BAR FIGHT
My favorite liveshot story goes back about 11 years. A now-former reporter at KCTV was sent to Lawrence…to report for the early news at 4:30am, about a bar fight that happened the night before. He stood in front of the bar, at 4:30am..in Lawrence.
Classic.
“We are here outside a closed bar where late last night a fight broke out…”
That’s basically what he said..I ran into said reporter a few days later as I was getting my morning drive 3am coffee at QT and gently probed about the adventure…he demurred..
NOTHING HAPPENING
I agree, WHO CARES ??? If it is NEWS, fine, but anything other than a game there is simply Nothing Happening !
But KCTV has more MAJOR PROBLEMS, esp on the TERRIBLE morning show, they need to CLEAN HOUSE and get people in there who are solid, the two new people are, well AWFUL !
Then Gary Amble, just not very good, I have not watched in 6 months and until they make changes, I WILL NOT !