So what else is new? How about Ebola? Anyone you know have it? Me neither.
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Ferguson 1, "Dancing with the Stars" 0
- Thread starter Tim from Springfield IL
- Start date
So what else is new? How about Ebola? Anyone you know have it? Me neither.
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FredLeonard
Guest
Media OCD. Ebola. Ferguson. Cosby. ISIS. That's just this week.
IMHO they over reported the snowstorm in Buffalo. We not only saw a big buildup before the actual storm but 2-3 days of the storm itself and 2 days of "gee, it might flood now" after the fact (which it hasn't). Same type of sensationalism.
I wouldn't call it bias but I sure would call it sensationalism - just like when the local Phoenix stations spend half their newscast on a rainstorm here.
I can better understand the Cosby situation as he was a revered national icon however each subsequent story has revolved around a new victim coming forward. At least that is new information about an ongoing story and not a rehash of yesterday's.
ISIS is a national security issue and coupled with the resignation of the Secretary of Defense is a valid story. I don't consider either of these to be over reported although the TV networks do tend to repeat ISIS stories at the least provocation.
They know EXACTLY how many people watch live, how many watch a few hours later, and a few days later.
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FredLeonard
Guest
Maybe they know in the sales department. The programmers and the newsies either don't know or don't care.
Their bosses know, and consequently they know. They DO care and it gets discussed at programmer conferences around the country all the time.
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FredLeonard
Guest
If they knew or cared, they wouldn't keep blowing off the published schedule. This only hastens the demise of live/linear/broadcast not on-demand television.
Whether "they" know or not isn't the primary issue. The issue is what constitutes a reasonable excuse to break-in a published program? I think the answer is simple and so, apparently do the suits. I think you break-in when you have enough of a story which is likely to affect a substantial number of your viewers/listeners. The World Trade Center aircraft crashes certainly qualify as would a severe earthquake. The suits apparently feel any excuse to push their brand is automatically excuse enough. That's why we get break-ins here in Phoenix when it rains (yes, rain in the desert is somewhat rare but not cause for heavy breathing by the weather guessers). Sometimes they actually show video of a puddle!!!! A PUDDLE!!!!! I saw a picture of one in book once but didn't realize they were REAL!!!!
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FredLeonard
Guest
The network newsies insist on having the authority to break in. Since Fred Friendly quit CBS in a hissy fit, network suits have pretty much caved in on this. The newsies do it because they get off on this. It makes them feel important. Any complaints about this are dismissed out of hand. Newsies know best. What's the frequency, Kenneth?
The newsies cut-in and the act of cutting in makes whatever it is important. The Ferguson grand jury decision was already getting media hype and preempting prime time programming made it an even bigger deal. Maybe cutting in even encouraged rioting around the country. And they look for the most extreme riot footage they can find and show that - even implying the rioting is far more widespread and violent than it actually was. They even did the split-screen of Obama asking for calm with rioting - sending the message that rioting was really out of control and nobody was paying any attention.
Breaking into a show, especially when you delay it out of prime time, costs them money. So they don't do this lightly. Spot price is based on when the spot actually airs. Not when it's supposed to air. So you take a spot that was supposed to air in prime time, and stick it in overnight, that's a loss of money. So no, this isn't a casual thing, and there ARE financial costs when news breaks into the network.
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FredLeonard
Guest
Thanks. I don't think very many will disagree that when something monumental happens - the Kennedy assassination, 9/11 - that the public at large does want the networks to pull out all the stops and go wall to wall. This wasn't that. If the networks are not prepared to throw out the entire schedule and go wall to wall, then they should be looking to get the word out without disrupting regular or delayed viewing. There are few things people need to know right away. Even fewer that require a talking head - athon.
It reaches the point of being ridiculous. About 10 years ago, some European leader died and somebody at CBS decided people had to know this right now! Only right now was about 10:55. So, they cut into (and blacked out) the conclusion of (I think it was) CSI. This just a few minutes before the start of the late local news. And everyone who had invested nearly an hour in the show didn't get to find out whodunit. And the newsies couldn't understand why people were upset with them.
Another time ABC was running one of those serial dramas about a big time LA murder. The show ran at 10pm one night a week. Something happened that day and the newsies decided they wanted to do an instant news special at 10pm and got the show bumped back to 9pm. This was before delayed viewing was widespread (a lot of people never did figure out how to program VCRs), so a lot of people tuned in a saw the credits for the show they expected to see, following by the news opening. The newsies somehow thought everybody would know to watch an hour earlier, like people just sit all day watching ABC to see if the schedule changes. There was such an uproar that this time ABC re-ran the episode at the usual time the following week.
And remember the time CBS cut into the season-ending cliff-hanger of "Dallas." Tiananmen Square was going on and the government decided they didn't want foreign newies in the country (the crack-down was coming, although nobody knew that yet). But CBS decided it was important for everybody to see some anonymous Chinese official come into the CBS News office in Beijing and tell some unknown producer that they had to leave the country. Great television! CBS re-ran that Dallas episode the following week.
Newsies just don't get it.
I remember that "Dallas" episode being interrupted for news on China. That news bulletin was even better than whatever "Dallas" might have been doing.
I haven't read everything posted here yet, but let me just tell my experiences.
I taped "Scorpion" using TiVo, and TiVo, at least the version I have, won't update ending times. The geniuses assigned by the U.S. military were retrieving software from a plane that crashed in Bosnia. The consequences of that software falling into the wrong hands could have very serious results. Like most events on that show, failure of the Scorpion team to act quickly could be an event on the scale of 9-11 or worse.
After the first commercial break Scott Pelley came on. I was pleased that when I fast-forwarded, the show appeared to be continuing from where it was interrupted. A very good idea, since a lot of important stuff happened such as the team finding themsleves in a mine field and the head genius changing his superior's mind about his value by saving the man's life rather than letting the man sacrifice himself. Plus other members of the team got separated from the others and discovered the man who was forced to crash the plane, or at least he didn't realize that's what he was doing. Far from a silly sitcom or reality show, but I would say worthwhile entertainment. You have to pay close attention to keep up. They found the pilot who was believed dead and ... Delete or keep this episode.
I also taped "Sleepy Hollow". Time traveling college professor Ichabod Crane has to take on the Headless Horseman and a demon who are on the verge of ending the world as we know it. Critics like the show. Just a crawl, with a promise of an update from Fox News. Eventually, a brief report on Ferguson, and then a return to the preparations for battle that could end the world. Not much seems to have been lost until ... Delete or keep this episode.
I haven't read everything posted here yet, but let me just tell my experiences.
I taped "Scorpion" using TiVo, and TiVo, at least the version I have, won't update ending times. The geniuses assigned by the U.S. military were retrieving software from a plane that crashed in Bosnia. The consequences of that software falling into the wrong hands could have very serious results. Like most events on that show, failure of the Scorpion team to act quickly could be an event on the scale of 9-11 or worse.
After the first commercial break Scott Pelley came on. I was pleased that when I fast-forwarded, the show appeared to be continuing from where it was interrupted. A very good idea, since a lot of important stuff happened such as the team finding themsleves in a mine field and the head genius changing his superior's mind about his value by saving the man's life rather than letting the man sacrifice himself. Plus other members of the team got separated from the others and discovered the man who was forced to crash the plane, or at least he didn't realize that's what he was doing. Far from a silly sitcom or reality show, but I would say worthwhile entertainment. You have to pay close attention to keep up. They found the pilot who was believed dead and ... Delete or keep this episode.
I also taped "Sleepy Hollow". Time traveling college professor Ichabod Crane has to take on the Headless Horseman and a demon who are on the verge of ending the world as we know it. Critics like the show. Just a crawl, with a promise of an update from Fox News. Eventually, a brief report on Ferguson, and then a return to the preparations for battle that could end the world. Not much seems to have been lost until ... Delete or keep this episode.
Good point.
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ok walters
Guest
Totally agree.
I remember it was Yassar Arafat and that it had been pretty much known he was on his last days, so it wasn't unexpected or break-in worthy, but at that time of night the Up to the Minute people were in to make that call and did so. It cost the producer of UTTM their job and CBS took away their authority to break in because of that.
As for my experience, I'm thankful to have the TiVo and Windows Media Center apps on my phone to allow me to bump up recording times, along with Hulu Plus, so my only concern was if I had enough minutes and DVR slots added in to cover everything, and the only worry was Scorpion since it's near-impossible to watch that online. Worked fine, albeit adding a bit to my DVR hard drive, and tonight Sleepy Hollow did have an episode replay, so I know how to swerve around all of this. Not many people do though, and I'm the first to admit that. The same a week before with a presidential speech that could easily have been a press release or part of the daily White House press briefing; ABC didn't want to break in, but my local station decided to take it, possibly cutting off Grey's or Scandal. Had to add time there, though since I have two ABC affiliates on HD and other other didn't take it, I could also record it on that channel.
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FredLeonard
Guest
The problem is you have to keep monitoring for interruptions, delays and changes - even during the show - which pretty much defeats the whole purpose of time-shifting. Most DVRs only are able to record two shows at once, so padding shows - just in case - can easily keep something else from being recorded.
The work-around, of course, is to watch shows the next day on-demand. And as more people start doing that, some may start thinking: What do I need a Tivo for? Like VCRs, DVRs are sort of transitional technology. Network shows are all (or almost all) available on-demand and maybe they'd really prefer to have people watch that way since they can disable fast forward capability.
Absolutely, and in that case, the networks own or co-own the distribution platforms.
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