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WBZ TV's Jon Keller....Great But........

C

Casablanca

Guest
WBZ's TV 4's political reporter, Jon Keller, has great insight and I always look forward to his reports...now comes the BUT.
However, could he drop the tabloid, excited, ' I should have maybe taken a Valium before I went on camera' presentation he now delivers with every report. It cheapens his message and fogs anything else he might say. He is beginning to report the comings and goings of Deval Patrick as if he were an Entertainment Tonight reporter covering the latest news on Anne Nicole Smith and the like. As Imus would say...."Stop it. Just stop it."

Jon Keller is better than that. Keller should take a page out of John Henning's political reporting approach. John Henning has always been on top of every major political story; always informative and never resorts to the tabloid hype that has now become Jon Keller's stock and trade.

The great David Brudnoy, Jon's mentor, must be turning every time he hears Keller turn into a tabloid political reporter. That delivery style also make Keller lose control of his voice. It loses all resonance and becomes high pitched and nasal. Not good to listen to and makes the listener lose track of what he is saying.

Jon Keller is probably the smartest person on Boston television. I hope the management of WBZ let's him show that and will not continue to force him into a style and presentation that is not fitting his intelligence. His current presentation is making me hit the clicker to Channel 5 and I really do not want to do that, but there is only so much one person can take. ;)
 
If I want Tabloid News I would go to Ansin's Channel 7 not WBZ.BZ had Jack Williams doing the news headlines between network shows with that tabloid delivery for a while but he stopped. Jon should do the same thing. Keller is better than that.

Garrett said:
Because that's his job, Paul...
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Casablanca said:
If I want Tabloid News I would go to Ansin's Channel 7 not WBZ.BZ had Jack Williams doing the news headlines between network shows with that tabloid delivery for a while but he stopped. Jon should do the same thing. Keller is better than that.

Garrett said:
Because that's his job, Paul...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

You say that. But I remember in in the 80's, when 'BZ was doing pretty good, they were the ones who were tabloid, and "SE7EN" was the one strugglig. EYEWITNESS NEWS had those loud graphics, fast paced delivery, and even harder edged music. Jack, Liz and Bob were all relatively oung faces too! I don't see Channel 4 ever hitting Number 1 until they beat 'HDH and Fox25 at their own game. Sad as it is, I think that's what Boston viewers want. It's just a tabloid kind of market.
 
You are probably correct. The dumbing down of America is written all over Channel 7 and now sadly, Channel 4. Channel 5 would probably like to and once in a while you catch a glimpse of an attempt to be go tabloid. Still, you can almost see Channel 5 blushing as it pulls back from cheap trash news.

Having worked with Jon Keller I can speak of his great intellect. So, it I get "annoyed" as the late great Jerry Williams would say when I see any compromise on that intellect. Again, John Henning has been successful as the preeminent political reporter without ever going tabloid. As to Andy Hiller, he is the reincarnation of the still alive Sam Donaldson. People watch Hiller more for his personality than for what he might say even though he is very sharp... Just ask George " I don't know the names of the leaders of most countries" Bush. ;)
 
Well, I wouldn't say "dumbing down" since it's been that way for 2 decades now. Blame it on CNN, MSNB and FNC for that. On the other hand, I'll admit again, I'm like a goldfish when it comes to TV news production packages, I'm drawn to shinny objects, LOL, as are many viewers.

WBZ set the bar on flash, WHDH raised it. At least in the old days, the anchors knew what they were reading! You should see what TV news is like in a small market, you'd have thrown a boot at the TV long ago!
 
Jon Keller was on Emily Rooney's "Beat The Press" last night and it was a fine showing of his intelligence and political smarts without the tabloid delivery it appears he is forced to use on Ch 4 News.
Like to see more of that and none of the other.

As Bruds would have said, "Kudi to Jon". Heard David explain that "Kudi" is the correct plural of "Kudos" and who would have argued with David Brudnoy on vocabulary and grammar.
 
You know? I always questioned Jon's sincerety. I liked him when he was on 56, (back when 56 was an actual station). But I was never sure whether he was really saying what he meant, or just being a contrarian. Years ago he did an entired Keller at large just to bash The Captain and Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Tegether," yet on another one, he danced to "Upside Down" by Diana Ross.

Never understood that guy...
 
Garrett said:
You say that. But I remember in in the 80's, when 'BZ was doing pretty good, they were the ones who were tabloid, and "SE7EN" was the one strugglig.
Click to expand...

Anyone else just flash back to watching the morning show Ready To Go mixed in with news from John Dennis?
 
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