WFAA-bashing and the glory days

[KERCAlum]

After reading all the WFAA comments on this board (and seeing many of their flubs first-hand), I'm reminded of when Delta flight 191 crashed at DFW back in 1985. That, to me, was their absolute high-water mark. Even CNN picked up their live feed (I watched them in Wichita Falls at the time), which, even today, would be high praise.

The coverage was smooth, level-headed, without all the hype and "production values" of todays newscasts (of course, it *was* 20 years ago). I know this is a rhetorical question, but why can't today's newscasts be more like that?<P ID="signature">______________
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." - Robert Heinlein

dan</P>

 

[snoman]

>
> The coverage was smooth, level-headed, without all the hype
> and "production values" of todays newscasts (of course, it
> *was* 20 years ago). I know this is a rhetorical question,
> but why can't today's newscasts be more like that?
>

Belo got greedy. Instead of keeping all their eggs in a couple of baskets with WFAA, The Dallas Morning News, KHOU, and a few others, they had to expand all over the place. They went on a shopping frenzy and were buying all these properties left and right. Several needed a lot of upgrading, including my old stomping grounds at KENS/San Antonio. They had to buy so much equipment and replace so much there, because Harte-Hanks did not sink a dime into that place that wasn't payroll related, in the last two or three years that they owned them. So instead of the GREAT quality that we all used to savor when it came to The Dallas Morning News and WFAA, we are stuck with an inferior product. And also because of that, in my opinion both KTVT and KXAS have better newscasts than WFAA and the Star-Telegram (which has convienently lost the "Fort Worth" from its title) is now a better newspaper, too. As I have said in other posts, Belo is missing the 'w' at the end of its name, because now, they're simply Belo(w) average and way Belo(w) expectations.

<P ID="signature">______________
KVIL Highland Park
KVIL-FM Highland Park/Dallas-Fort Worth
Thanks for the memories Ron Chapman!</P>

 

[nuzguy]

> >
> > The coverage was smooth, level-headed, without all the
> hype
> > and "production values" of todays newscasts (of course, it
>
> > *was* 20 years ago). I know this is a rhetorical question,
>
> > but why can't today's newscasts be more like that?
> >
>
> Belo got greedy. Instead of keeping all their eggs in a
> couple of baskets with WFAA, The Dallas Morning News, KHOU,
> and a few others, they had to expand all over the place.
> They went on a shopping frenzy and were buying all these
> properties left and right. Several needed a lot of
> upgrading, including my old stomping grounds at KENS/San
> Antonio. They had to buy so much equipment and replace so
> much there, because Harte-Hanks did not sink a dime into
> that place that wasn't payroll related, in the last two or
> three years that they owned them. So instead of the GREAT
> quality that we all used to savor when it came to The Dallas
> Morning News and WFAA, we are stuck with an inferior
> product. And also because of that, in my opinion both KTVT
> and KXAS have better newscasts than WFAA and the
> Star-Telegram (which has convienently lost the "Fort Worth"
> from its title) is now a better newspaper, too. As I have
> said in other posts, Belo is missing the 'w' at the end of
> its name, because now, they're simply Belo(w) average and
> way Belo(w) expectations.
>
True, indeed. Belo outgrew itself. And another reason why news reporting everywhere isn't level headed and content oriented but is instead hype and glory structured is that stations themselves in the race to over ride good reporting with bells and whistles, conditioned the public to expect form over substance. It was an avalanche of technology and pretty reporters rolling over the requirements of good, basic reporting that lead to the techno parade that constitutes writing and reporting today. Reporting without all the frills is judged by the public to be boring and not worth following. And of course that's the way it is with all stations today, not just Channel 8.

Recall a woman in high heels getting out of her station's helicopter and stepping into ankle deep mud, then complaining to the pilot for 30 minutes about the "deplorable conditions" where he landed, before even attempting to get information for a story. Another pretty face who failed to realize that breaking news seldom occurs under conditions conducive to wardrobe and makeup remaining in good order.

 

[edwardrmurrow]

If you wanted to see solid Televison Journalism ,it was WFAA in the mid 70's to late 90's. A legacy. You didn't have male reporters who were copied from or dress like a GQ mag cover. The women reporters were not ugly but they were not fashion conscious, and some even went on the air with no makeup to cover a a major breaking story. It was journalism and it was pride. The Techs had the graphics down to match the story,and the sound was at professional levels. The News department and the production department were a team and were family.
Now it's a dysfunctional family. The matriarch's and Patriarchs are either gone or going. The older sister has inherited the top post without working to earn it. She enjoys making decisions and commands because she can, without discussion,The Executives are college grads of the 80's when everyone then wanted to get a business degree to make money and skip the requirements to do so.thereyou have Ch. 8 of today. Not a shell of its former self, but a building with the pride,care, and professionalism sucked out of it.

 

[bpatrick]

> After reading all the WFAA comments on this board (and
> seeing many of their flubs first-hand), I'm reminded of when
> Delta flight 191 crashed at DFW back in 1985. That, to me,
> was their absolute high-water mark. Even CNN picked up their
> live feed (I watched them in Wichita Falls at the time),
> which, even today, would be high praise.
>
> The coverage was smooth, level-headed, without all the hype
> and "production values" of todays newscasts (of course, it
> *was* 20 years ago). I know this is a rhetorical question,
> but why can't today's newscasts be more like that?
>
If I remember, that flight originated in Atlanta, and CNN
picked up WSB/2's coverage as well as WFAA's, and I agree
with you. CNN was the place to turn to that night, with TWO
stations doing well-produced reports.

I lived in Dallas in Channel 8's "glory days" (in my case,
1976-79), and I remember when the Columbia School of Journalism
voted it and WCCO/4 (CBS) Minneapolis/St. Paul as the two best
local news operations in the country. For my money, no news
team will ever replace Tracy, Iola, Troy, and Verne.

Another thing: Channel 8 in those days had a policy of assigning
reporters to specific beats; there were no general-assignment
reporters. So the reporter covering the statehouse, or Dallas
city hall, or Tarrant County government, or whatever, was really
an expert on his or her beat.

For now, I'm not sure I want to watch News 8. But I'd give
plenty to see Belo start streaming WHAS/11 Louisville again.

Final point: I never met Marty Haag, news director when I lived
in Plano, but I did get to meet Mike Shapiro and Dave Lane (then
the GM). They EXUDED professionalism, even in the way they
treated me. That had to carry over to their day-to-day activities.

 

[nuzguy]

> > After reading all the WFAA comments on this board (and
> > seeing many of their flubs first-hand), I'm reminded of
> when
> > Delta flight 191 crashed at DFW back in 1985. That, to me,
>
> > was their absolute high-water mark. Even CNN picked up
> their
> > live feed (I watched them in Wichita Falls at the time),
> > which, even today, would be high praise.
> >
> > The coverage was smooth, level-headed, without all the
> hype
> > and "production values" of todays newscasts (of course, it
>
> > *was* 20 years ago). I know this is a rhetorical question,
>
> > but why can't today's newscasts be more like that?
> >
> If I remember, that flight originated in Atlanta, and CNN
> picked up WSB/2's coverage as well as WFAA's, and I agree
> with you. CNN was the place to turn to that night, with TWO
>
> stations doing well-produced reports.
>
> I lived in Dallas in Channel 8's "glory days" (in my case,
> 1976-79), and I remember when the Columbia School of
> Journalism
> voted it and WCCO/4 (CBS) Minneapolis/St. Paul as the two
> best
> local news operations in the country. For my money, no news
>
> team will ever replace Tracy, Iola, Troy, and Verne.
>
> Another thing: Channel 8 in those days had a policy of
> assigning
> reporters to specific beats; there were no
> general-assignment
> reporters. So the reporter covering the statehouse, or
> Dallas
> city hall, or Tarrant County government, or whatever, was
> really
> an expert on his or her beat.
>
> For now, I'm not sure I want to watch News 8. But I'd give
> plenty to see Belo start streaming WHAS/11 Louisville again.
>
>
> Final point: I never met Marty Haag, news director when I
> lived
> in Plano, but I did get to meet Mike Shapiro and Dave Lane
> (then
> the GM). They EXUDED professionalism, even in the way they
> treated me. That had to carry over to their day-to-day
> activities.
>
Great pointy. Shapiro and Lane helped write the book on professionalism--with points that would play well in every business, not just broadcasting. One defining point about both men--they gave a hoot.

 

[easttxtv]

Re: the glory days

> > I'm reminded of
> when
> > Delta flight 191 crashed at DFW back in 1985.

Yikes....can't believe that's been 20 YEARS already!!

> If I remember, that flight originated in Atlanta,

Fort Lauderdale, maybe?

> , but I did get to meet Mike Shapiro and Dave Lane
> (then
> the GM). They EXUDED professionalism, even in the way they
> treated me. That had to carry over to their day-to-day
> activities.
>
I saw Shapiro a couple or 3 times in the hallway of Radio Center (KEBE/KOOI before Waller's still-locally-shocking sell-off/split) in Jacksonville where he had offices in his post-WFAA days (he had a home on the city lake down the road); I was amazed that after all the years I'd seen his 'Manager' show, there he was passing me on the way to something-or-other, and (definitely agreed!) still had a professionalism and stature that was respected then (and all too rare now...).

I never got to meet Lane, but he was very highly regarded at my junior college (he attained 'distinguished alumni' status)...while he was GM at WFAA, our juco alma mater made a big deal of that (when they weren't mentioning Sandy Duncan, Tommy Tune, K.T. Oslin, etc.).

 

[nuzguy]

Re: the glory days

> > > I'm reminded of
> > when
> > > Delta flight 191 crashed at DFW back in 1985.
>
> Yikes....can't believe that's been 20 YEARS already!!
>
> > If I remember, that flight originated in Atlanta,
>
> Fort Lauderdale, maybe?
>
> > , but I did get to meet Mike Shapiro and Dave Lane
> > (then
> > the GM). They EXUDED professionalism, even in the way
> they
> > treated me. That had to carry over to their day-to-day
> > activities.
> >
> I saw Shapiro a couple or 3 times in the hallway of Radio
> Center (KEBE/KOOI before Waller's still-locally-shocking
> sell-off/split) in Jacksonville where he had offices in his
> post-WFAA days (he had a home on the city lake down the
> road); I was amazed that after all the years I'd seen his
> 'Manager' show, there he was passing me on the way to
> something-or-other, and (definitely agreed!) still had a
> professionalism and stature that was respected then (and all
> too rare now...).
>
> I never got to meet Lane, but he was very highly regarded at
> my junior college (he attained 'distinguished alumni'
> status)...while he was GM at WFAA, our juco alma mater made
> a big deal of that (when they weren't mentioning Sandy
> Duncan, Tommy Tune, K.T. Oslin, etc.).
>
Never cared much for Sandy Duncan after she went on the Tonight Show 20 years or so ago and openly bad mouthed Tyler and East Texas for not praising her stardom and notoriety. She said people here are just to bland. Not kissing up to her is what she meant.

 

[BrainDeadPrez]

Re: the glory days

> > > > I'm reminded of
> > > when
> > > > Delta flight 191 crashed at DFW back in 1985.
> >
> > Yikes....can't believe that's been 20 YEARS already!!
> >
> > > If I remember, that flight originated in Atlanta,
> >
> > Fort Lauderdale, maybe?
> >
> > > , but I did get to meet Mike Shapiro and Dave Lane
> > > (then
> > > the GM). They EXUDED professionalism, even in the way
> > they
> > > treated me. That had to carry over to their day-to-day
> > > activities.
> > >
> > I saw Shapiro a couple or 3 times in the hallway of Radio
> > Center (KEBE/KOOI before Waller's still-locally-shocking
> > sell-off/split) in Jacksonville where he had offices in
> his
> > post-WFAA days (he had a home on the city lake down the
> > road); I was amazed that after all the years I'd seen his
> > 'Manager' show, there he was passing me on the way to
> > something-or-other, and (definitely agreed!) still had a
> > professionalism and stature that was respected then (and
> all
> > too rare now...).
> >
> > I never got to meet Lane, but he was very highly regarded
> at
> > my junior college (he attained 'distinguished alumni'
> > status)...while he was GM at WFAA, our juco alma mater
> made
> > a big deal of that (when they weren't mentioning Sandy
> > Duncan, Tommy Tune, K.T. Oslin, etc.).
> >
> Never cared much for Sandy Duncan after she went on the
> Tonight Show 20 years or so ago and openly bad mouthed Tyler
> and East Texas for not praising her stardom and notoriety.
> She said people here are just to bland. Not kissing up to
> her is what she meant.
>

Yeah, here's mud in her eye...her glass one.

Ouch.