Tell me what you think about KRDO last night
OK, on the one hand, the Holly tornado turned into a pretty big story, so KRDO ought to get a nod for staying with it. On the other hand, they didn't have a reporter on the scene and they didn't have much information and they kept reporting fatalities when there weren't any (props to KKTV for getting the story straight), so big demerits for screwing up "Lost" instead of sticking with a crawl and a few break-ins.
I mean, an hour and a half solid of Matt Meister talking about weather maps? I'm pretty supportive of local news when they decide to take risks, but KRDO didn't have their ducks in a row to back up that committment.
KKTV broke in at 9 when it was clear how bad things were in Holly and they kept a crawl going. That seemed like the best way to handle things to me. KOAA, on the other hand, went too light, with no break-ins that I saw and no crawl after about 8:30.
What do you think?
posted by AndyW @ 3/29/2007 07:25:00 AM
31 comments
31 Comments:
1. Continuous coverage of severe weather always gets criticized by some, whether it's in Pueblo, Ellicott or Holly. It's a judgment call. The producers and meteorologists want continuous coverage, of course, to show off their toys and the viewer wants to see their show.
2. KRDO should not have gone on air with reports of fatalities unless they could attribute the info.(a lady playing bridge is not an official source)I didn't hear any attribution.
3. You couldn't have gotten a reporter there and set up by 10 pm. (it's approximately 190 miles away)and it was probably around 8:30 pm when it was evident something serious had happened.
4. It's always a challenge putting residents on the air live and asking them what they saw. If the producer isn't screening the calls, you can get all kinds of stories that might not pan out. A local TV station used to get regular calls of tornadoes from a resident near Ellicott whenever the clouds were moving in different directions.
I don't mind the break-ins so much anymore, it is news after all. Plus, every network now has makes their shows available on the web so that we can watch when something gets FUBAR'ed on local networks. As was the case last night.
What I do mind are the ginormous weather "crawls" (no matter what the scenario) that 1) take up 1/3 of the screen, 2) completely destroy high-definition broadcasts, and 3)run on forever. I'd rather have break-ins then have an entire show (as was the case with Jericho on CBS last night) wacked out so that it's completely unwatchable.
To answer your question directly... not to sound callous, but once I realized that the tornado coverage was gong to interrupt my viewing, I turned the TV off completely.
I called KRDO during the "coverage" and shared my thoughts. The first time I got the newsroom answering machine, the second time I got a reporter. You could tell he didn't care. My friend called in too. Here's the thing: they hae more viewers watching LOST than they do living and watching weather reports in the areas affected. Come on ... they were reporting on areas in Kansas! Other grown-up TV stations (KOAA and KKTV) ran scools and that was more than appropriate. You could hear Matt Meister searching and fumbling for words. Nina Sparano let us know a cemetary had been hit. No offense but I'm guessing those people weren't watching ... SINCE THEY ARE ALREADY DEAD! I'm not sure what KRDO was trying to prove, except for that they're still the stinkiest station around!
Andy, There was one fatality, so far. If you watched the 10pm newscast, you heard some official say they had a number of casualties, but he corrected himself and said they weren't fatalities. I think if this tornado was in your backyard, you would want to know the very latest information. While the other stations ran crawls, Matt did a great job of keeping viewers who were in the direct path up to date. If you think about it, there could have been more deaths if Matt just ran a crawl. Also, KKTV gets a thumbs up for getting a story correct for once.
There could have been more deaths if Matt had run a crawl?! Are you insane? Before we credit Matt Meister for saving the eastern section of our state, let's put on our rational hats. Those people didn't even HAVE television or power at the time. So unless you had a battery-operated radio or you were hooked in with the old bitties playing bridge, you were already screwed.
Again, I'm all for the local stations breaking in with live reports, bringing breaking news, going above and beyond.
But along about the time Matt started talking about needing a drink of water, someone should have realized they'd pushed this story as far as it could go and returned to regular programming. If you get more information, break in again. Heck, break in for 15 seconds at the top of every commercial break. Whatever.
Andy,
As someone who works in weather (not in TV) I think I can add a point you seem to have missed.
As much as this may sound strange, the point of the extended coverage should not necessarily be to get all of the facts straight after the event, it should be to warn residents in the path of storm as it continued on. There were several more reports of tornadoes farther north to the east of Sheridan Lake and near Arapahoe (and yes, people do live in these areas) from the same grouping of storms that produced the tornadoes near Holly. There were over 30 reports of tornadoes along the Colorado/Kansas border last night, many of them coming after dark. If you are comparing what the news folks did in wrapping up the event with better information AFTER IT HAD HAPPENED, then that is fine, give your kudos to channel 11. But you cannot directly compare what the meteorologist on TV is doing to warn people whose lives were in fact in danger, to the post-event coverage that was handled by the news departments. You are just comparing apples to oranges.
In retrospect, what 13 did was far superior to the overall goal, which was to warn people so that they could take action to protect lives and property. Fumbled words? Who cares! That's a pretty crazy situation with a lot of responsibility on your shoulders during something that for normal, decent people an emotional event! Where were the other stations while this was happening? Having dinner maybe? "Fumbled" words are better than none!
For those of you making insensitive comments about some already being dead, or not having power to see anyway, or that only a few people were affected as compared the large number of idiots wanting to watch a TV show, SHAME on you, and I'm sure you could care less what I type here. A mother of a young child is dead, but you missed your precious show! Even if some of you are right, and the people in Holly weren't able to get the information that was given, who's to say that some lives farther north weren't saved thanks to the information that was being given last night? Do you really think that in a chaotic situation like that the officials care one bit about whether or not your news agency was the first one with the correct information?! Probably too worried about more important things like saving lives, which is what I gather is the priority at 13, at least they have their priorities straight...
Andy, I think you come off as one of the sad people that is more interested in their stupid TV show than whether or not one life MIGHT have been saved. Some people in this society are really, REALLY pathetic...
Again (again, again), I'm all for more information, but I don't think there was more information to offer after 20 or 30 minutes.
And you are an expert in whether or not the thunderstorms were still capable of producing tornadoes 20 or 30 minutes after they had moved through Holly? As I saw it, 13 covered storms that had a history of producing tornadoes on a day that there were 60 something reports of tornadoes, until they crossed into Kansas and there was no more danger to residents of far eastern Colorado, then they dropped out. Again, (again, again) you miss the point, it is not your decision to make!
By that logic, KOAA, KKTV and KXRM (not to mention all the Denver stations) were recklessly endangering lives by not providing more coverage.
Bingo, now you're thinking! Maybe they weren't thinking, or maybe ther were not capable of recognizing the threat, or maybe they just didn't feel that the storm "affected enough people" to warrant interrupting their night?
I'm a weather person so my opinion is based on more knowledge of the weather situation than the average person's, but I didn't think it was at all over the top. C'mon Andy, you seem like a smart guy. 9 people jump off of a bridge, 1 stays behind, clearly the one that stayed behind was a moron? If you cannot see the reasoning, I give up. The "information" you speak of as "unnecessary" was related to the coverage of what happened in Holly earlier in the evening, the reason to stay on was because the storms will still in the area and capable of producing tornadoes, not to continue to repeat the information related to the "story". Chew on it for awhile, I hope you see the point eventually...
Bingo, now you're thinking! Maybe they weren't thinking, or maybe ther were not capable of recognizing the threat, or maybe they just didn't feel that the storm "affected enough people" to warrant interrupting their night?
I'm a weather person so my opinion is based on more knowledge of the weather situation than the average person's, but I didn't think it was at all over the top. C'mon Andy, you seem like a smart guy. 9 people jump off of a bridge, 1 stays behind, clearly the one that stayed behind was a moron? If you cannot see the reasoning, I give up. The "information" you speak of as "unnecessary" was related to the coverage of what happened in Holly earlier in the evening, the reason to stay on was because the storms will still in the area and capable of producing tornadoes, not to continue to repeat the information related to the "story". Chew on it for awhile, I hope you see the point eventually...
Fortunately, we don't have to guess about this. In another week or two, there'll be another tornado on the plains (hopefully no one will be hurt this time) and then we can see what lessons the local stations took from these events. I'll certainly be interested to see.
I work at KRDO, and I can say that we did get many, many, many phone calls and e-mails from viewers furious that we interrupted "Lost." One e-mailer even wrote, "Who cares about a bunch of hicks and cows in Kansas? Get back to 'Lost!'"
The primary mandate of the local over-the-air broadcasters is to serve in the public interest. While MOST of the public was more "interested" in the latest episode of their favorite drama, the public interest (as defined by the FCC) was best served, in our assessment, by providing information on a life-threatening storm minute by minute until the danger had passed. Clearly it annoyed viewers who have greater emotional investment in fictional TV characters than the livelihoods of real people 200 miles away that they've never met and probably never will meet. If you're mad in Colorado Springs, imagine how mad they are in Buena Vista or La Jara, a half a state away. But for the people in and around that part of the viewing area, it truly was a matter of life and death. Remember that people in Lamar and Alamosa don't give a damn about a big hailstorm in Briargate, either, so it's a two-way street. Even if the coverage began after the storm had already hit, many people in that part of the state have relatives in nearby towns, and they were desperately seeking information on the fates of their friends and loved ones. Local radio stations in that area hadn't yet begun to provide the necessary information, so the Colorado Springs TV stations were the only source, and we're proud to have provided extended coverage. We may not have made many friends by doing it, but there's a half-decent chance we saved a life.
Kudos are also well-deserved for KKTV and KOAA for acting in the public interest. We weren't alone in our concern for people in harm's way. In cases like these, it is (or should be) less about competition, and more about doing what's right for those whose lives are turned upside-down.
Totally missing the point. Both objectives could have been reached by doing what other stations did -- run the show and run the scroll. The problem with KRDo was that they didn't have accurate information; they fumbled for it. The others had accurate information and balanced the interets of all viewers. I don't think showing the same topo map forever made any difference to the people who were running like hell.
I was beside myself when I cued up Lost on my DVR at 9:20 only to see it was being delayed, but then again I didn't realize the storm was still in progress and KRDO was trying to get the word out. Fair enough... All I can say is thank goodness for Usenet/Newsgroups -- I'll be downloading the full high-def version of Lost this afternoon and watching it streamed to my HDTV as if nothing happened! :D
Technically the border counties are in KKTV, KRDO, KXRM and KOAA's FCC designated viewing area. So, some coverage is warranted to fill requirements. The truth of the matter is that the people in the border counties are watching Denver TV on cable or Goodland TV or satellite dish TV. A crawl and a few newsbreaks would have sufficed.
I think the KRDOer's comments are totally legit: They thought this was the best way to serve the public interest, so they did it.
As I said before, I want to see if they'll do it again and, if they do, will the others follow? An hour and a half of primetime is setting the bar very, very high.
Not a whole lot of accurate information was available on 9/11 as it was happening, either. Was it terrorists? Were they commuter jets? Was anyone onboard the planes? Should the networks have dumped out to get back to Regis and Kelly while they collected the accurate info? I'm sure they had a really compelling guest that morning. It's clear that the majority of today's populace would much rather be entertained than informed. Information is boring. Storylines are exciting! The library sucks. Movies are awesome! Well, 9/11 just happened for people in Holly. They and their '78 Ford pickups may be way out in the boondocks compared to us Lexus SUV-driving yuppies in the city, but dammit, they matter, too. And they deserved the coverage they got. "Lost" is just a TV show. These people's lives are ruined and they'll have to start from scratch. But that's boring because they're not pretty. Fake people stranded on a fictional island are much more compelling! More "Lost!" Less Holly.
You're really stretching now. Comparing a tornado to 9/11. Nothing I say would amplify the insanity of that statement more than the statement itself. Enjoy your Kool-Aid.
Yes I can see it now. 3/28 NEVER FORGET! The movies ... the memoirs ... a national day of mourning ... a special Danbury Mint coin struck from the metal from an actual farm railing ...
3/28 NEVER FORGET!
I'm surprised, since this is a Gazette-run blog, that no talkbackers have tried to tie this in with traffic tickets in the Springs yet. So yes, KRDO was trying to serve the public interest, but it was utterly futile, as the other posters above have stated. Other stations handled it appropriately. THat being said, why wouldn't a crawl have been sufficient?
Wait! LOST is just a TV show. Aren't these people real? I thought this was a reality show about people stranded on an island? I mean they're lives are ruined. No more Arby's, no more Wal Mart, no more KRDO ... wait, strike that last one.
I live and own a business in the Wasson Area, but I born and raised in near Lamar. My parents, family and friends live in Holly. I could not reach them on the phone and the only info I got was from seeing the reports on Krdo. They
showed me where the storms were at and I got alot of comfort out of the fact that the radar was showing that there weren't other
funnels touching down and the storm was passing. So i'm sorry
for those of you that didn't get
to watch your show...maybe you can watch it in summer re-runs!
Dr. G
hey i was listening to gunnie bob koa-850khz. last night and got the news from that show!!then i switched tv channels up and down until i listened to mr mesiter on krdo tv.. GREAT JOB MATT! i looked into koaa and kktv and they were running only "crawls" on the bottom and i watched kxrm tv and terry g said (check it out)>"just a little tornado on his program" and nooo s.n.g.or live units. GOSH!! .!i guess joe c. said he did .. send crews on the street but i think that it deserved more, from fox 21 !!also cw/ news 2 was also there last night thats my opinoin..great tv station ,news 2!! and krdo tv -13..ill listen to news 13 from now on..
hey andyw ..did you see big "peak uplink" s.n.g mobile dish there in holly,colorado on c.n.n.with a reporter named rhonda in the afternoon at holly??..by the way ?? where were the other tv stations from kansas??like kwch and ksn and kupk tv in garden city?? dont they (people)get the news from there any or does it stop at the colorado /kansas border?? also great to see nina sporano without jon karroll doing the news..
Here's my two cents worth having worked in this TV market for more than 22 years:
It used to be that the weather crawls run by the TV stations were less intrusive but still effective in getting the message out. Only when something became really serious would anyone consider breaking into programming. I think the event on Wednesday night in Holly warranted the coverage.
That being said, it bothers me that KRDO broke in but essentially had nothing to add to the situation other than hearsay and rumor. Local stations have been trying to scoop their competition since their inception but it's gotten to the point that it isn't beneficial to the viewers with all the inaccuracies reported. Any day now KRDO will run a promo that says they were the first station to bring you live reporting of the tornado in Holly neglecting to mention they provided incorrect information.
I don't understand the need to try and put all the unnecessary graphics that no one understands in the weather crawls...can anyone really tell which counties are being shown in the corner? I also don't understand why the stations feel it necessary to run the crawls constantly. Let them run through two or three times every 10 to 12 minutes unless something really serious develops. I know they have invested a lot of money to have the flashy technology that's better than the other guys, but you still need to have a meteorologist who is able to read the data to come up with an intelligent forecast...something that is sorely lacking for the most part in the Colorado Springs and Pueblo TV viewing area - it used to be better, IMHO.
From the General Manager on down to the field reporter, someone needs to making better decisions about the process of how information is gathered and disseminated to the viewing community. Quality and accuracy have been usurped by speed and flashy graphics. No station in the area is innocent. They all are living in the past and not adapting to the new realities of the information age.
The stations not investing in the equipment to provide weather and breaking news information in HD is a topic for another day.
Well spoken!
I'm glad I'm not the only who thinks taking up 1/3 of the TV screen crawl with all the counties is absurd. As you pointed out... I can't tell one from the other!
And to add to your point about one upping each other... it's not just the Springs stations. "News" has suddenly become an Olympic sport wherein every single news outlet, from the big guys to Jimbo and Buck in a pickup have to descend on every single story like piranhas at a feeding frenzy. It's not about the news at all anymore... it's about who can scoop who and cover it "better."
Listen to the tone of voice of some of these reports. Listen to the word choices they're using. It's got nothing to do with actual REPORTING of the news... it's almost as if they're trying to script it and frame it in the most dramatic way possible.
I was listening to KKTV this morning as I was getting ready for work. No offense to Stephanie Ross (I think that was the field reporter doing the story), but the dramatic cliches she was tossing out literally made me want to vomit. She wasn't reporting the news so much as she was dramatizing it. But it wasn't just her, EVERY channel did this. Sickening really.
Agreed, mad man...it's not about accurately reporting news anymore. It's about one-upping the competition and going for higher ratings by whatever means are necessary. It really is inaccurate to call most news programming "news" any longer...especially on the local level.
we have too many tv stations here doing the news here..it just sucks..cant mr news director kxrm tv 21 joe cole get the money from mr dant and at least get a sat truck from barrington broacasting there.. or he cant get it..let krdo tv do the weather . news first and kktv sucks !and they all have sat trucks.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/crnews/display_story.php?wfo=pub&storyid=6982&source=0
Full damage survey, looks like KRDO did what needed to be done for residents north of Holly, surely it was appreciated by the ranchers in the area...
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