Media Critiques
When the Astros made it to the playoffs and then the World Series, celebrations exploded around the city. The local news stations did their best to cover the excitement at just about every location you could think about. From bar to bar reporters reported the news everyone knew was happening; people were having fun cheering for the home team.
But how much is too much?
KHOU Channel 11 spent 21 minutes talking about the Astros excitement during their 10 p.m. newscast on October 19. The Astros did become the National League Champions that night, but does the Houston television viewer really need or want to see eleven minutes of bar scenes with reporters stating the obvious time and time again? Channel 11 had no less than five reporters scattered throughout the city talking about the viewing parties and how much fun the people at those parties were having. Parties are fun? Is that really news?
The station did manage to squeeze in two minutes of non-Astros news in the middle of the newscast with the forecast and Hurricane Wilma news, but after that it was back to the Astros game to announce the win again.
Other things that happened on the Oct. 19 newscast include 15 area Randall’s stores being shut down, and a report by Harris County Tax Assessor Paul Bettencourt stating that homeowner’s taxes have increased 7.5 percent in the past year and that in nine years they would double their current amount. The Houston Chronicle reported those stories while Channel 11 looked more like ESPN --local edition.
The day after the big win, Channel 11 delivered more of the same in terms of the Astros to “other news” ratio. While they actually strayed from the party scene this time, they still only managed to deliver one minute of non-Astros news with about a 5 minute weathercast that included a Hurricane Wilma update.
On October 21, Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon, passed away. The announcement was appropriately at the top of the newscast, and while the amount of non-Astros news did improve, the 10 p.m. show was still overwhelmingly Astros focused, with 18 minutes devoted to the team.
There was no mention of the controversy surrounding the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court nor any news of oil prices that are actually getting better. Not even news of possible massive layoffs from Ford, as reported by the Chronicle, found its way onto Channel 11’s air that night.
Out of a week of watching the local CBS affiliate, its news agenda is so heavily weighted to covering entertainment that it ignores substantive news developments. That leaves the public less informed. Part of the problem may be Channel 11’s crude boosterism. Yes, it was the week the local team won the pennent. But what happened to objective reporting. The station completely identifies with the fans and becomes a fan, proving its loyalty and perhaps hoping viewers will be loyal to the station. Proving once again that it’s really about building an audience, not about informing the public.
The question is "Should more socially important news take a backseat to sports when the home team does well?"
While I will admit, news of the Astros going to the World Series is significant, especially considering the team’s history. I just think local stations should be careful about going overboard with their coverage.
After all, there are other things occurring in the world.
© Copyright World Internet News 2006-07
Top of Page
| 
