A Week with ABC-Channel 13 KTRK

Media Critiques
A Week with ABC-Channel 13 KTRK
By P.J. Weedis
Nov 21, 2005, 18:01

Television news often bears the brunt of journalistic criticism, but after monitoring the nightly 10pm news on Houston’s ABC affiliate, Channel 13, I realized that the station is doing a job that is actually much harder than it appears.

Local television news stations do their best to try to create a thorough and detailed product, all the while attempting to conserve as much time as possible. The 30 minutes of nightly news leading up to Nightline often creates for an inadequate representation of what is happening in our city.

The stories that dominated the local part of the newscasts during the time that I monitored KTRK included the escaped death-row inmate and the fallout that ensued after his capture, which I felt was probably the most well put together story. Although the reporting was lacking in the number of sound bites that Andy Cerota was able to acquire, the photography that went along with the story was captivating.

The photography which followed the capture and presentation of Charles Thompson in front of the court was undeniably classic. The story was a testament to the positive aspects of television journalism. The callous attitude and creepy grin from Thompson could not have been written with words in a newspaper. Viewers were able to see for themselves how this man felt about what he had done. It’s certainly a good example of the “eyewitness news” attitude at KTRK.

The best part of every newscast is the guy who is reading it – Dave Ward. With his brassy baritone voice and flawless recitation of the teleprompter, it is easy for a person to focus on the news at hand because one isn’t distracted by any faults of the reader. It’s incredible to think that Ward has actually been anchoring the local news in Houston since the mid 1960s.

And then there’s Marvin Zindler. Marvin is in charge of wrapping up the best and worst restaurants, giving Houstonians even more pause before ordering their cheeseburgers. With Marvin’s detailed accounts of cockroach droppings, rodent feces and slime in the ice machine, he can turn even the hungriest person into a very weary diner. But what is all of this really? What it appears Marvin’s done is merely obtained a copy of the weekly report from the Health Department, and recited it on the air. Is that really journalism?

Sure, I understand that many people might consider the 84-year-old to be a Houston treasure and he still deserves some airtime. But with a newscast already battling for every second and competing with weather, sports and commercials. Marvin’s restaurant reports should be brought down a notch on the scale of importance. The best part about Marvin’s report is at the end when he hollers his trademarked phrase, “Marvin Zindler, Eye-witness News” and Dave Ward and Gina Gaston both look at each other, struggling to keep in their giggles.

For those who really are fans of Marvin, the week of November 21 to November 25 offers an exciting example of his news style. Each night during the week, Marvin’s dressed in a tuxedo surrounded by beauty pageant winners and reads off his list of “Blue Ribbon Award” restaurant winners. I bet that guy never has to pay for a meal.

Marvin’s work doesn’t stop at the food industry on Friday nights either. He has the task of personally congratulating Houstonians on significant birthdays and anniversaries. On Friday night, it took one minute and five seconds for Marvin to extend his congratulations. It doesn’t sound like a long time at first, but compare that number to just two minutes and 28 seconds spent on the lead news story of the evening. Sure, I understand that it might just be a very short amount of time every week, but shouldn’t that time be spent on hard news that affects a greater number of Houstonians?

At the end of the week, I didn’t have any real complaints about the news from KTRK. It’s certainly not an easy task to pull together, at the end of the day, the top stories affecting the fourth largest city in the United States. On top of that, the stories are expected to be as fast-paced and as aesthetically interesting as possible, and on top of that to provide a considerable amount of information.

Television news critics say that it is lacks in information and substance. The criticism does not take into account the idea that entertainment is the nature of broadcast news. It is the fastest and most accessible form of information, and because it is so, it certainly can’t be perfect.