More evidence that TV news sucks
I rarely watch TV news unless one of my clients is on, but for whatever reason I was flipping through the local stations last night and stopped on ABC15 long enough to see their “big” story on the amazing new technology called the Internet. OK, actually it was about how some woman found a job on this wacky thing called Linkedin. Check it out and then I’ll comment on the other side:
Wow, you mean you can find a job on the Internet? Nice investigative reporting guys. Seriously, what can you really say about a powerful tool like Linkedin in just 1:26? Why even bother trying to explain it? Worst part is, Linkedin is a lot of things and a job search tool is way down on the list. And then instead of giving you the URL they tell you to go to their Web site to get the URL. Thanks for the effort.
TV news should stick to what its good at — covering fires, car crashes and murder. Leave the real reporting to journalists.
More evidence that TV news sucks
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Comments
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:02 am
Wow, was that harsh! Just because you’ve known about it for a while doesn’t mean everyone in the Valley has. Groundbreaking reporting? Maybe not. But I know there are lots of professionals who are still figuring out the whole social media thing, and maybe their viewers got some new ideas for job hunting in this economy. People learn about things in their own time, so I suggest easing up on people who aren’t as “linked in” as you may be.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:57 am
Luanne,
My beef wasn’t with the lack of social media knowledge, but but about how useless this story on ABC15 was…
Len
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 am
Funny, I read an article in PR week about how “The internet is more popular than ever for people are planning vacations and travel”. Brilliant.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:55 am
Harsh or not, Len is right: this has nothing to do with social media or early adoption and everything to do with bad reporting and wasted potential.
The reporter clearly doesn’t understand what she’s covering and it shows in the story. Did she show or explain how LinkedIn works? No. Did she even bother to call LinkedIn for an explanation? No. Or call a third-party such as a local HR person or corporate recruiter? No. She interviewed some guy on the street!
This day and age, these sorts of stories need to also link to *useful* web content. Being useful to people is how you keep audience share and build traffic to your website. Instead they sent it all to LinkedIn first.
This story (with a better explanation of how LinkedIn works) could have linked to a quick tutorial on the ABC15 website. If I’m looking for a job, I’m grateful to 15 for pointing this out and showing me how it works. That builds relationships and brand loyalty.
PR people — start hustling — the bar is very VERY low!
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Sorry, Len, as an award-winning former TV reporter/anchor I have to disagree with a blanket statement that TV news sucks.
I will comment, however, as the (volunteer) communications leader for the nonprofit Scottsdale Job Network, whose leaders have used LinkedIn since the platform came out and which has multiple online groups (including the SJN LinkedIn Group) AND also provides local workshops on the use of LinkedIn for job search support.
The NEWS is that LinkedIn FINALLY added Facebook-like applications this week, not that LinkedIn exists.
The NEWS is that Phoenix recruiters are moving toward being in sync with other markets and using LinkedIn to source candidates.
The NEWS is that an unfunded, all volunteer, nonprofit organization is providing more cutting edge support to skilled metro Phoenix job seekers than other organizations receiving large sums of taxpayer and/or grants funding.
SJN volunteers have pitched stories on how technology and social media have changed the job search process to a variety of local media, including the Republic, and they’ve chosen to ignore the story. ABC15 is at least looking for new story ideas and deserves credit for the multiple stories they’ve done on tips to help people find a job in a tough economy.
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Let me try to referee this game. I too don’t think much of our TV news coverage whose biggest fault in my opinion is not in dumbing down the story, but forcing it into a formula: One woman/guy does this/finds that. Reaction shot. Great Results. Wrap up. Things don’t work like that, whether it’s a new diet, a new widget or a new web site.
Yes, they are trying to have more ‘news you can use’ type stories, so I give them credit for this. But maybe they could have added some stats, showed the list of local LinkedIN networks and alumni groups, and how to connect to them. None of this fits the *formula* of course, so I pity the poor reporter. Let’s give her a break.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Having worked in a newsroom and seeing the progression of an idea in the assigment meeting to what airs at 10pm….there is a LOT that happens, a lot that changes and numerous people involved in that story coming together.
With the pressure to put more news in a rundown, you’ll never get a complete full story unless its a sweeps-investigator package, and even then, its been edited and picked at for weeks, including by legal.
The most important point in this story is it got people who may have never heard of Linkedin to at least think about it, learn about it or go online to type it in and see what it may involve.
Oh, also, if this story ran on the weekend, that means there was a skeleton crew at that…and maybe the reporter had one hour to get info for this story and have it written before sending to the editor. Easy to say they missed a lot, but main point was “Linkedin” could be another way to find a job.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:23 am
See, they should have interviewed Pat!
November 4th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Len–
While I see WHERE you are coming from, I have to disagree a bit.
While LinkedIn may be familiar to us in the communications and business world, it certainly is not familiar to everyone as evidenced by the people featured in the story.
The broad appealing story for LinkedIn, IMO, is that people can have an inside connection to find jobs (in this economy it is especially pertinent).
Sure, it does many things, but how many people would care about “keeping in touch with business contacts” as opposed to finding a job?
Like I said, I think they missed the mark on the story and it wasn’t the best, but I think the good intention was there (giving people a leg up to find jobs in a tough economy.) They billed and built up the story and, obviously, people looking for jobs aren’t aware of LinkedIn.
The story also gave a solid example of a person using the tool to find a job, so even though it may have been useless to me and you it wasn’t useless to everyone.
Brent Diggins
Mindspace PR
November 4th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I agree wholeheartedly that TV news (local…wherever local is for you) generally sucks, endemically — which is a big way to suck. No matter where I’ve lived, local TV news sucks, whether it’s Phoenix or Philadelphia. It manages to be self-important and trivial at the same time. Short lead times, skeleton crews, whatever — if you can’t do it right, don’t do it. One need look no further than the typical 8 pm teasers “Learn how this drug can save your life!” or “Suns game ends in dramatic flourish” which make us wait until 10 pm to find out the real news. A real newsperson will tell you the news that instant…if it’s really news. Would you call your S.O. at 3 pm and say “Honey, guess what happened to the car? I’ll tell you at 10 pm tonight!” Yet that’s SOP for local “news.” It’s marketing, not news. It’s the Dear Abby’izing of what should be news — a bad idea executed with pompous pancake-faced flourishes and meaningless ta-da’s. It’s helicopters crashing into each other to follow a story that doesn’t need to be told. It’s stentorian voices reporting a shooting 50 miles away while Rome burns apace.
True, the Linked-In report might have turned some people on to a nice resource that they were otherwise unaware of…but does it have to be done in such a trivial, content-free manner accompanied by such self-righteous bleating?
Baaaaa.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Broadcast journalism can be a key part of a PR program, often telling a story in ways that no other media can. Today 12 News Anchor/reporter Brahm Resnik did a comprehensive story on the national job loss numbers released today, and the impact on the Valley, He interviewed the Scottsdale Job Network’s director and a member who’s stuggling right now, as well as others. We know from prior stories on other local stations that this exposure is extremely valuable for our nonprofit organization and welcome any news crew, any time, to talk with us or come to an event. The more the merrier!
Quotes for the week ending 8 November, 2008 « Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 6:45 am
[...] Veihdeffer, commenting at ValleyPRBlog on a post about the way a local TV news station did a story on [...]