21 January 2009
Fun with local inauguration coverage
Every four years, it seems local news outlets go crazy with their coverage of the Presidential inauguration.
This year was probably worse than most, given the historic nature of the event. Unfortunately, the whole thing can lead to way too many good journalists struggling with way too little to say and producing... well, fare that is below the usual standards.
Here are a few such things that caught my eye:
It may have been dusk, but as thousands of Muslims gathered in places of worship around the city to pray, it felt like a momentous new dawn. (Brad Woodard, KHOU-11 News)
and
The inauguration of President Barack Obama was an event shared by the country, the world, and even by a lot of people who voted for Sen. John McCain. We just watched history play out in front of our eyes, and now it’s time to let it all sink in. This was culmination of an election cycle unlike any in U.S. history. Two years, 20 or so candidates, and a now the country has its first African American President. (Miya Shay, West University Examiner)
Please feel free to share your favorite examples of inaugural-related damage to the English language committed by local journalists in the forum. Now that it's over, we might as well have some fun with it!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/21/09 10:59 PM |
06 January 2009
KGOW-1560 scores ratings victory
KGOW-1560 (The Game), which only recently began encoding its signal to register with Arbitron, scored a nice victory in the latest ratings book. The Chronicle's David Barron posts the details:
John Granato and Lance Zierlein, the onetime leaders in Houston morning drive radio sports talk, begin the new year on top once again.
KGOW (1560 AM), which reunited Granato and Zierlien in November 2007 after both left longtime sports talk market leader KILT (610 AM), topped the December Arbitron ratings among men 25-54 with a 1.7 audience share in morning drive.
KFNC (97.5 FM) was second at 1.5, KILT was third at 1.0 and KBME (790 AM) brought up the rear with a 0.5 share.
[snip]
KILT, bolstered by its Texans and Rockets game broadcasts, remains the market leader in the weeklong numbers among men 25-54, the key demographic for sports radio advertising. KILT has a 1.8 share to 0.9 for each of the other three stations in the 6 a.m. to midnight weekly numbers for December.
KILT also retains a substantial lead in cumulative listeners. The station had 152,200 weekly listeners in December to 94,800 for KBME, 59,200 for KFNC and 31,200 for KGOW, according to Arbitron. KILT also had the highest weekly cume in morning drive with 42,400 weekly listeners in men 25-54 to 40,600 for KFNC, 23,600 for KGOW and 17,400 for KBME.
KGOW, however, had the highest average quarter-hour share because even though it has fewer total listeners than KILT, its listeners spend more time tuned in than do KILT’s.
“You want both, more listeners and more time spent listening,” Topper said. “But if I had my druthers, I’d rather have a small group of people who are passionate about the station.”
KGOW seems to be having some early success building an independent radio station with a popular, personality-driven show and an intensely loyal listenership. That model is the one followed in the beginning by The Ticket, which is a Dallas sports talk monster and now has all sorts of great shows and personalities in addition to the venerable Hard Line and Dunham & Miller programs. So here's hoping KGOW follows that buildout model and is able to improve its weaker shows over time.
One thing that is striking about the Houston radio numbers is just how weak they are overall. Either there aren't that many radio listeners interested in sports talk in Houston, or many people find some of the hosts and programs unlistenable. I'm inclined towards the latter. What do you think?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/06/09 08:00 AM |
14 November 2008
Local corporate alt-weekly wants a political blogger
Remember back in the day when the Public News and the Houston Press covered local politics, and alt-media names like Fleck and Simmon and Woodall actually mattered?
That seems like a long time ago. These days, the corporate alt-media rag is practically begging for someone to write about local politics:
Hair Balls is looking for a good political blogger, one who can keep up with local and state goings-on.
We're not looking for inside-baseball minutia, but we don't want broad-brush "The Other Side Sucks!!" stuff linking to Daily Kos or NRO's The Corner.
It's Internet money, so you won't get rich, but you will get a chance to have a platform.
If you're a local political blogger and want to lend your talents to a publication that once covered local politics and occasionally shook things up, shoot 'em an email. We're looking forward to reading about local politics in the Press again (or at least reading the website).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/14/08 08:43 PM |
20 October 2008
Local reporters win Lone Star Emmys
The Lone Star Emmys were announced over the weekend, and Mark Greenblatt was honored for his outstanding reporting on HPD, "Hiding Homicide."
Recall that Chief Hurtt's ghost blogger(s) tried to smear Greenblatt and his reporting on this topic. Apparently, professionals in journalism felt differently about it.
Other local award winners (as per the Lone Star Emmy site) are posted below. Congrats to all!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/08 10:06 PM |
06 September 2008
Danger Train apparently strikes pedestrian; KPRC website pulls story (updated)
Earlier in the week, the Danger Train apparently struck a pedestrian.
The original story was here on the KPRC-2 site, but that link no longer works, so here is the cached google version.
A version was also posted to MSNBC.
Nothing on the web ever truly goes away, which may come as news to the KPRC web editor (as well as Richard Justice). But wouldn't it be nice if someone elaborated on this news, instead of trying (unsuccessfully) to pull the news story?
ANNE LINEHAN ADDS: In the forum, Royko notes that in spite of the general local media blackout on Danger Train accidents, they are still happening:
How many have heard about the 39 tram incidents in 2008?
Well, none of us have heard of the 39 accidents because local media isn't interested in reporting them, and METRO definitely isn't interested in sharing them, unless there's a TXPIA involved.
Be sure to follow the link to see some of the Danger Train "highlights" so far this year.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/06/08 06:33 PM |
21 August 2008
Local watchdog/news group up and running
Journalist Trent Seibert passes along word today that his new watchdog/news group Texas Watchdog is now up and running. Seibert is joined initially by former Dallas Observer staffer Matt Pulle.
Texas Watchdog describes itself as "a news Web site and training center that scrutinizes the actions of government agencies, bureaucracies and politicians in Texas. It is an independent, nonpartisan entity founded on the belief that our American democracy depends on transparency in government."
Today's launch includes two stories with a state focus (examining Texas political money-men Fred Baron and Stephen Payne).
Seibert says that the Houston-based group will cover some state issues, but will also hit local issues. He adds that in addition to breaking news, the group hopes to provide training for citizen-journalists interested in watchdog journalism and government transparency/accountability, and will even offer some fellowships.
Here is a blog post from Nashville's Post Politics blog that offers some background on Seibert and the Texas Watchdog effort (Seibert hails most recently from Nashville).
We're looking forward to what a couple of dedicated watchdog journalists can turn up in an area where so much print "coverage" of municipal/county affairs (not to mention METRO) amounts to uncritical cheerleading. Just a friendly hint, though -- we'd like to see a blog and some RSS feeds eventually!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/21/08 12:29 PM |
16 August 2008
CNN's Houston "bureau"
Laurence Simon and Mike McGuff note that CNN is opening up a Houston bureau:
Each city will get one person who can provide "grassroots level" coverage of breaking news and other local stories, said Nancy Lane, senior vice president of newsgathering for CNN/U.S.
The mix of traditional general assignment reporters and "all-platform journalists" may be based at affiliate stations, colleges or even at home, Lane said, with the best available technology to file film and photo reports via laptop computers and PDAs.
Some of the new jobs may be filled by correspondents now with CNN's daytime and prime-time programs, the network said.
Besides Philadelphia and Seattle, the journalists will be located in Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Houston; Las Vegas; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; the Raleigh, N.C., area; and Minneapolis, Minn., where the approach was tested and is in operation.
Er, not exactly a bureau. As Mike McGuff puts it, "Houston to get CNN reporter." How exciting!
RELATED: Houston to get new CNN news bureau (Houston Business Journal)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 08/16/08 07:14 PM |
19 June 2008
Hoffman: Baker nominated to Texas Radio Hall of Fame
The Chronicle's Ken Hoffman checks in on former local talker Chris Baker:
Veteran radio talker Chris Baker, the only local host ever to host two different shows on two different stations (KTRH and KPRC) at the same time, was abruptly dismissed from both stations in November.
Then last week he was nominated for the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
That's radio for you. One moment you're up, one moment you're down.
Often they're the same moment.
I asked him, how badly do you want to be elected to the Hall of Fame? Most people in Baker's position take the politically correct route ... "I'm happy just to be nominated."
Yeah, right.
If you ever listened to Baker, you know his politics are, well, a little different. Some things never change.
"I don't know how others feel, but to me it's a really big deal," said Baker, who now does his yakking on KTLK-FM in Minneapolis.
KTLK — wow, "talk" about your great radio call letters.
"I grew up listening to Texas radio stations, like KLIF, the Mighty 1190, in Dallas and KFJZ in Fort Worth. As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be on the radio. I spent many days and nights talking into a broomstick over a giant Zenith stereo in our living room doing talk-ups to Kenny Rogers' Something's Burning, James Brown's Papa's Got a Brand New Bag and Mitch Ryder's Devil With a Blue Dress.
"My heroes are in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, and if I were to make it, it would be surreal. I had an incredible seven years in Houston, and I am proud of every moment and miss Houston more than you can imagine.
Here's hoping our old friend makes it in.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/19/08 08:02 AM |
18 June 2008
Shakeup at KHCW-39 news
The Chronicle's David Barron reports on big changes to KHCW-39's news operation, as the station gets ready to expand its evening newscast:
Sherry Williams and Alan Hemberger will be replaced by Steve Simon and Mia Gradney as anchors of KHCW's (Channel 39) 9 p.m. newscast, and news director Joe Nolan has resigned, effective June 27, three days before the station expands its nightly newscast from 30 minutes to an hour.
While Hemberger will remain with Channel 39 as a weekend anchor, Williams is no longer employed by the Tribune Co.-owned station, general manager Roger Bare said.
Neither Hemberger nor Williams was available for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Neither Nolan nor Bare would comment specifically on the reasons for the anchor shifts, citing station policy regarding personnel issues.
Hemberger and Nolan gave that operation needed credibility. These moves don't bode well.
UPDATE (06-20-2008): David Barron reports that Hemberger asked for the move to weekends, as the expanded newscast would cut into important family time (he has a special-needs daughter). While the newscast could sure use his credibility, it's understandable (and praiseworthy) that Hemberger's family comes first.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/18/08 10:25 PM |
28 May 2008
Hoffman on CW39 news, Chron scoops
The Chronicle's Ken Hoffman has good news for local news junkies:
Eight years ago, the half-hour Channel 39 News at 9 p.m. with anchors Sherry Williams and Alan Hemberger signed on.
And almost from the start there were rumors it was being shut down.
That was because the owner of the station, the Tribune Company, was canceling the local news on similar stations it owned in other markets.
But Channel 39 News at 9 p.m. survived.
Then a new owner, Chicago billionaire businessman Sam Zell, took over the station in January.
What a difference an owner can make.
On June 30 — forget being canceled — Channel 39 News will expand to one hour Monday through Friday.
"This is something I've been lobbying for from the get-go," said Channel 39 news director Joe Nolan. "It hasn't been easy. It's hard to think of expanding the news when you keep hearing those rumors that we're being shut down. The economy hasn't exactly been kind to media companies recently."
Nolan got the OK to expand the news back in March. While that is twice the time, it won't mean he gets to double his staff.
While he can hire a new reporter and photographer team, a new editor and a few behind-the-scenes people, twice the time means the current staff simply will do more.
[snip]
"Everybody around here is excited and pumped. The reporters will get more time to develop and tell their stories. We hope to create some new franchises, too. Mia Gradney will do more with her entertainment coverage, and Steve Simon will do more technology news. We will give Elizabeth Lee more time with consumer stories. It was very difficult to cram all the news in Houston into 30 minutes. This is a very newsworthy city," Nolan said.
Good for Nolan and the CW39 crew. This city could use more -- and more serious -- news coverage. Now if we could just get an RSS feed on the CW39 news page....
Further down the column, Hoffman calls attention to a couple of Chron headlines:
A headline in Tuesday's Houston Chronicle caught my eye:
KHOU's Neil Frank announces retirement during newscast
Wow! What a scoop. I never saw that one coming.
But I liked this headline from Dec. 13, 2007 even more:
Meteorologist Neil Frank to retire in 2008
What's he going to do next?
Go on tour with Cher? She's the retiring kind, too.
As the blogfather would say, heh, indeed.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/28/08 10:27 PM |
02 April 2008
Radio Mojo "stars" as unoriginal and crude as ever
Walton and Johnson, the uninspiring duo who were inexplicably given hours upon hours of airtime to fill on a once-important Houston radio station after Michael "Babe Pages" Berry managed to depose most everyone who knew much about radio programming, have (inadvertently) produced some attention-grabbing entertainment over the last couple of days.
As noted by Laurence Simon earlier, the duo apparently lifted some material verbatim from the Say Anything blog.
Except that now, the Walton and Johnson blog entry containing the plagiarism has simply been... rewritten, with the offending material removed (but there's still my furled copy -- nothing ever truly goes away on the internet), and no explanation given. Nicely played!
How unfortunate that a once-important Houston radio station is now the flagship for profane plagiarists and babe pages.
BLOGVERSATION: Mike McGuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/02/08 11:22 PM |
12 March 2008
Working hard to find that local angle
KHOU-11's Leigh Frillici drew the short straw in the newsroom today:
Finding high-price call girls in Houston
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/12/08 07:33 PM |
04 March 2008
Thoughts on tonight's elections and election coverage (please contribute!)
For us political junkies, tonight's elections and local election coverage continue to be gripping.
Most of it anyway. KHOU-11 just threw it over to Len Cannon, who proceeded to discuss Chronicle editorial page cartoonist Nick Anderson's latest doodlings.
Really compelling political analysis there, KHOU. Enough of the cartoons -- Back to KTRK-13...
Feel free to add your own observations on tonight's elections and election coverage in the comments.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/04/08 10:01 PM |
28 February 2008
Spivak: Barack Obama and me
This week's Houston Press has an interesting story by Todd Spivak on Barack Obama. Spivak covered Obama when he was an Illinois state legislator, and has some interesting insight on the presidential candidate.
We generally don't delve into national politics on this blog unless there's some local angle (and I'm not really trying to start a discussion about Obama's politics here, although I suppose it's fair game), but in this case I thought it was worth noting Spivak's story, because it's likely to get some national play, and it's an example of the gritty journalism at small newspapers that can inform down the line that appeals to me. From a local journalist.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/28/08 08:01 AM |
13 February 2008
Clear Channel to sell two Houston stations
The Chronicle's David Barron posts that Clear Channel will be selling two of its Houston radio stations:
Under an agreement with the Department of Justice, Clear Channel Communications agreed today to sell two of its Houston radio stations to comply with anti-trust requirements associated with Clear Channel's pending acquisition by two private equity investment firms.
According to the agreement, Clear Channel will sell KLOL (101.1 FM), the heritage rock-and-roll station that now airs Spanish contemporary hits, and either KHMX (96.5 FM) or KTBZ (94.5 FM).
Houston is one of four markets -- the others being San Francisco, Cincinnati and Las Vegas -- where Clear Channel must sell stations to meet government anti-trust requirements.
It's unfortunate that none of the Clear Channel AM stations will be going on the block. But perhaps new ownership will bring improvements to the mostly dismal Clear Channel AM lineups.
BLOGVERSATION: Mike McGuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/13/08 09:36 PM |
02 February 2008
And now, the rest of the story (on Peden's fundraising)
Yesterday, the Chronicle's Alan Bernstein reported the following:
In the neighboring 14th District, Republican incumbent Ron Paul and primary challenger Chris Peden each raised less than $50,000 in the last three months. But thanks to funds from previous campaigns, Paul had a balance of $144,000 at year's end, twice as much as Peden. Paul can use in the congressional campaign some of the millions he raised to run for president.
At some point, David Benzion of the Lone Star Times (a weblog ostensibly independent from KSEV-700) noted that the numbers were reversed, and that Peden (a KSEV favorite) actually had twice as much money on hand as Paul (not a KSEV favorite). Shortly after Benzion's post appeared, the Chron.com story was corrected in the usual annoying nontransparent fashion, with no mention of the previous error.
Today, the Chronicle runs a correction:
Friendswood accountant Chris Peden, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Ron Paul in the Republican primary, had about $144,000 in campaign funds on hand at the end of 2007, more than twice the amount saved by Paul. An article on Page B2 Friday listed incorrect figures.
That correction isn't nearly as interesting as today's blog post at the County Seat, though. We encourage you to read the entire post, but here's the punchline regarding the Peden fundraising juggernaut (or perhaps that should be juggerNOT):
$150,424.49 out of $174,750.80 raised (of which $143,949.92 remain unexpended on banner ads), did not simply come from "local" addresses in towns like Friendswood. It came from one single address in Friendswood: 1878 Flat Rock Street, as in the abode of the candidate himself.
Additionally, the County Seat points out that Peden's family donated another $16,100 to the candidate, "[placing] just over $166,000 of Peden's claimed total haul of $174,000 'in the family.'"
Peden's financial support certainly doesn't seem very deep among the grassroots, despite the KSEV efforts (and Peden's advertising campaign on the ostensibly independent Lone Star Times) -- a nifty bit of insight from the County Seat (or, to channel Paul Harvey, the rest of the story)!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/02/08 12:44 PM |
11 January 2008
Instant News Network: Timely, hyperlocal, online news reporting
The greater Houston area has a new player in online news reporting: Instant News Network.
Here is the organization's press release:
InstantNewsNetwork.com announced today it has bought FortBendNow.com and plans to launch constantly updated neighborhood news sites across Houston and Dallas.
"We deliver neighborhood news to your computer when it happens, not your front lawn a week later," said George Boehme, managing director of InstantNewsNetwork.com.
The lack of timeliness in neighborhood news is what drove InstantNewsNetwork.com Editorial Director Bob Dunn to create FortBendNow.com in September 2005. Today, the website averages more than 10,000 daily visits, more than 320,000 monthly visits, and more than 1.6 million monthly page views.
InstantNewsNetwork.com will expand FortBendNow.com, immediately adding two additional mobile journalists to the staff and providing a redesign that will bring additional features to the site, including marketplace and business directories.
In addition to Dunn and Boehme, InstantNewsNetwork.com's partners include Clayton Harris, most recently director of business operations for Houston Community Newspapers, as well as Lane Smith, former manager of online development for Houston Community Newspapers.
Boehme is the founder and former publisher of Examiner Newspaper Group. Houston Community Newspapers bought Examiner Newspaper Group in April, 2006.
Planned for the first quarter 2008 are three more neighborhood news sites, in West University, Bellaire and Cinco Ranch. Within 18 months, InstantNewsNetwork.com expects to be managing more than 20 neighborhood news web sites in key Houston and Dallas markets.
Boehme tells us that the organization's focus "will be very very local and timely hard news." He further reveals that FortBendNow.com's mobile journalists will each be posting 4-7 times per day, with some video, for 12-21 timely, hyperlocal news stories daily.
If Instant News Network can pull it off, then they will OWN that local news market. And they will truly be showing the big boys how news should be done in the internet age.
Of course, most newsies have envisioned the future of news reporting as looking something like this. But will it be able to make money, and thereby support the folks gathering the news (and the owners and the overhead)? When asked how the enterprise will make money, Boehme offered a one-liner: "Advertising."
We hope he's right, as we're fans of hyperlocal news reporting and efforts at developing the (online) newspaper of the future.
BLOGVERSATION: Brazosport News.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/11/08 11:50 PM |
27 December 2007
When in doubt, go for the local
Headline on Chron.com:
U.S. home prices post steepest fall since 1991
Headline on the Houston Business Journal's website:
Study: Home prices increase in Texas markets
I'm thinking the more locally focused story would be of greater interest to most Houston-area residents.
(Originally posted by Anne Linehan on 12/26/07 and restored from Bloglines)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/27/07 09:54 PM |
14 December 2007
KHOU's Neil Frank to retire in 2008
Last week, Mike McGuff informed that former KTRK-13 meteorologist Gene Norman appeared to be headed back to Houston for a top job.
Today, the Chronicle's David Barron confirms that Norman has been tapped as the replacement for none other than a retiring Neil Frank on KHOU-11:
Neil Frank, KHOU's (Channel 11) chief meteorologist since 1987 and the former director of the National Hurricane Center, will retire from the station in 2008 and will be succeeded by former KTRK (Channel 13) meteorologist Gene Norman, Channel 11 officials said this afternoon.
Norman, who recently resigned as chief meteorologist at WGCL in Atlanta, that city's CBS affiliate, will join Channel 11 on Jan. 28, president and general manager Susan McEldoon said.
"Gene is being hired to eventually replace Doc (Frank), who will be retiring later in 2008," McEldoon said. "We don't have a specific date yet, but we want this overlapping time so there can be a smooth transition."
Norman, a former NASA scientist who worked at Channel 13 in the middle to late 1990s before going to Atlanta in 2000, has won four local Emmys and three awards from the Associated Press broadcasters for his weather coverage in Georgia.
Frank, who came to Channel 11 in 1987 from the hurricane center in Miami, will be remembered for ushering in a new era for Houston TV forecasters, said Ann Hodges, the retired longtime television critic for the Chronicle.
"He had such a high profile from his job in Florida, and he was the authority on hurricanes, so goodness knows there was no better place for him to be," Hodges said. "After he arrived, you never again saw weathermen coming out in funny costumes and dong [sic] silly things as they used to do. They had to have credentials. So he changed things in Houston for the better."
Will Neil Frank stick around for one more hurricane season? If not, who will inspire Ken Hoffman's meteorologist commentary?
BLOGVERSATION: Mike McGuff, TBIFOC, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/14/07 11:40 AM |
07 December 2007
Visibility?
It's 10:15 pm.
Does KTRK-13's Tim Heller stand-in really have to tell us the current visibility? Or worse, to LEAD with it?
It's night. I guarantee, I can't see 8 miles. Or whatever it was he just said the visibility is.
UPDATE: Dave Ward just reported someone is stealing bales of hay from a farm in Sevier County, Tennessee.
It seems like kind of an erratic night at KTRK.
UPDATE 2: I should note that the first part is meant to be tongue in cheek. I do realize that pilots and boaters might find such info useful, even at night. I was just amused that it was such an emphasis.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/07/07 10:20 PM |
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