Give me news!

[Stn Brk]

CTV-9 has opened its supper hour news with the Canucks for two straight nights now. Why?

Anyone interested in the game Monday night was watching CBC. Those of us who wanted to know what else was going on in the world tuned to see a newscast. What did we get? Twenty minutes of sports drivel.

Tonight was even worse. There was some lame-ass report on how tired people were after last night's game. Cut to reporter in bed with a couple of mattress salespeople.

Click.

Has CTV hired one of NW's brain trust? This makes as much sense as putting a pre-game show on the air when you no longer have rights to the game.

[cart_machine]

CTV-9 has opened its supper hour news with the Canucks for two straight nights now. Why?

Because Don Imus didn't have a child with Anna Nicole Smith. That would have been the lead otherwise.

cArtie.

[Marke Driesschen]

I know that it seems utterly ridiculous to non-hockey fans, but believe it or not, people in this city are excited about the Canucks in the playoffs and, believe it or not, it is what people other than non-hockey fans are talking about, other than Anna Nicole Smith, Don Imus or Belinda Stronach. Local newscasts not only bring you the days news, they also reflect what's going on in their city, and right now this city's hockey team is in the playoffs and they are excited about it. You may not agree with it leading the show, but to pretend it wasn't happening just because it's on another channel would be wrong as well. It may not sit well with news purists, but its something newsrooms can't ignore either. And don't pin this just on CTV. Global is doing its fair share of "Canuck fever" stories too.

[Stn Brk]

I don't have a problem with hockey fans getting excited about the Canucks in the playoffs or tv stations other than the CBC covering the games.

Just keep the sports news in the sportscast.

CTV-9 wasted twenty minutes off the top of the newscast Wednesday night and another ten minutes - or more - Thursday. I gave up watching after the stupid crap with the bed.

There are some very talented reporters at CTV-9. They should be out digging up news stories - not cluttering the airwaves with sports features. Bad sports features. Embarrassingly bad sports features.

FYI. I was pleased to see sanity returned this evening and a news story led the newscast.

[Marke Driesschen]

I understand your points, Stn Break...but consider this.
Wednesday was the day after the Canucks first playoff game in 3 years, a game that went to 4 overtime periods, becoming the longest game in team history AND one of the longest games in NHL playoff history and it ended with a dramatic goal for the home team. Even for the people who did not go to that game, it was THE big story of that day. It was the only story everyone in the city and the province was talking about that day, so I would not call spending the opening segments on it a waste of time. A game like that also transends just being part of the sportscast, so why not get news reporters involved? The same thing happens when weather becomes a big story. Should it just be left for Tamara, Wayne, Mark Madryga or myself to cover it? No, not if it has a significant impact and affects a lot of people that day. I'm sure if something more newsworthy happened, the focus would be different. But on Wednesday, the Canucks were the big story. Too big to leave just to the sportscast alone
Again, not for anyone who dosen't care about hockey, but signifcant enough.

[cart_machine]

  people in this city are excited about the Canucks in the playoffs and, believe it or not, it is what people other than non-hockey fans are talking about, other than Anna Nicole Smith, Don Imus or Belinda Stronach.

I have yet to meet anyone outside of broadcasting who is either interested in, or has brought up the subject of, Don Imus.

I guess what Mr. Stnbrk is saying is that "What People Are Taking About" does not necessary equal "News."

cArtie.

[johnsykes]

I'm not going to say anything about the Canucks/News bit...I'm too biased.
However, how in hell can anyone tell me Belinda Stronach is known for her beauty? I keep hearing and reading about that...yet I think she's no better than ordinary-looking.
Maybe someone wants some of her millions so he calls her beautiful.....yuk!!!

[Russ_Byth]

Beauty isn't just skin deep John...... she's very very rich!

(Topic hijacking alert!)

[FormerLady1130]

people in this city are excited about the Canucks in the playoffs and, believe it or not, it is what people other than non-hockey fans are talking about,

Without a doubt it was what everyone was talking about.
No matter where I went the next morning just about every conversation was.. "how 'bout them Canucks -- I couldn't get out of bed this morning".

Former Lady1130

[Witty Humour]

Stnbrk..... I understand what you're getting at, but I think in this case you're dead wrong. If it was happening during the regular season, save the season opener after a long summer off, I'd agree, you'd have a strong arguement. But the fact is, as what Marke stated, THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT. People are the viewers, the listenership, the readers, and those are who the outlets cater to. Problem in this industry is, many hard core news people or news directors, don't see the value and the passion that their listeners/viewers/readers have for their teams. They tend to under-value the importance and the emotional connection their audience has with the Canucks, Lions, Giants or whoever. So I'm glad to see the extended coverage on t.v. or the radio.

[johnsykes]

[QUOTE]
Russ_Byth Posted on Apr 14 2007, 12:34 PM
Beauty isn't just skin deep John...... she's very very rich! wink.gif


The alleged beauty doesn't go beneath the skin either....snakes shed their skin, remember?

[Stn Brk]

Hey, Marke. If a gale force wind is headed towards Vancouver with the possibility of injury to people and damage to buildings etc, then the 'weather' story is - news.

If a hockey game has been over for 18 hours and discussed ad nauseum on radio, tv, internet, in newspapers and around the water cooler at the office, the 'sports' story is - history.

Sports guys will cover the game again and again - that's what they do. They have to fill air time between games. (FYI, sportscasting is the only profession where a diagnosis of obsessive personality disorder is an asset!)

My point is that when the news department spends its resources on sports features, we all lose. The reporters are not covering news stories. They're not getting in politicians' faces. They're not digging for the truth behind the press release. They are failing the viewers.

And ticking me off.

[FormerLady1130]

Hey, Marke. If a gale force wind is headed towards Vancouver with the possibility of injury to people and damage to buildings etc, then the 'weather' story is - news.

If a hockey game has been over for 18 hours and discussed ad nauseum on radio, tv, internet, in newspapers and around the water cooler at the office, the 'sports' story is - history.

Sports guys will cover the game again and again - that's what they do. They have to fill air time between games. (FYI, sportscasting is the only profession where a diagnosis of obsessive personality disorder is an asset!)

My point is that when the news department spends its resources on sports features, we all lose. The reporters are not covering news stories. They're not getting in politicians' faces. They're not digging for the truth behind the press release. They are failing the viewers.

And ticking me off.

Stn Bark, can I ask what you would have led with on that particular day?

[Jack Bennest]

sykes is a wanker - what is a wink.gif and where do I get one for my puter?

[Marke Driesschen]

Stn Break..
I don't know you and I don't think we've ever met-although I can't be 100%certain, since I probably know a few people who post on this board. But judging by your last message, I'm pretty sure you are not a sports fan, nor a fan of sportscasters.
That's your opinion and that's cool. But I have to tell you, if you are going to be ticked off at news stories about the Canucks, be prepared to be ticked off for a long time. Especially if the team makes it deep into the playoffs. You may not care about them, but an awful lot of people in this city do.
I think you are also being a bit extreme in saying that newsroom are dedicating their entire resources to the Canucks and are "failing the viewers." Newsrooms are not assigning their entire fleet of reporters on this story-maybe one or two at the most. There are still reporters out there getting in politicians faces and digging up stories important to us. But you can't fill a newscast with investigative stories and hard news everyday. And, as I mentioned before, good newsrooms and news programs also reflect what's going on in their city-what they care about, what they're talking about, what matters to them the most. These days, the Canucks mean more to people in Vancouver than politicians or what's really behind press releases. When the Seattle Seahawks were in the Super Bowl, every Seattle newscast featured them front and centre, with regular news reporters and sportscasters. Even opening day for the Mariners gets the lead! What do you think would happen if the Leafs made it to the playoffs? Lead story for the National! But that is what the community cares about at that moment, and for a newsroom to ignore that because it falls under something other than hard news would REALLY be failing the viewers. If, as you suggest, we should keep sports events to the sportscasters, should we just keep the 2010 Winter Olympics in the sports segements when it happens here? Any news director that suggests that would be out of work very quickly.