Raw, but c*nsored blabbing and blogging of a young journalista
and local news producer in Southern New England.
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Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Wishing for the end of "Three Wishes"

Dick Farrell, editor of The Times-Reporter of Dover-New Philadelphia, Ohio, writes an entertaining editorial:

Come on, folks, this isn't "reality television," not when videotape crews call for retakes of spontaneous reactions.
The drift I get is that some of you are feeling a little used, especially in the wake of the TV giveaway.
You're right. You were used. We here at The T-R were used. Merchants, contractors, community leaders -- all of us -- were used.
You were used when you were told you had to go to the tent on Saturday if you wanted to go to the Amy Grant concert on Tuesday. As it turned out, you didn't have to go to the tent. But it was important on Saturday that there were a lot of people on hand in downtown New Philadelphia. And the promise of concert tickets was a good way to get you there.
We were used because we gave the show all the publicity it asked for (including the concert details) and then some. But we politely rejected their advice on what the headlines should say.
"You worry about your TV show and I'll worry about the newspaper," I told one young field producer.

But Farrell doesn't end with Grant. Read down further and get a load of this!:

Newspapers haven’t employed proofreaders for years. Error-catching is the task of all of us in the newsroom and, I’ll admit, we’re not perfect at it.
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And sometimes in the rush to get a story in the paper, words get missed or headlines get screwed up.

I wish I could say that to all the people who call. 'Cause it's true, for Pete's sake.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/25/2005 07:24:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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