The lousiness of laziness and liars

I hate lazy people (and stupid ones, but that’s a blog for another time).

I can understand being sick. Last year, I showed up to work sick for three weeks since I wasn’t contagious and learned two lessons. First, I wasn’t appreciated and second, going to the doctor instead of assuming the bug would go away on its own would’ve gotten rid of it quicker.


feature roseanne barr valerie jarrett
Don’t know something? Then research or call! If you’re in the media, then your audience deserves better: all your effort to find the truth, wherever it is.
This morning, the author of one of my favorite blogs, FTVLive’s Scott Jones, showed how KYTV in Springfield, MO – News, Weather, and Sports in the Ozarks – copied an MMJ’s (multi-media journalist) biography from her old station’s website! I wonder if she did anything worth mentioning at that old station that could be included now.

ky3 lazy
http://www.ky3.com/content/bios/415143313.html

I just checked minutes before 9pm and it’s still there, more than 12 hours after most of the (TV) world found out. That mistake should not have been made. When I was Digital Media Manager, I wouldn’t publish a bio on the web until I approved it, and then the news director did the same.
But whatever the mistake is, it should be corrected or deleted as soon as possible. (Or “clarified,” as so many prefer to call errors, these days.) Does KY3, as it’s known and not to be confused with a Philadelphia station, need a Digital Media Manager?
I really wanted to give the MMJ a little credit since she probably publishes her news stories on a daily basis but not bios, which are not posted nor updated frequently. That’s why there’s a Digital Media Manager.
Unfortunately, Jasmine Dell’s resume on her blog doesn’t even include KY3! I’m not going to show you the link to download a Word copy of her resume which (not so bright) includes her name, complete address including apartment number; city, state and ZIP; and personal phone number and email address. Actually, I almost could since it’s all from when she worked at her former station, except the personal phone number and email address.
But you have to smile when her blog homepage contains the sentence,

“I am motivated to produce the best news results, media outcomes, and be successful when faced with challenging issues.”

Maybe she’s just slow.
What about WTXF-Fox 29 in Philadelphia, where I used to work? Its station history hasn’t been updated in YEARS! It even says so on top.

wtxf Station History
http://www.fox29.com/news/station-history

So don’t look for American Idol, Bones nor Glee on Fox29, despite what the station claims. They are wrong and you know it, especially with Idol, since the other two shows ended quietly, but Idol made news when it went to the competition.

quincy w parents
Quincy was such a gentleman when my parents visited

Good Day Philadelphia now starts 25 minutes before 4:25am.
Also, no 11pm news existed, nor The Q with Quincy Harris. Nah! Little oversights. They can’t be THAT important, despite the months planning each program!
Managers should know what they’re putting out on all platforms (not just over the air) since they’re responsible for it, and they should probably take a comprehensive look at all of their pages at least once a year and discuss whether the sitemap meets current needs.

bob kelly wtxf
Fun time with Bob Kelly

Also this morning, Good Day Philadelphia had a reporter at Field Day at Holy Cross Regional School. Traffic guy Bob Kelly, who I worked with twice, did “Kelly in the Classroom” segments and even some outdoors if they involved learning.
2018-05-29 field day lazy
Today, it was Jenn Fred instead and she must’ve done two segments that were nearly identical and both spectacular, since both appear on the homepage Top 5 under Good Day Philadelphia with nearly the same headline.
Yeah, Jenn. They really know how to show they care about your work!
And they couldn’t come up with five different stories for the Good Day part of the homepage? (Miss you! Feel free to comment below how we worked together on story selection, titles, etc., so we looked the best possible on whatever story you were working on everyday!)
Of course, the mother of all Fox laziness is exemplified in this article I brought you back on Jan. 27. Fourteen different stations used identical copy!

jan 27
http://cohenconnect.com/2018/01/27/facebook-twitter-and-fox-fox-x-14/

So let’s take a look at how Fox handled today’s Roseanne cancelation, in channel number order.


I’m not going to bother to look at any more stations, since the first three I examined were the same (and that includes L.A., where this was local news). I’ll bet the number goes to about 14, like with that last story.
Each one’s second paragraph read,

“‘Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,’ (ABC Entertainment president Channing) Dungey told Fox News.”

Pardon me, but I’m going to claim B.S. The reason is this 2:01pm (ET) tweet from Robert Iger, Chairman and CEO ABC’s owner, The Walt Disney Company:
https://twitter.com/RobertIger/status/1001523982997143552
Do you notice Iger quoted Dungey’s same three words – abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent – and then his ending? Now, take a look at the top story on ABC Entertainment’s website. It’s actually from the Associated Press!
roseanne abc entertainment
Pardon me if I’m wrong, but those are the same exact words on the bottom of this part of the A.P. article ABC Entertainment carried, so why do the Fox station articles feel special with their attribution even though they end with the same phrase?
I’m referring to those three words – abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent, and the ending that followed everywhere – shaded above. Was Fox News or anybody associated with the company’s stations given special access to ABC Entertainment’s president and able to add

“Dungey told Fox News?”

I don’t think so.
Is it because someone at Fox is a liar or stretched the truth? I think absolutely.
Now, let’s narrow down who the alleged liar or stretcher is. We’ll start by examining the end of each of those local Fox stations’ articles.
end roseanne local articles
I’m not sure the lead-in to the ABC tweet makes any sense following a reference to Roseanne’s, but click here for that article the stations link to, which is supposed to contain the full story.

Fox News Roseanne
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/05/29/abc-cancels-roseanne-after-barrs-racist-tweet.html

It’s from FoxNews.com – the folks in New York who work with the network, rather than the stations. It’s longer but uses the same three words, with the same phrase that follows, in the third paragraph – as if the president of ABC Entertainment spoke specifically to Fox News, which I doubt is true.
3 paragraphs Fox News Roseanne
So I clicked Sasha Savitsky, the author credited with the FoxNews.com article (below its headline). Up came her Twitter account which I used to get to the bottom of my question about whether the president of ABC Entertainment spoke specifically to Fox News or anybody associated with the company’s stations, as she reported. Her work email address was pinned to the top of her Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/feedbaylenny/status/1001593880851214337
email sasha roseanne
Sasha Savitsky twitter
I emailed Sasha Savitsky at 7:10pm tonight after Tweeting her at 6:39pm. (Both are above). I don’t know her work schedule, but

  1. Her article says it was updated three hours ago. (Above, it said just one hour, but blogs can take longer to write than I estimate they will. In this case, I hadn’t imagined going digging like this over something that might seem minor to some, but the information may not be true and it was republished on dozens of “news” websites around the country.)
  2. She probably has access to her Twitter account at all times, since she works for a network and mobile technology is inexpensive.
  3. And I promise I’ll let you know as soon as Sasha gives me an update. (No white lies, stretches or exaggerations here!)

 

And Roseanne, among my thoughts concerning you is one I’ve shared four times on this blog this year alone (from the beginning: here, here, here and here). Only owners are entitled to the First Amendment. The rest of the public cannot use the public airwaves, even if they deserve to more than the license-holder (which is probably most of the time since corporations hold multiple licences — dozens — and their CEOs are not spread out around the country to ensure broadcasting for local audiences).

It’s after 9:20pm. No word from Sasha, Jasmine’s bio looks the same and Fox 29’s station history article is just as bad. So you’re up to date.

Take that from someone who just published his 100th blog and can’t imagine how many readers’ hit-lists he has made!

Please, if you like what you read here, subscribe to CohenConnect.com with either your email address or WordPress account, and get a notice whenever I publish. I’m also available for writing/web contract work.

Comments

Something to add? Disagree? Let us all know!

Verified by MonsterInsights