TV Q&A: Should local TV stations avoid ‘Hey, Martha’ stories?
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Q:Can you explain why our local news stations cover frivolous topics that deliver no value to a Pittsburgh viewer? Below is just a sample of topics that have been covered specifically by WTAE, although the other local news stations do this as well. These topics are either non-local events, not relevant to a Pittsburgh audience or are just too absurd for any credible news station to cover, or both:
• Police officers rescue raccoon in Painesville, Ohio
• Moose attacks family while snowmobiling in Idaho
• “Toadzilla found in Australia
• Subway worker killed for putting too much mayo on sandwich in Atlanta
• Winds uproot bounce house in North Carolina
• Water main breaks in Philadelphia
• Rose Parade returns in California
• One Police officer dead in North Dakota
• Leaning Tower of Pisa declared stable in Italy
It’s worth noting that these are not the nationally syndicated segments where they kick it out to an affiliate to cover; these are our local hosts reading these topics while saying “Pittsburgh’s Action News” in the same breath. It’s hard to believe the local anchors actually covered these non-local stories.
One may ask, why do I continue to watch? My wife and I are in our early 30s and our parents (boomer generation) watch our kids. The boomer generation defaults to local news being on as background noise so this is just what I’m exposed to in the half-hour overlap between WTAE being on the TV when we get home from work and our parents leave.
Shouldn’t we be holding WTAE and our other local news stations to a higher standard than the coverage of a bounce house being uprooted in North Carolina or a large toad found in Australia? Surely there are important local topics to be discussed.
— Jon T., Canonsburg
Rob: A lot to unpack here.
First, clearly, local reporters are not covering these national stories and I don’t think most viewers think that is happening. Just as newspapers carry wire stories written by reporters in other cities, local newscasts carry reports from other cities that are pulled off the satellite. Yes, the local anchors read them, but unless they’re actually saying “Action News uncovered a large toad in Australia,” which I don’t think they’re saying, then there’s no misrepresentation. (If they are saying that, then they ought to knock it off immediately because that would be misrepresentation.)
On the matter of covering national or international news on local newscasts, I’m unsure why that should not be allowed as Jon seems to suggest. Like, how parochial do we want newscasts to be – so much so that they’re not allowed to report on anything outside the confines of Western Pennsylvania? That seems overly narrow to me.
Now, are some of these topics pointless for local viewers (water main breaks in Philly), sensational (moose attack) and silly (police officers rescue raccoon)? Of course they are. But local stations have a lot of time to fill (too much really) and not enough local resources to fill hours and hours a day with only local stories.
A lot of the reports Jon cites are “Hey, Martha!” stories, reports that make someone stop and say to his spouse, “Hey, Martha, check *this* out!” These stories have been a staple of newspapers for at least 100 years. Why shouldn’t local TV stations cover them as well? (TV news especially likes animal stories because viewers respond to them just as they respond positively to weather coverage.)
If TV stations were spending a lot of time on any one of these individual stories, I might be bothered. But a 30-second report on some oddity somewhere in the world? That’s not something I’m going to get worked up about.
Q: What’s going on with the weather team at WTAE-TV? Ashley Dougherty used to be the regular forecaster on the weekday morning news but lately they seem to be rotating the forecasters on a daily basis and I’ve seen Ashley on the weekend shows.
— Jeanne, Natrona Heights
Rob: With the departure of Kasey Reigner, Channel 4 is a little short-staffed. Also, it’s the holiday season when even people who work in TV news can take time off to spend with their families. It’s pretty typical for there to be substitutions in unusual places during the holiday period each year. Usually personnel are back to their usual stations by mid-January.
Q: The latest “Antiques Roadshow” episodes are reruns with them showing a more up-to-date appraisal. Have they given up on new episodes?
— Carol, via email
Rob: Six “vintage episodes” (AKA reruns with some updates) aired this fall. The show’s 28th season of actual new episodes premieres at 8 p.m. Jan. 8 (WQED-TV) with visits to Sturbridge, Mass.; Baton Rouge, La.; Raleigh, N.C.; Akron, Ohio; and Anchorage, Alaska.
Q: Any idea why Taylor Swift’s Eras concert video is for rent only?
— Krissy, via Facebook
Rob: Windows of distribution. Think of the old VHS days: Movies would be released on VHS for rental first, then go to a premium cable channel. Same thing here: First theaters, then streaming rental, eventually digital purchase and then onto a subscription streaming service. My guess is the reason for the delay in the ability to purchase may be because her concert tour has yet to go around the world and perhaps they worry about pirated copies getting out if the concert movie were to be available for download purchase now.
Entertainment content makes more money the more windows it goes through. Swift is a smart, savvy businesswoman and she’s not about to miss any opportunity to make a buck.
Q: I just finished “Bosch” on Amazon Freevee and now I am watching “Bosch: Legacy.” Any info on new episodes?
— Beverly, via email
Rob: Hold on a bit — season two of “Bosch: Legacy” only aired its last episode on Nov. 10. And coming off dual writers’ and actors’ strikes, it’s going to take some time to write and then produce new episodes. “Bosch: Legacy” was renewed for a third season. My guess is the earliest we’ll see those season three episodes is probably next fall.