The future
I've been doing a lot of thinking this week, and I've been talking with some experts regarding my rights in running this blog. Many of you have chimed in with words of support and much-needed criticism. After much consideration, I've decided that Beale's Bites will return.
The big problem was that the comments were getting out of control, which was my fault, since I didn't keep a closer eye on the moderation queue. People were coming here to needlessly bash fellow/former employees, not to discuss the ins-and-outs of this market. Hell, the mere mention of Al Zobel's name seemed to send everyone into a frenzy! That's not why I allowed discussion in the first place.
If you want to come here and call a former news director an asshole, or speculate about the marital fidelity of a news anchor, go away. I don't want you here. Start your own gossip rag. But if you want to talk about what drives or burns this market, you're always welcome here, and I hope you'll continue posting.
As for the threat of a lawsuit, I'm not concerned. The good folks at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have assured me of my rights.
Comments are re-enabled. Play nicely, kids.
The big problem was that the comments were getting out of control, which was my fault, since I didn't keep a closer eye on the moderation queue. People were coming here to needlessly bash fellow/former employees, not to discuss the ins-and-outs of this market. Hell, the mere mention of Al Zobel's name seemed to send everyone into a frenzy! That's not why I allowed discussion in the first place.
If you want to come here and call a former news director an asshole, or speculate about the marital fidelity of a news anchor, go away. I don't want you here. Start your own gossip rag. But if you want to talk about what drives or burns this market, you're always welcome here, and I hope you'll continue posting.
As for the threat of a lawsuit, I'm not concerned. The good folks at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have assured me of my rights.
Comments are re-enabled. Play nicely, kids.
posted by Howard Beale at 6:13 PM
19 Comments:
Have a beer on me, Beale!
Howard, good call! I love your blog and am glad it will continue despite the lack of maturity of others. Keep up the great work!
Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.
(Thomas Jefferson)
Continued support, Howard!
I wouldn't trust legal advice from a website any further than I can toss my mainframe. A lot of it seems to be up to interpetation.
Good luck, Howard. Just use some actual moderation and all should be OK.
Damned glad to see you staying put, Howard.
"Can't we all just get along?"
--Rodney King
Beale, go to WYOU.com and you will see they've named Candice Grossclaus and a guy from WZMY-TV Derry, NH (Boston) as the anchors of the new WYOU newscast set to debut September 5th
Welcome back! Don't let all the negativity make you stop! But take an iron grip on this, YOUR blog, and don't let others run away with it. Rule it with YOUR values, YOUR rules, the direction YOU want it to go. I went back and read some of your early blogs. You started to set down good rules, but somehow didn't keep on top of that. Do that NOW. And keep the back-stabbing out. Opinions are OK, nasty jabs and gossip are not. I think you're smart enough to know the difference. Good luck, and keep on blogging!
Glad you're staying.
Can we start a new thread about Candace Grossklaus and WYOU's "new" news?
I promise to be civil; but from all I've heard it sounds like a waste of the lady's talents.
Anyone know anything new about "interactive news" or is it the band-aid on a brain tumor it seems Nexstar is cooking up?
And what about the new set? Are we really going to have to wait until September for a look-see?
Like a phoenix, rising from the ashes.
Good luck.
Thanks for coming back on line. As one famous american sports figure once said (the name slips my mind)... "Don't let the bastards scare you!!"
Howard
Glad to hear you are sticking with the blog. Always enjoy visiting the site and reading the news about the news business...
Actually, as a disinterested viewer, not connected with any of the outlets mentioned here regularly, this blog has served a very important purpose.
Now I know that most of the people who work in local TV are self-centered, back-biting, immature freaks not worthy of my attention. You folks don't seem to care about journalism at all.
I no longer watch WNEP, WYOU or WBRE beacuse I want the news, not the product you forward.
Thank you Beale's Bites. Had it not been for you, I might have taken longer to discover this sad fact and wasted a lot of time.
"Our Liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost."
Thomas Jefferson
Welcome back, Howard!
To the 11:02 disinterested viewer...
I don't think you'd get any argument from most of the TV "freaks" who post here regarding it being or not being about journalism. That's a nice piece of pie-in-the-sky that you get handed with your diploma.
It's a business and it's about numbers first. The numbers and the money that comes with the best ones. If journalism sold, you'd be up to your pippocks in journalism. Truth is, journalism is at best a by-product.
Every consultant who comes to town will tell you that in not so many words.
At big stations in big markets, you might see some journalism. That's because they can afford to surround it with the expensive trappings that generate viewership. In markets of this size the money isn't so plentiful and so they have to hit you over the head with that which attracts viewers because they can get that on the cheap.
*
6:23 said: As one famous American sports figure once said (the name slips my mind)... "Don't let the bastards scare you."
Best I can find is Dan Rather. Good advice for all journalists.
"Don't let the bastards scare you."
The actual quote, I do believe, is; "Don't let the bastards grind you down."
It's origins may be sketchy, but it is usually attributed to General Joseph W. Stilwell, US Army(1883-1946). A more delicate way of using the phrase is the psuedo-Latin Illegitimi Non Carborundum...
I have that on a small desk sign somewhere.
To the 'disinterested viewer,' let's clear a few things up.
First of all, there are a few back-biting, self-centered, and immature people at these TV stations. But you know what? That's corporate America. It happens EVERYWHERE in EVERY business. It is human nature at its best. In local TV however, you're just watching them every night on the news.
There are a few people on this blog writing the stuff that got 'Mr. Beale' a threatening phone call from an attorney. It's unfortunate that they representing the majority of 'us' in the TV business in NEPA. Most (albeit there are a few egos out there) are a delight to work with and are really interested in journalism.
Don't watch the local stations and perhaps you should stick with the newspapers.
There's just as much back-biting, self-centered, and immature behavior that goes on there.
as an outsider who likes to think he's informed - this is one of the best blogs out there - i am wildly attracted to this crap and don't know why...
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