Who's really "on your side?"
Despite the demise of beat reporting in this market, the consumer reporting beat is still active, with good reason. It's definitely one of the most-popular things among viewers; it gets results. Businesses are more likely to see things the consumer's way once a TV station gets involved and starts asking questions. Admittedly, I've even turned to calling a company's PR department and identifying myself as a reporter, if the usual "talk to someone in a call center" method goes nowhere.
So, who's really getting results for you? If you ask me, it's not WNEP, the station that pioneered consumer reporting in this market. I've seen quite a few "Action 16" segments, and it's nothing but product tests and rip-and-read stories from the wires. It's quite a big change from when Bill O'Reilly was getting "thank you" signs hammered onto telephone poles in Scranton. You might as well call it "Inaction 16."
WBRE, surprisingly, has taken the consumer reporting format, and made it work. Since they revived the format around 2000, they've relied heavily on complaints from everyday people. You tell WBRE about that car dealership that sold you a lemon, and they'll go to the dealership and ask questions. You get the problem resolved, and WBRE turns around and makes it into a "Look at the results we're getting for you" promo. Everyone wins.
What WBRE does with consumer reporting is a perfect example of how the beat should work, and is the only time when the station's "On Your Side" slogan makes perfect sense. It's also the only time that WNEP should actually look at WBRE, and ask, "Why aren't we doing what they're doing?"
So, who's really getting results for you? If you ask me, it's not WNEP, the station that pioneered consumer reporting in this market. I've seen quite a few "Action 16" segments, and it's nothing but product tests and rip-and-read stories from the wires. It's quite a big change from when Bill O'Reilly was getting "thank you" signs hammered onto telephone poles in Scranton. You might as well call it "Inaction 16."
WBRE, surprisingly, has taken the consumer reporting format, and made it work. Since they revived the format around 2000, they've relied heavily on complaints from everyday people. You tell WBRE about that car dealership that sold you a lemon, and they'll go to the dealership and ask questions. You get the problem resolved, and WBRE turns around and makes it into a "Look at the results we're getting for you" promo. Everyone wins.
What WBRE does with consumer reporting is a perfect example of how the beat should work, and is the only time when the station's "On Your Side" slogan makes perfect sense. It's also the only time that WNEP should actually look at WBRE, and ask, "Why aren't we doing what they're doing?"
posted by Howard Beale at 7:45 PM
28 Comments:
Does WNEP even care these days ? Does anyone care to work there anymore ? It seems they're too busy making resume reels and trying to save their asses then try to and serve the very public who made them No. 1.
WBRE airs "On Your Side" with a skeleton staff, but even that minimal effort shows up WNEP's smoke-and-mirrors act.
The sad thing is that 'NEP is so damned dominant that you just know they get the credit without doing the work. I'll bet 28's Jeff Chirico is approached on the street daily by people who tell him, "Oh, I watch you all the time on 'Action 16.'"
WNEP's tank is empty, but it continues to coast on the fumes.
I'll speculate why WNEP doesn't do what WBRE does, and it really is pretty simple...
You make far more enemies with consumer reporting than friends. No, not the car dealer you piss off, but rather the hundreds(at least)of people who turn to you for help and get squat.
No station can honor all requests for help in a consumer matter, so picking and choosing can become the toughest part of the franchise. And there really is no fair and equitable way to pick and choose. Regardless of whose problem you try to solve, there will always be those dozens upon dozens of people with legit gripes who you never get near. And in way too many cases, they never get contacted period; no one so much as calls to say, "Thanks, but your problem isn't good enough for us."
No, I believe strongly that consumer reporting, in the traditional sense, fell from favor because it makes genuine enemies.
While "Does It Work" style reporting may not be as edgy, people like it, they learn from it, they love to see things fail, and no one gets offended.
I know a lot of people thought when Elliot left WBRE last year the Consumer reporting would not be the same. However so far it appears Jeff has done a fine job and far more consumer friendly than Sherman.
WNEP hasn't had a hard hitting consumer reporter since Steph Thornton gave up the Scranton Beat.
Don't get mad, don't get even, get action with ACTION 16!
Even then WNEP went after generic "effects everyone" consumer stories.
Newswatch 16 leaves the "I got ripped off by the car mechanic" stories to news reporters. Only seldomly do those types of stories get covered.
To 3:09 PM:
I understand your thinking, but you have to remember that aggressive consumer reporting--naming names and kicking butts-- helped drive WNEP to #1 in the old days.
If you’ve lived around here for any length of time you know the coal miner mentality: “The bosses have me hamstrung, what can I do? I guess I’ll just have to take it” Mike Igoe and “Action 16” proved differently, and the public loved it—and him—and “Newswatch 16” because of it.
I don't know how WBRE handles its franchise, but in the glory days 'NEP had an off-air staff that used to solve dozens more complaints without fanfare. Just a phone call or a form letter saying Mike Igoe was on the case was enough to grease a lot of wheels.
It was so successful that a good thirty years later people still love 16 for it.
You wrote, “You make far more enemies with consumer reporting than friends. “ It ain’t necessarily so. Sure, Sherman will tell me if the eggs really, really stick to my "non-stick" frying pan, but that’s not consumer advocacy and it’s not battling for the little guy, and it's too damned bad WNEP gave up.
And I still haven't heard a good explanation why.
Given time and promotion, the day could come when Jeff gets mistaken for a WNEP staffer, but right now I'd bet big bucks there ain't 100 people in the over 20 counties of this market who even know who the hell he is.
WBRE/Nexstar, in all its startling stupidity, built a respectable franchise around a guy who they knew, THEY KNEW, was going to leave when opportunity knocked. The last year Weiler was there, it was an open secret he was desperately trying to get out, and had no interest in another contract, yet they kept touting him as their biggest player. Great guy, great talent, good enough to land in St. Louis.
Did the mop clean the bathroom floor? 'NEP checked it out.
Did it ever occur to you that taking one person's side (even when they are in the right) against another (even when wrong) can bring about a messy lawsuit from the "offended victim" singled out as the wrongdoer? In today's world, criminals have far more rights than victims and don't hesitate to use them. A tv station stepping in to help the real victims is an admirable thing, but it can come back to bite them. That's why so many good people fail to help others in need, for fear of legal problems. I hope WBRE has much success with this, with no hassles. That way, the public does win.
I was told this from an NEP insider:
Nep gets TONS of tips in the form of e mails and letters that could be turned into GREAT stories.
The reason they are ignored?
It would take too much time. Ask any NEP reporter/photog. They are required to turn out at least 2 packages a day. Why? to fill all the spots in a 2 plus hour news cycle. QUANITY not QUALITY!
I thought the media was supposed to be on no ones' side. Isn't that what fair and impartial is supposed to mean?
When I was at 28, Elliot used to take every consumer complaint and try to get action on them, making phone calls all the time. The ones that were news worthy were turned around for a daily package/story. There were hundreds, maybe a few thousand, people that he helped solve their problem by making a call as the "consumer reporter"... of course most of them never made air. Not sure if Jerrico does.
"While 'Does It Work' style reporting may not be as edgy, people like it, they learn from it, they love to see things fail, and no one gets offended."
3:09 PM
I don't know; I'M offended that WNEP passes Sherman's pablum off as news.
"Jagov Journalism," if you ask me.
I have sent a few comments on the local Hazleton area TV entities that, for some reason, have never been posted.
But the reality is: Little outfits like WYLN, Jim Thorpe Blue Ridge 13 and even the so-called "Local News 13" in Hazleton do a better job covering what local viewers want. Local news, Local Weather, Local Sports. Hey 16, 22, 28, the little guys are creeping in. They may be really on "your side," viewers.
I thought the media was supposed to be on no ones' side. Isn't that what fair and impartial is supposed to mean?
8:35 AM
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Boy, corporate America must love you, SUCKA!
There is a reason why these "consumer beat" themes come and go. Both stations ought to have been able to figure that out by now, but I guess not.
Hey, how about WVIA-FM's new on-air schtick? "Your world, your voice." Are they kidding?
The viewers have spoken. No one cares about the WBRE approach.
"I thought the media was supposed to be on no ones' side. Isn't that what fair and impartial is supposed to mean?"
8:35 AM
Howard, mind if I take a stab at explaining it to this poor schmuck? I promise I'll try to stick to words of one or two syllables (and yes, I know “syllables” has three syllables).
Dear Fox News Fan:
“Impartial” (dammit, three syllables already!) means not favoring (damn!) one side over another (I mean “the other”). “Fair” means without bias (damn!!!!!). If you present facts, and do it fairly, you allow people to make up their own minds. You know: “you decide.”
If I say Bill O’Relly (3) is a sexual (3) predator (3) and can prove it, what’s unfair?
And to 9:46 PM, the “messy lawsuit” poster: aggressive (I’m rescinding my three-syllable rule) consumer reporting has been a fact in this market for thirty years—first with WNEP, now with WBRE. How many times has a station been sued in all those years? There must have been a handful. I don’t recall hearing of anyone winning. Maybe that’s because the stations laid their groundwork and got their facts straight. I was always taught that TRUTH is the ultimate defense in a libel case.
WBRE—keep it up. You’re proving that “On Your Side” is more than just a slogan, and that YOU’RE the station that gets “action.”
"I thought the media was supposed to be on no ones' side. Isn't that what fair and impartial is supposed to mean?"
8:35 AM
I'll grant you Hitler may have seemed like a bad guy. But if you overlook the fact that he killed 6 million Jews, you'll soon realize that he did great card tricks at parties, knew the lyrics to lots of Broadway show tunes, and very seldom (if ever) littered. Be fair.
I am on Vince's side
I don't want anybody on my side! Thank you!!
I thought the media was supposed to be on no ones' side. Isn't that what fair and impartial is supposed to mean?
You are 100% correct, no argument there. Sadly, the line between journalism and entertainment has been so blurred that "fair and impartial" is subject to shifting definitions. A former ND in this market once said to me, "I'd be happy to toe the line, but somebody keeps moving it." That pretty much covers it.
WBRE—keep it up. You’re proving that “On Your Side” is more than just a slogan, and that YOU’RE the station that gets “action.”
Yes, it is more than a slogan, it's an embarrassment. In fact, it's essentially a lie. They've never kept the promise. For the most part, they slap "On Your Side" idents on most everything. Same goes for the non-existent "I-Team." Is is just me, or did they stop promoting the "I-Team?"
Sherman is ok but I miss Steph too. Let's get her back!
"Sherman is ok but I miss Steph too. Let's get her back!"
==================================
From the inside of NEP:
Steph was a great Scranton beat reporter. Steph was a great Action reporter.
The bottom fell out when she was promoted to EP.
She and the Assistant News Director made working at NEP a living hell. They would spend most of their day "feeding off each other" Steph seemed to be always justifying her promotion to the guy who promoted her.
They also seemed to be more interested in killing story ideas than promoting them.
The best thing to happen was when both of them left!
On Your Side? I'd sure-as-hell rather see consumer problem solving than another report on Anna Nicole Smith.
By the way--did you hear she died?
Hey WBRE fans, can you list some examples on what kind of results you got for people. Honestly, to me it feels as though the whole "On Your Side" slogan is one big stab at continuing their sensationalist journalism. "On Your Side, and in your face." Grow up!!
"Hey WBRE fans, can you list some examples on what kind of results you got for people."
1:27 PM
I don't work there, so I hope someone from 'BRE will step forward with a detailed list of problems solved.
All I know is that I've seen the promos, and enough of his stories to know that Chirico is getting results.
"WBRE/Nexstar, in all its startling stupidity, built a respectable franchise around a guy who they knew, THEY KNEW, was going to leave when opportunity knocked. The last year Weiler was there, it was an open secret he was desperately trying to get out..."
8:17 PM
OF COURSE management knew he was going. But they were more committed to REAL consumer reporting than to a single personality.
Elliot was great, but 'BRE hasn't missed a beat with the new guy.
What you call Nexstar's "startling stupidity" is often on display, but not in this case.
This may be the only time so far this century that "stay the course" has worked for anyone.
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