The Manifesto
/Back in 3rd grade, my teacher Mrs. Green sent me home with a note to my mother.
The note said, "Scott does not play well with others." What Mrs. Green knew so many years ago, still stands true today.
FTVLive has grown from a site that started out getting a a few thousand visits a month, to now getting millions.
Hundreds of thousands of you find this website each year and some of you have no idea about the person behind it and the reason for the site?
Well, this right here will inform you.
Welcome to the FTVLive Manifesto.
You see, there are a lot of media Reporters and Bloggers out there. Many of them, love to fawn over each other and suck up to one another and link back and forth to each other.
It's like a big fraternity.
FTVLive is not in the frat and we have no urge to be.
FTVLive is about giving you the real news about TV news and taking you well past the bullshit press releases.
A number of Reporters will only report when the press release comes out, which let's be honest is not reporting at all.
We have spent 20 + years in TV newsrooms working as a Photographer, Reporter, Assignment Editor, Segment Producer, Producer, Executive Producer, Managing Editor and News Director. We know what it's like on the inside and we know what the job entails.
Try and find another Media Reporter or Blogger that has held almost every job in the newsroom and you will find it a difficult task.
Our goal is simple. It's to tell you what is going on inside TV newsrooms and networks across the country, without playing favorites and telling you the truth.
FTVLive breaks more stories out of TV newsrooms then any other website or newspaper out there.
We tell you the good and the bad and who is doing which? Our sources inside newsrooms across the country are second to none.
Journalism is vastly changing. It's more about making (saving) money, then it is about telling the story. Corporate owners care more about their stock numbers and bottom lines, then the news reports on their channel.
There are still good Journalists trying to cover the news without corporate interference and without bias. But, those Journalist are much tougher to find these days.
FTVLive is not out to try and win awards and rake in a boatload of cash.
The advertisers on this website, simply are the best of the best. We have turned down more advertisers then we have on FTVLive. We could easily make a money grab and accept everyone that wants to place an ad on this website. Instead, we say "no" and there are not many out there that will do that.
We do not suck up to people, so they will give us play on their website or in their newsletter. This is a longstanding practice among other media reporters, but it is a game that we will not play.
Like Mrs. Green said years ago, we "don't play well with others."
FTVLive does give credit to other sites and newspapers that we take stories from. Unfortunately, it is not a two way street. Content is lifted from this website on almost a daily basis, with no credit, link or attribution. Most often, those people are widely jealous of FTVLive for beating them and owning the story. So, they skip telling their visitors where the story came from.
FTVLive gives credit where credit is due. It the correct thing to do and we do it.
We are not afraid to call out the thieves and expose them. If we have to go against the grain....so be it. We do what's right.
FTVLive has grown to be THE MUST READ website in this industry. We do it by long hours, hard work and great contacts. FTVLive has published everyday in 2017, including holidays and weekends. Our day starts around 3AM and stretches into the night. The success of this website has come with a lot of hard work.
We do it for you....the reader. We do it to praise the people in this business that deserved to be praised. We do it to expose those that should be exposed.
The TV news business is changing and not always for the better. If we can keep the good people around and weed out the bad, then that's what we are going to try and do.
The good people in this industry LOVE FTVLive. The bad people do not.
The good people have no fear of this site. The bad people are scared to death of us.
Ask someone what they think of FTVLive and you will quickly be able to figure out which side they are on?
Our goal is to give you the straight news about TV news and if that ruffles a few feathers, so be it.
Mrs. Green knew something that many have learned in the years. We are not out to win a popularity contest. We're not trying to win any awards. We're trying to cover the world of TV news as honestly as we can and that is all.
That my friends is the FTVLive Manifesto.