The Inbox...
/Yesterday, FTVLive pointed you to this video of comic Hasan Minhaj and his take on local TV news.
One TV newsie took exception to Minhaj’s video and he decided to give his take. That is the email in today’s FTVLive Inbox:
I saw the Hasan Minhaj video. While he makes some excellent points about local news, I think he's dead wrong on local television news.
We're a vital, free service to our communities. We keep our viewers informed when severe weather threatens them. We introduce them to candidates and issues on the ballot. We hold our local officials accountable. We aim to capture examples of humanity in our communities.
Did he mention any of that? He did not.
Mr. Minhaj failed to do his research.
He used an old clip of my newscast that was utterly without context to make his point that local TV news isn't worth watching.
Had he done his research, or even bothered to call our newsroom, he would have learned that the video was in a weather bump. It's a space usually reserved for a lighthearted moment. We were having fun. The video was not in a news block.
He found the clip by searching a news bloopers Youtube page. Yes, he deliberately sought out news bloopers to make his point about local TV news.
Did he bother to pull video of our reporters getting gassed and pepper sprayed by police while carrying out their journalistic duties last week?
Did he bother to pull tape of our investigations that changed state law?
Did he bother to ask any of the local broadcast journalists around the country about the work they do and the communities they impact? How about talking to the local TV journalists who are still covering unprecedented stories while having their pay cut during a pandemic?
Of course not.
He wanted to make a quick point without doing his research.
Perhaps he should have researched local TV newsers who were killed while doing their jobs. Perhaps he could have interviewed people whose lives were saved after watching meteorologists track tornadoes in their communities.
Are local TV stations perfect? No. We all make mistakes. Our industry is mocked and even targeted by elected officials. But we persist.
Why?
Because overall, local TV stations offer journalism to everyone regardless of income or status. You don't need a subscription, an internet connection or an expensive phone for the privilege of accessing our work. Viewers can call us if they're unclear about a story or issue. They walk up to us at the grocery store to pitch story ideas or offer tips. While I wish local newscasts offered more time for long form pieces, we do the best we can with what we're given.
Mr. Minhaj insists that local TV isn't the place to go for quality news? I beg to differ. We're not perfect, but using an out of context clip to make a shaky point about an entire industry is lazy. It's what we as journalists work hard to avoid.
If a local news reporter did work like that, I would hope it wouldn't make air. It certainly wouldn't in my shop.
During the course of our work, we call the people involved, we understand the context and we check our facts. Only then do we publish a story. We're committed to finding the truth and making sure our viewers have accurate information.
Is Mr. Minhaj?
Afterall, he's not a journalist.
