‘Anchorwoman’ premieres tonight
Cory Bergman August 22nd, 2007
Fox’s trashy reality show Anchorwoman premieres tonight, and it’s getting some positive reviews. I’ve already expressed my pointed opinion about this — that it demeans local TV news — and perhaps it’s best summed up by this Hollywood Reporter story that explains how many in the KYTX-TV newsroom were outraged at putting a dumb blonde model in the anchor chair: “You can understand where they’re coming from. They want their TV station to have integrity and credibility, and to practice solid journalism. But who are they kidding? At most stations, with their emphasis on crime news, celebrity gossip, fires and accidents, that ship sailed years ago.”
No integrity, credibility or solid journalism in local TV? That’s the opinion from the Hollywood Reporter — a trade magazine — not your local newspaper. And unfortunately, an increasing number of average people believe it as well. Local stations that still cling to the breathless/crime/plastic model are in danger of producing themselves into obscurity (except, you could argue, in a handful of markets.) Remember last week’s study that inferred that many people are switching to online news because they’re annoyed by TV news? As I wrote then, “TV newsrooms that ‘get it’ are focused on meaningful community enterprise coverage with smart, respectful storytelling and a ban on breathlessness.” Yes, I’m on my soapbox again, but Anchorwoman should serve as a stark reminder that many people will take the show as gospel. And it’s not just the show’s fault.
Anynewsroom, USA?
17 Comments Add your own
1. Doug | August 22nd, 2007 at 9:03 am
The Hollywood Reporter calling for “integrity and credibility, and to practice solid journalism”?
This from the publication that last week pulled a story on Merv Griffin being gay after it had been published apparently after advertiser outcry, and then after they got caught at it, snuck it back on the website?
2. Safran | August 22nd, 2007 at 11:05 am
There will be a lot of e-Ink spilled on this one. The arguments will fall into two camps:
1. This is the end of local news
2. This reflects local news
Why not a third option?
3. It’s neither. It’s just a TV show.
I tell my kids not to learn from TV. I’ll tell the LR Faithful as well. It’s too cheap and easy to see something meaningful here. It’s a stunt, and like all stunts it will draw a lot of attention but it doesn’t actually *signify* a thing. It’s not a trend. It was a silly stunt by an organization that clearly isn’t all that interested in journalism in the first place.
So?
I’ll be watching. I like stunts.
3. Steve Boriss | August 22nd, 2007 at 11:27 am
If local TV stations continue to work hard to give viewing customers what they want, and bring that philosophy with them to their online news, they may be among the very few winners in the future of news. This is not a good time to be reinjecting the failing principles of newspaper journalism into local TV. (Steve Boriss, TheFutureOfNews.com)
4. invitedmedia | August 22nd, 2007 at 11:31 am
yeah, i like stunts too.
and she is one cunning stunt
(thanks go to jim morrison for that one)
5. Mike | August 22nd, 2007 at 11:54 am
Safran,
Don’t overlook choice 4, that it will actually make local TV news look better! Remember The Simple Life, the first series where Paris and Nicole had to work on a farm? Everybody laughed at the two dumb bimbos but you gained an appreciation for just how hard it is for a real farmer to maintain his family business. I’ll bet that the news bimbo will be laughed at too, which will just accentuate the dedication and integrity of the professional, hard working television employees who are visibly dissatisfied by the bimbo’s questionable actions.
6. Rob | August 22nd, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Why is this latest mockery of local TV news such a departure that has people up in arms?
Because an attractive person has been ‘hired’ to do the news? That’s been done before.
Because an untalented person has been ‘hired’ to do the news? That’s been done too.
Because a news station does a shameless and tacky stunt that slashes their credibility to improve ratings? Uhh huh.
Because a news station is concerned about turning a profit more than journalistic integrity? Check.
Saf’s right. This isn’t the fall of western civilization. It’s just television.
7. Cory | August 22nd, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Right Rob, it is television, but television must change because there’s now a better alternative — the internet.
Yes, it’s just a show, but it’s indicative of how people perceive us. And it will only worsen if local TV news doesn’t change its ways.
8. John | August 22nd, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I always get a kick out of sportswriters and sports broadcasters when they refer to an underrated pitcher, point guard or running back. Aren’t they the ones doing the rating and underrating?
Similarly, I love how the nets this week have been lambasting this “Anchorwoman” farce as if they work in some other industry that definitely wouldn’t hire an attracive moron to grow audience.
Rob and Saf are right on.
And memo to invited: just don’t combine those two words cunning and stunt into one word, or ye shall get slapped.
9. Rob | August 22nd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Cory, I agree that TV should change, but the challenge isn’t content as much as it’s the means of distribution.
Right now the Internet is Playdoh and TV is a brick. The Internet can be shaped into whatever form the user wants courtesy of RSS, aggregation, syndication and all manner of gadgets, widgets and social networking features.
TV doesn’t do that.
At this point the way TV can compete with the Internet is to make the technology available to switch TV news to a completely On Demand format that is customizable and mashable and will allow the viewer to customize their own personal newscasts, choose what they want to watch and filter out things they don’t want, give feedback through the On Demand system to the TV station about each segment, rank and rate segments, and share favorite content with other viewers.
10. Steve | August 22nd, 2007 at 1:12 pm
The Simpsons has been making fun of local news for nearly 20 years…
11. Anon | August 22nd, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Regardless of what it does to local TV its still garbage!
12. Swift Loris | August 22nd, 2007 at 4:10 pm
“And memo to invited: just don’t combine those two words cunning and stunt into one word, or ye shall get slapped.”
Er, John, ever heard of Spoonerisms?
13. John | August 22nd, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Oh, shoot, Loris, I’m totally the old guy of the group, aren’t I? Sorry, everybody. Please go back to being cool.
14. Dave | August 22nd, 2007 at 8:47 pm
et tu Cory?
Let this trashy little show go by unnoticed. The station gets it’s head kicked in by a good TV station across the street so what did their (won’t say) GM have to lose?
I expect big coverage from the dead tree industry but not from you.
15. Weaver | August 22nd, 2007 at 9:01 pm
(Other than her lack of a Journalism degree)The only (other) differences in Lauren Jones first day at work was the camera, publicity, marketing and the fact that she already has a well paying career.
Every reporter, anchor starts in much the same way as the show portrays, just without all the hoopla.
Hell, the station I work at hired a former “Survivor” contestant, with NO news experience (but did have a J-degree) to anchor and report.
It was just as goofy as “Anchorwoman” for a while, but he became a great anchor and finally left for a better gig.
16. Susan O. Nishida M.D. | August 23rd, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Horrible, and insulting to all women who have worked very hard to be taken seriously as professionals.
I would have support Lauren Jones if she was academically well qualifited for this job, but she can barely read of the teleprompter. She dresses, speaks, and acts like a blond bimbo. I highly commend the women who have to indur such idiot management decisions, and have treated her well. Her test runs were horrible….It just shows you that when you put a beautiful , big busted blond infront of a bunch of men, they instantly become deaf and stupid. An unattractive women trying out in the exact same way, would have been booted. Instead, they take Lauren to a welcome party.
This show is truly an embarrassment to any educated women , who work to the top, now you can just “blond bimbo to the top…..” sure cut your college tuition costs. just add God to give you the right set of boobies.
Susan Nishida MD
17. Anon | August 24th, 2007 at 9:10 am
You’re an MD?
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