Congrats to the other networks for not...

[Joseph S]

being TMJ. TMJ is reporting: "We have no information, not a shread more, definitely nothing, nope, zip, zilch, nada. We're here and we're going to talk and blabber and blabber and blabber on instead of showing your normal programming. Did you know that when congressmen filibuster they read the phonebook? We aren't reading the phone book, we're just going to make fools of ourselves all night long." :OnAir:

I'm surprised they're not reporting about those tornado and rain warnings from last spring at this point.

[RS922]

I have no issue with TMJ expanding their newcast to cover a story that went national.   I suspect many tuned to channel 4 when the other network affiliates dropped the coverage.   My only gripe was the reporter at the Sheridan (think it was Paul Bloom) who seemed too jovial in his reports at the crime scene.  Kudos to the other reporters, Kimberly Kane and Charles Benson, who often outshine the others at TMJ.

[midwesterntv]

Benson is a true class act and deserves more than to just be a reporter, IMO.

[RLJSlick]

I think the idea here, is this is a very very large story, and TMJ decided to continue with what was truely important.  NBC doesn't show anything that I will personally miss.  This story is big, really big, that nut almost killed as many people then Jeffery Dahmer. As far as I could tell, WMJ went back to regular programming about 7-7:30pm.

being TMJ. TMJ is reporting: "We have no information, not a shread more, definitely nothing, nope, zip, zilch, nada. We're here and we're going to talk and blabber and blabber and blabber on instead of showing your normal programming. Did you know that when congressmen filibuster they read the phonebook? We aren't reading the phone book, we're just going to make fools of ourselves all night long." :OnAir:

I'm surprised they're not reporting about those tornado and rain warnings from last spring at this point.

[Joseph S]

Here's the problem: The amount of information they had could be summed up in one sentence, a crawl on the bottom, and a simple cut in during a commercial break.

They couldn't say who the suspect was. They couldn't/didn't know who was shot, what the injuries were, and what the deceased actually died from. They had no hint of why it happened. They had nothing but a website address for the church. They had nobody in charge of the investigation or at the hospitals that was speaking to them and the next newsconference wasn't scheduled until Sunday. Yet, they continued blabbering, "WE DON'T KNOW OR CANNOT SAY ANYTHING AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE STILL HERE PREEMPTING NORMAL PROGRAMMING."

So what did we see instead of L&O? We saw a white van. This white van was not even moving like the Ford Bronco. There was nobody in it and nobody going near it either. We saw the same rehashed 10 second clip of a female almost every other minute. We saw a reporter "on the scene" with nobody to talk to and thus providing zero information. We saw two "newscasters" on set with zero new information repeating the same "we don't know who was involved or hurt and we don't know why" over and over again.

It was the same sort of BS that that the Tag Team Weather Mimbos on WISN pulled all last spring with the worst example being the night of a rain storm in Milwaukee  when they pre-empted the entire 2h Alias Season Finale to tell us "The rain is coming down."

A real newsteam would tell their viewers, "This is the information we know... We don't have any new information and don't expect any new information tonight. If there are any developments between now and tonight's newscast, then we will let you know and keep you informed along the way. In the meantime, enjoy _____ tonight on ____ network. Thank you for tuning in."

[John L]

I have to agree with what Joe is saying.  The news about the hotel shooting was just repeated news over and over every 5 minutes and they weren't getting much new info in regards to that.  Not only WTMJ-TV, but same with WITI-TV and WISN-TV.  At least WDJT-TV stayed with their programming for the most part.  They did interrupt the programming, but only briefly.  They were carrying basketball.  Probably NCAA Tournaments, maybe interrupting those games at long interruptions might have been a problem, I don't know.

-John L.

[tazman]

I also agree with Joe's last post.  Maybe to just make people aware, who have just tuned in.  Pre-empt 1 commercial spot on the quarter hour for 30 seconds.  That would have been sufficient.

[Stanley Kritzik]

Now look and listen.  Commercials are IMPORTANT!  Better to pre-empt programming when you have nothing to say!

Kidding aside, TV news and weather think they need photo ops, and they run stories to death.  So, they'll plant a reporter outside a hospital or a hotel and read us a story.  Why go to all the trouble of a remote site?  Yes, going to the Sheraton makes sense, 'cause that's where the shootings happened.  But, we'll see multiple on-location shots that make no sense as this story is dragged out in agonizing detail.

Also, this business of pre-empting programming when there's no news reminds me of a few Sunday mornings ago when TMJ cut out all but Meet The Press because of -- gasp -- a three-inch snowstorm.

Oh for the days of Walter Cronkite, when he just sat there and READ the news.  Or, does anyone remember Ray Scott and the Packers?  "Starr -- Dowler -- Touchdown!"  In that case, the video told the story, and words were not needed.

But, excuse the ramblings of this old geezer who longs for the good old days of Ed Murrow, and the like.

SK

[StarvingForHDTV]

As far as I could tell, WMJ went back to regular programming about 7-7:30pm.

Hmmm.  It was still that same news story when Saturday Night Live was supposed to be on......

I was shocked that they chose to run the story for such a long time.  How many times can you say the same thing?

[tazman]

Not to make light of a serious event!...  I should have looked for a satellite backhaul feed from their news trucks.  Now those are interesting to watch.  

[Doug Mohr]

While it was a devastating story, I was not aware of it until about 7PM because I received the 6 DVD set of Miami Vice, Season One In the mail Saturday  :guitar: and didn't switch to live TV until then.

After about 60 seconds of watching, I figured they would go back to programming, but instead they didn't.  A few points that bothered me about the newscast:

1. They offered NO information to concerned Friends and relatives. I couldn't believe that they did not even mention that anyone concerned about a loved one should contact the Brookfield Police at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

2. They stated that most of the victims released from the building didn't want to talk to reporters, so they chased them down asking questions anyway.

3. They repeated the "we don't know" phrase over and over. They were just getting face time on TV. Pretty lame.

This is a perfect example of how the conversion to digital is needed. Every station should have an breaking event sub-channel. They should run a crawl across the screen on the main channels saying "Deadly shooting in Brookfield at a church service. Turn to 4-2 for continuous coverage"

Granted this will only work once the digital transition is complete, but that should have already happened ( Thank your Bureaucrats  :guns: )

Doug

[Joseph S]

Anybody have the clip? I hear the same "reporter" was attacked on air live today by a PO'd neighbor.

[Doug Mohr]

I saw the footage of the PO'd neighbor. He pulled the cord that attached the camera to the truck. Some words were shouted, that's about it.

I'm going to have to get in the habit of recording local news. You never know what you are going to find :rofl:

[Joseph S]

Looks like some of us struck a nerve of Timmy C at the TMJ's parent. Tomorrow he'll probably prepare the CBS 58 puff piece failing to mention the inferior resolution to analog put out by CBS, the lack of any HD, blah, blah, blah...