Will That Be Cash, Credit, or Credibility?
"We thought we'd bring you up to date tonight on those protesters, the Occupy Wall Street movement."
She came across as comfy as your mom sitting in the living room, reciting the list of things she had observed during the day. I know from experience she had a teleprompter with a script, but in that moment, she appeared to be "vamping" a bit. My suspicion is she was just trying to make a comfortable transition form one story to the next.
It happens a lot in a newscast, as broadcasters segue between stories. The news reader's nightmare is not having adequate time to proofread combined with someone falling asleep at the switch. The end result? A "murder and mayhem" type story immediately followed by something that...well is completely the opposite and shouldn't follow. It's a true art form to smooth-out that situation when you're "live," and very few can pull it off. One of my favorite non-success stories:
"The President placed the traditional wreath at the National Cemetery and met with the families of soldiers recently killed. In other news, it's was all laughs and smiles at today's holiday parade..."
Ouch.
The worst part is I was the one who fell victim to that cluster. It was my own fault for not proofreading carefully. And come on, can you tell me one graceful way to recover once the above paragraph falls out of your mouth? There was no ad-lib, that was the actual script (or at least as close as I can remember).
Maybe she didn't proofread either?
"As of tonight," she began, "it (the protests) has spread to more than 250 American cities..."
I thought to myself "Wow, this thing is huge."
But then, in less time than it takes a scoop of ice cream to fall from the cone I'm holding onto the ground, I began to doubt her numbers.
"...over a thousand countries, every continent but Antarctica."
I hit pause on the remote. My magical DVR/Cable Box allows such a privilege.
I'm no geography whiz, but the phrase "over a thousand countries" struck me as wrong, dead wrong. The funny thing, I wasn't really doubting Diane Sawyer's facts yet. I was stuck on the question "Are there really a thousand countries on this planet?"
Depending on the source, there are between 189 and 196 countries on our home planet.
While some cry "Well, that's just the liberal media!" or "I don't like Diane Sawyer anyway!" I think there's something bigger we all need to consider.
You know I'm a news guy at heart, and I always will be, but I learned early-on that one of the first things you do is check your facts, and one of the last things you do is check your facts. I remember Mister Wilson carefully explaining the concept of news credibility.
"Once you say something that ain't true, you might as well stop reading 'cause everyone's gonna doubt ya."
He was an Oklahoman at heart, so his life lessons were always salted with a little accent, and peppered with words he forbade me to use on the air.
My point isn't to pick on any one newscaster.
Words mean things, and when they're given as fact, they're taken as fact, until you give people a reason to believe otherwise. And when you do cross that line, can you blame them for turning the channel?
"Come on, Brian, if that were the case, you wouldn't watch any newscast and you know it."
You're right. I still watch the news, but I watch it the exact way the newscast itself should be prepared: Any fact gets double-checked and I don't rely on a single source for my news and information.
In my humble opinion, the newsroom that figures this out, and creates a product that is not only correct but fosters a sense of confidence and trust, is the newsroom that not just survives, but enjoys success. Consultants may tell you pretty faces and flashy graphics and slight exaggerations are part of what brings people to your product, but I think viewers and listeners are smarter.
I know they are smarter.
She came across as comfy as your mom sitting in the living room, reciting the list of things she had observed during the day. I know from experience she had a teleprompter with a script, but in that moment, she appeared to be "vamping" a bit. My suspicion is she was just trying to make a comfortable transition form one story to the next.It happens a lot in a newscast, as broadcasters segue between stories. The news reader's nightmare is not having adequate time to proofread combined with someone falling asleep at the switch. The end result? A "murder and mayhem" type story immediately followed by something that...well is completely the opposite and shouldn't follow. It's a true art form to smooth-out that situation when you're "live," and very few can pull it off. One of my favorite non-success stories:
"The President placed the traditional wreath at the National Cemetery and met with the families of soldiers recently killed. In other news, it's was all laughs and smiles at today's holiday parade..."
Ouch.
The worst part is I was the one who fell victim to that cluster. It was my own fault for not proofreading carefully. And come on, can you tell me one graceful way to recover once the above paragraph falls out of your mouth? There was no ad-lib, that was the actual script (or at least as close as I can remember).
Maybe she didn't proofread either?
"As of tonight," she began, "it (the protests) has spread to more than 250 American cities..."
I thought to myself "Wow, this thing is huge."
But then, in less time than it takes a scoop of ice cream to fall from the cone I'm holding onto the ground, I began to doubt her numbers.
"...over a thousand countries, every continent but Antarctica."
I hit pause on the remote. My magical DVR/Cable Box allows such a privilege.
I'm no geography whiz, but the phrase "over a thousand countries" struck me as wrong, dead wrong. The funny thing, I wasn't really doubting Diane Sawyer's facts yet. I was stuck on the question "Are there really a thousand countries on this planet?"
Depending on the source, there are between 189 and 196 countries on our home planet.
While some cry "Well, that's just the liberal media!" or "I don't like Diane Sawyer anyway!" I think there's something bigger we all need to consider.
You know I'm a news guy at heart, and I always will be, but I learned early-on that one of the first things you do is check your facts, and one of the last things you do is check your facts. I remember Mister Wilson carefully explaining the concept of news credibility.
"Once you say something that ain't true, you might as well stop reading 'cause everyone's gonna doubt ya."
He was an Oklahoman at heart, so his life lessons were always salted with a little accent, and peppered with words he forbade me to use on the air.
My point isn't to pick on any one newscaster.
Words mean things, and when they're given as fact, they're taken as fact, until you give people a reason to believe otherwise. And when you do cross that line, can you blame them for turning the channel?
"Come on, Brian, if that were the case, you wouldn't watch any newscast and you know it."
You're right. I still watch the news, but I watch it the exact way the newscast itself should be prepared: Any fact gets double-checked and I don't rely on a single source for my news and information.
In my humble opinion, the newsroom that figures this out, and creates a product that is not only correct but fosters a sense of confidence and trust, is the newsroom that not just survives, but enjoys success. Consultants may tell you pretty faces and flashy graphics and slight exaggerations are part of what brings people to your product, but I think viewers and listeners are smarter.
I know they are smarter.
Posted by Brian Calvert at Tuesday, October 11. 2011 
Categories: TV, Radio, Communications, Journalism, Social Media
Categories: TV, Radio, Communications, Journalism, Social Media
I wasn't watching carefully, but heard that comment while I was doing something else. I did a "What?" but wasn't able to rewind it. That isn't the first gaff I've heard from The Nightly News. Even Charlie had a few lame statements.
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I don't know if a mistake like that necessarily damages Diane Sawyer's credibility. If it happened every night? Yeah. But I think most TV viewers are smart enough to realize that even the most meticulous newsrooms are made up of humans who are prone to error.
(Note: Brian knows this, but anyone else who reads this should know that I work for a TV news station.)
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I think you make a great point Paul. One mistake does not a terrible journalist make, and as I mentioned in the post I'm not singling out Diane Sawyer.
The point I was attempting to make is that when you're a purveyor of facts, a single mistake like this doesn't break you, but it can bruise. As the media, we should be doing our best to guard against giving the general public any more reason to discount us. Mistakes will happen because we are human, but exaggeration and sensationalism also happen because we are human.
And if it is a genuine oversight, because we are human, it's a good idea to say you're sorry and make a correction.
Thanks Paul, I really respect your work and your thoughts!
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So I just wrot this post about how typos">http://paulbalcerak.com/2011/10/16/typos-are-to-your-blog-what-some-guys-cell-phone-is-to-a-movie-theater/">typos distract readers from your writing (not yours, just people's writing, generally) -- I think it's kind of the same as what you're talking about, but check it out and let me know what you think.
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"Creativity is . . . seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God." - Michele Shea
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