HarryTheSpider

Earlier this week the Channel 3 people were at some Hilton hotel doing the weather and other things, and saying what a great place it was and only $89 a night.

Not an isolated incident either.

So if that's not product placement, what is?

I like the majority of the presenters as people, 1 or 2 wind me up, but only slightly. It's just when they sensationalise stuff with zero basis, get people all fired up... that's not journalism...

It's light weight, tame, jolly - ideal really for breakfast time.

Just don't call it journalism...

Deeks

I can honestly say I've never seen that on our local news. I guess we're just lucky enough to have picked a good channel.

Sally Redux

This is the local 'journalism'.

Woman with ridiculous Tammy Wynette hair stands outside a house - "There has been a fatal shooting here - we tried to speak to someone but they wouldn't open the door. Back to the studio."

Bob

Up where we used to live in Maine, there's be a fair bit...usually covering hunting accidents or people who have been arrested coming into the US with guns and no hunting licenses or vice-versa.

Also used to get a few Canadian tv channels and they weren't so bad. Don't know what the folks in the Canada forum complain about really, they were much better than the local channels we had. Apart from when the Stanley Cup really going as it was all just hockey then

Bob

We get there.

What's worse is, all local news has to be done live at the scene, rather than being pre-recorded from an earlier segment.

Not so bad if it's just after an accident. It's a bit shit going over the same story 12 hours later, when the scene has been cleaned up and it's now snowing and the poor presenter is shivering away etc.

And it's always that poor, pasty, Brazilian chap they have doing those shit stories, usually in some ghetto.

RICH

CNN keeps sending obscure producers to their "favorite" Spa/Daycare Center/Museum etc.

Bay news nine - "Florida on a Tankful". Go to Busch Gardens/Legoland or some obscure Attraction.

All in the name of public service. ***If you would like your business featured in this segment please contact us*** [we will send you a price list]

WEBlue

I'm not calling it (good) journalism, but I've yet to see much if any product being advertised on the local news . . . in my area, that is. Maybe you two are in more big-city commercial areas than I am.

Oh & I never watch those breakfast TV shows--too "lite" for my taste entirely.

Me too. Maybe small towns have their advantages?

cluedweasel

Our small town has about 50/50 ads to news. Recent ones have included a new solar cell store, a guy who bicycles around to get your recyclables, a company that picks up dog poop on your lawn and a guy who turned a double-decker bus into a fish and chip shop. OK, the last one I can forgive.

Last night's lead item (I kid you not) was about someone's shed catching fire. You may think, "Nice if that's the worse thing that happens there". The second item was about 10 fireman who were injured, 1 seriously, in a mini-bus crash on their way to fight a forest fire. Slightly more important than a flammable outbuilding I would think.

Our local Nielsen market is ranked 192 out of 210, so we're pretty small. The news operation at the TV channel is basically a training centre. They take graduates from a crappy L.A. TV journalism school. They're all paid minimum wage and thrown in at the deep end. The news director seems to have a thing for 90lb, skinny blondes. When they're sent out to cover a story, they have to do it all by themselves, no camera man or sound man. Most of them last 6 months or so before hey bugger off to pastures new or rethink their career choice.

sir_eccles

Yup, wife works in PR and so do most of our friends. Look for those segments after the action news. After the break stay tuned to find out the new weight loss secret...

MostlyYank

Americas' hat lol.

Sally, it was just an observation...

Pete

cluedweasel

And here is tonight's advertisement from our local news, masquerading as a news item;
http://www.ktvz.com/news/Bend-woman-...z/-/index.html

WEBlue

OK, I watched last night's local news as well as the lunchtime version today. I did see one possible "product" covered in last night's news, a minute's coverage of two films that are opening locally, one for kids & one for adults. The noon news had nothing but local robberies, an arson, a mystery around a missing man whose body was found, shots of local beaches & endless discussions of the weather with more shots of local beaches & fountains, etc.

I can see that the film companies may have provided the clips and paid this news programme for showing them, but there was no mention of where the movies were playing, or anything hard-sell really. It was just a sort of fluffy "local goings-on" kind of item.

I'll keep watching though & see if I see more in the way of hard "product" . . . .

Bob

Ice Age? That's made by Blue Sky, who are in your neck of the woods, but even then, not really news worthy.

WEBlue

Yes! One of the films was Ice Age-Continental Drift, & the other was Red Lights, which seems to be about the paranormal (& looked somewhat interesting).

And you're correct that Blue Sky is located in the next county over. Hmmmm . . .interesting. Not sure if there's a local connection for Red Lights, but I suppose there could be.

RICH

It is called subliminal advertising. But only if you do not notice it. If you notice it, it is called News!