Last night while sitting in the pet emergency room, don’t worry our little guys just fine, the obligatory TV was tuned to KGTV Channel 10 news. Now having given up TV myself, or at least commercial TV as we know it I’m was shocked to see local news coverage that was not so much coverage as it was laziness.
Case in point to fill a 45 second spot the 7 o’clock news leader ran a story about the Octomom and her choice of new careers which could include going into porn. Really this is news? In fact my wife, two people sitting in the waiting room, and one of the veterinary staffs behind the desk all said the same thing.
Now you could attribute this to a slow news day, but in San Diego I don’t think there is such a thing as a slow news day. When you consider all the various topics that we as a city and county have in front of us. For instance just off the top of my head I can think of at least four stories that are of a higher quality, better taste, and more meaningful to the community.
In fact on Monday alone there was a protest at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, a report about the lack for power generation within our state, the move by local officials and business persons to a more neutral position in regard politics, a large sewage spill just south of the border, and a community effort over the weekend to clean up local canyons, streams, rivers and beaches.
So I ask you this 10 news, did the corporate board room and laziness win out, over journalistic integrity? If so are you really a NEWS leader? I would also say, that in the short time I have been working in the media field, I could’ve written any one of the above stories within 15 min, and I’m available on a short-term or long-term basis to help improve the quality and content of your local coverage.
What concerns me more, is that you would run a story having to do with the adult industry and a person who obviously is seeking the limelight over important issues within our county. With all the challenges facing San Diego today it’s shocking that your Program Director, News Director and General Manager cannot see that in this age of social media and changing landscapes the real winners are tried and true providers of quality meaningful content.
So here’s the lame response from 10 News. They still don’t get it!
Thanks for your email. For the record, we did cover the other stories you mentioned, when they happened. We had a reporter on the San Onofre protest Sunday at 5 and 6 and also mentioned it at 11pm and the next morning in more abbreviated fashion. We covered the sewage spill last week, and in fact exposed the new information that investigators discovered a drug resistant bacteria in the Tijuana River. As for the Octomom, her story has sparked interest since the beginning because of unusual nature of having 8 kids and the fact public funds would likely be used to support her decision to have that many children. Part of our job is to be sure you’re in the “know” on all major news, and the story on Monday was more related to Nadia Suleman declaring bankruptcy, with a line added that one way she was trying to support her family was the shoot you mentioned.
I hope this explains why the story was included in our newscast. It certainly was not at the expense of the other stories you mentioned… which got more time in our newscasts on the days they occurred.
Joel Davis
10News