3/11/2007

Everybody who’s ever been on the air, radio or television, makes mistakes. I’m no stranger to that territory. Chances are you’ve seen some of my “handiwork’ when we’ve run our “OOPS-Files” segments, with out-takes from the show. However, flat-out stupidity makes mistakes a little unbearable. I was watching one of the local weekend morning news shows. Granted, there are some that actually have people on air who know what they’re doing, and do it well- but, there are a LOT of boneheads in the mix as well (no offense to Tombstone.) Recently, one of the anchors was supposed to tell us about the many people who were about to do one of those “polar bear” events where they go into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. Now, keep in mind- the words she was supposed to say are right in front of her, both on the teleprompter, super-imposed over the camera lens, and on a paper script right in front of her on her desk. So, what does she say? “A lot of people are running out into Michigan Avenue this morning…” Oh my god! Imagine pedestrians leaping out into the traffic on Michigan Avenue! Oh, the humanity!!!…I’m sure that was an honest mistake, but still- it was written out right in front of her! All she had to do was READ! That’s her job! This woman isn’t even a street reporter- her whole job is just reading at an anchor desk! On the same weekend newscast, they go to all the trouble of having an actual traffic reporter on duty-but, Somehow, the budget isn’t included for a person to put the traffic information in words on the screen! So, when there’s a problem, or a long list of street closures, you’d best be listening carefully, because you won’t be seeing the information on the screen for even a little while! However, they think that cutting to a live camera on an almost deserted expressway heading to Elgin is helpful. They even brag about their access to so many of these cameras. Wow! Who’d believe that traffic would be so light on a Sunday morning?! I’ve mentioned radio “personalities” who seem to be geographically impaired before- like the woman who thought Minnesota was a suburb of Minneapolis- and I heard another one just the other day. This guy was doing some sort of “this day in history” song thing, and said it would be taking us back to Alabama…after which he started to sing “…sweet Georgia…”which- didn’t appear to have anything to do with anything!!! What?! Boy, sometimes you can’t hit the button fast enough to change the station… Like I said, everybody makes mistakes- and I’ve made plenty- But I’d just hope that my mistakes were honest mistakes, not through total ignorance, or from not following a script in front of me. Back when I was doing weather on Fox (I still have nightmares about that) I remember talking about the winds from the west, while moving my hands east. I could say that it’s confusing when you’re working in front of a green screen, but- the bottom line- it was my job to do it right. Had people been blogging back then, I’m sure someone would be giving me hell…and that’s not even bringing up my forecast! Have you seen or heard a classic goof-up by a clueless news anchor, pledge break barker, or deejay? Please feel free to tell me about it at svengoolie@wciu.com - maybe it’ll make me feel better about myself…