1. One station (KOMO) dominated. KIRO brought in major anchors and finished strong. KING was streaming but weak on TV, and Fox 13 worse. David Rose of Fox 13, the lead anchor who has made a living helping the cops, was MIA, claiming he offered to come in to help, but was declined and worked phones from home. Really? No, he should have just gone directly to the scene. KING hung.a newbie anchor out to dry with an old time King County Sheriff as a co-anchor and a weak reporter on site. Expected much more. Castro, Taylor or Copeland should have been called in. Fumbled badly. And the bright red breaking news background is horrendous.
2. Seattle PD and Mayor not ready for prime time on any form or fashion. Barnes was in Dallas for a conference? So, Zoom in to be part of the presser. What's his priority? He was two hours ahead and abjectly failed to recognize the gravity of the situation.
3. Barnes is apparently more an absentee chief than we knew. Family weekends to see family in Chicago. Hei was out of town for non-critical awards stuff, but missing the boat here. Send a deputy chief for that stuff. Stay in town Got angry and defensive and insecure with a reporter asking tough questions and was likely caught napping, claiming it wasn't heated and talking about a Friday med procedure. He also joked about 'affordability' to fly home to his Chicago family. We don't care.
4. Wilson over her skis. Not ready for the big time. Rookies need to be sent down to Yelm. But we're stuck with her.
5. An overall media C-. Especially a take from a former ND, who has covered and supervised bigger stories, watching disappointedly.
KOMO owned this horrific story from the moment it broke. No doubt about it. Their coverage was solid on Sunday, and they're doing a good job with follow-up coverage. I predict thay KOMO will win some journalism awards for its coverage.
ReplyDeleteKIRO showed that it can still be a serious player when it comes to big stories. Their follow-up coverage the past two days has been quite extensive, and their coverage on Sunday was good as well. A much needed shining moment for the troubled station.
KING's coverage was interesting, pairing new weekend anchor Carter with a former King County Sheriff. Not what I would have expected, but it was definitely unique.
FOX 13 dropped the ball. Possibly the biggest failure in the history of their news department. They must do better going forward. They have Rose's deep law enforcement knowledge connections at their disposal. Sunday would have been a great time to let him put them to good use. They also need to abandon the pre-recorded newscasts, and return to doing all newscasts live. Coverage should not have been made to wait until 10pm.
As for Mayor Wilson, this has been her biggest test as Mayor so far, and she isn't performing well. She could take a major step towards turning that around by firing Chief Barnes. While I respect Barnes wanting to see his family in Chicago, he seems to be spending too much time there and not enough time here. Seattle needs a police chief that is here all the time.
Was at the Emmys a couple of years ago and the winning speeches from 13 were all about how they were the “underdogs” or the “new kids in town.” Really? That’s still the culture and attitude? You’ve been a station now for 3 decades. You are better funded and staffed as an O & O than any other station in town.
ReplyDeleteNewsroom culture starts at the top and works its way down. With a story as big as Sunday’s, it’s all hands on deck. The News Director, EPs and Assignment Desk manager need to be there, plus top anchors and best reporters. Don’t ask if you need to be there, run in and help and assume the answer is “yes.” That’s how you win.
Couldn't agree more. You just go in, period.
ReplyDeleteJust horrible for the families and people that experienced this! That said, no camera's one of main stories! Hardly covered by anyone.
ReplyDeleteAgree with everything said above!
The story that I perceived was how utterly incompetent the mayor of Seattle is and what thin skin the SPD chief has! I had no idea his main residence and family is in Chicago!
I was surprised to learn what we have about the SPD chief as well. The media needs to do more digging into whoever Seattle hires as its next top cop so the public knows exactly who is leading the police force that is meant to protect and serve them. Transparency matters!
DeleteAs for the lack of coverage about cameras, that is another angle the media needs to shift some of its attention to as this story continues to unfold.