Feb 2008
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs, Feb. 28)
02/29/08 11:32 AM
By ED BARK
Oddly enough we live in a market where Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics! is as big a draw as ABC's Lost.
The two shows tied at 8 p.m. Thursday, each drawing 192,412 D-FW homes.
Lyrics!, of course, benefits from an American Idol lead-in, and the show's latest vote-off topped all prime-time attractions with 314,192 homes. The new Lost episode had to build off the preceding "enhanced" rerun, which managed 97,424 homes opposite Idol.
The first-run Lost did beat Lyrics! among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, which will keep ABC happy. The network's following Eli Stone also whipped competing network shows in that demo, but still ran behind Fox4's very potent 9 p.m. local newscast.
NBC ate ratings crumbs all night with a lineup of The Office, Celebrity Apprentice and Lipstick Jungle.
Bouncing to the cable universe, the Mavericks' last second road loss to San Antonio averaged 127,094 homes, peaking at 189,977 in the final 15 minutes. Not surprisingly, ratings have spiked since Jason Kidd's arrival.
In the post-sweeps local news derby, WFAA8 again rolled up twin wins, dominating in total homes and turning back a competitive second-place Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The two stations fittingly finished in a dead tie at 6 a.m. in total homes (85,246 apiece) after their down-to-the-wire war in the sweeps. Fox4 again had the edge with 25-to-54-year-olds.
WFAA8 took the 6 p.m. news competitions in both ratings measurements, but the 5 p.m. spoils went to rivals. CBS11 rose up to win in total homes and Fox4 took the 25-to-54 competition, with WFAA8 sliding to an unaccustomed fourth.
Oddly enough we live in a market where Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics! is as big a draw as ABC's Lost.
The two shows tied at 8 p.m. Thursday, each drawing 192,412 D-FW homes.
Lyrics!, of course, benefits from an American Idol lead-in, and the show's latest vote-off topped all prime-time attractions with 314,192 homes. The new Lost episode had to build off the preceding "enhanced" rerun, which managed 97,424 homes opposite Idol.
The first-run Lost did beat Lyrics! among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, which will keep ABC happy. The network's following Eli Stone also whipped competing network shows in that demo, but still ran behind Fox4's very potent 9 p.m. local newscast.
NBC ate ratings crumbs all night with a lineup of The Office, Celebrity Apprentice and Lipstick Jungle.
Bouncing to the cable universe, the Mavericks' last second road loss to San Antonio averaged 127,094 homes, peaking at 189,977 in the final 15 minutes. Not surprisingly, ratings have spiked since Jason Kidd's arrival.
In the post-sweeps local news derby, WFAA8 again rolled up twin wins, dominating in total homes and turning back a competitive second-place Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The two stations fittingly finished in a dead tie at 6 a.m. in total homes (85,246 apiece) after their down-to-the-wire war in the sweeps. Fox4 again had the edge with 25-to-54-year-olds.
WFAA8 took the 6 p.m. news competitions in both ratings measurements, but the 5 p.m. spoils went to rivals. CBS11 rose up to win in total homes and Fox4 took the 25-to-54 competition, with WFAA8 sliding to an unaccustomed fourth.
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This just in: 20 nights in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts
02/28/08 04:13 PM
By ED BARK
The February sweeps are history, and so, probably, are my eyeballs.
Another all-points journey through 80 late night D-FW newscasts is not for the faint of heart -- or sane of mind. But nothing in D-FW is more consistently watched than the goodnight news programs from Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11. So attention should be paid, particularly when the aggregate audiences are increasing, not shrinking in what is now the country's fifth-largest TV market.
Year-to-year February numbers from Nielsen Media Research show an increase of 34,552 homes for the quartet of 10 p.m. newscasts. And among advertiser-preferred 25-to-54-year-olds, an average of 13,673 more viewers watched this February than last.
Only NBC5 hemorrhaged audience, but the Peacock's substantial losses (scroll down) were offset by its three rivals' gains. That's pretty impressive in times when the Internet and myriad other channel choices are readily at hand. And audiences increased despite a writers' strike that left the 9 p.m. network lead-in slots with an uncommon number of reruns.
Here are a few carryover impressions gleaned from catching D-FW's late night newscasts on both their best and worst behavior.
WFAA8
The market's seemingly invincible ratings kingpin is also its class act on most nights.
Close to overflowing with solid, resourceful reporters, WFAA8 has re-taken the market's high ground after flirting not so long ago with the idea of trying to beat former top dog NBC at its own wham-bam game.
Those still relatively new Victory Park digs don't hurt either, communicating both prosperity and a sense of excitement. More than just handfuls of American Airlines Center attendees now are sticking around to watch WFAA's 10 p.m. show in a tinytown Times Square setting. News-wise and otherwise, the station is rockin' right now.
Through it all, weatherman Pete Delkus and sports anchor Dale Hansen continue to trade barbs while co-anchor Gloria Campos alternately reins them in or throws a little lighter fluid on the fire. She'll be shocked to hear this from these quarters; but truth be told, she's getting pretty damned good at this. Meanwhile, anchor John McCaa keeps his Martin Agronsky persona intact on a newscast that still needs his doses of decorum.
NBC5
The Peacock showed signs down the stretch of U-turning from the rip 'n' read, crime 'n' tragedy motif that astonishingly served it so well for so long.
It didn't serve viewers, though, at least not those with more than room temperature IQs. So something's got to give, and the shakeups likely are only just beginning.
NBC5 has some solid street reporters in its arsenal, and needs to make them feel good about coming to work. As the sweeps deepened, news managers seemed more willing to let some stories breathe beyond what had been a hard-and-fast 90-second time limit. But NBC5 is still the only station without any self-standing investigative unit.
For now, an overall cheesiness is still gumming the works. The Peacock has miles to go in what looks like a long uphill climb. But reporters like Scott Friedman, Ellen Goldberg, Randy McIlwain and Scott Gordon can help save the station from itself if given a fair chance.
CBS11
Recently installed news director Scott Diener is very bullish on investigative reporting, and the station lately has been piling it on. Some of these efforts have been worth your time, but others bordered on embarrassing or worse.
CBS11 also has succumbed to far too much pre-canned drivel aimed at keeping women viewers from dropping out in its newscasts' second halves. Poor Ginger Allen is the designated point woman, standing next to an HD screen and narrating one horrid mess after another glommed from CBS stations other than her own. Crying on the inside isn't her game. Free Allen to re-establish herself as a pretty decent investigative reporter.
The station's anchor team is solid and appealing, though, with new weathercaster Larry Mowry looking like a good find. Many of CBS11's reporters are top-notch and still young enough to hit the streets running. Jack Fink, J. D. Miles, Jay Gormley, Katherine Blake and investigator Bennett Cunningham are among the station's consistently strong night beat contributors.
Diener and assistant news director Sarah Garza need to lock up their evil twins, though. Discerning women viewers don't want canned crap, no matter what station consultants say.
Fox4
The station pours most of its resources into the 9 p.m. newscast, which had impressive ratings in February opposite network entertainment programming.
Too often, though, Fox4 lagged behind on stories it deemed important enough to report -- but a day later than one or all of its rivals. The station should be leading the pack on a newscast that airs an hour earlier than those of its three rivals. You set their tables, not eat their leftovers.
On the other hand, this isn't an indictment of Fox4's reporters. Pavement pounders such as Jason Overstreet, Jeff Crilley, Lari Barager, Lynn Kawano and Brandon Todd should be a match for any of their competitors. Investigator Paul Adrian is one of D-FW's very best, and Steve Noviello's flamboyantly presented consumer reports generally are more fun than grating to watch.
Anchor Steve Eagar spoons out snarky "Fox attitude" in acceptably small amounts. His co-anchors are viewer-friendly as well.
Something's missing, though -- and it's not just long-exiled reporter Rebecca Aguilar. Maybe news director Maria Barrs needs to reach out and re-connect with the troops. Don't rely on sharp-worded staff memos for motivation. Get in there and make them want to run through brick walls for you. Not out of fear, but because they want to make you look good.
That's the optimum way for any station to bounce back.
"An honest mistake, and we were wrong"
02/28/08 03:04 PM
By ED BARK
Relatives first heard of 20-year-old Ashley Parra's death Wednesday from a television reporter who reached them before police did.
"It was unintentional and not competitively driven. It was just a mistake," WFAA8 news director Mike Valentine said in an interview Thursday.
Reporter Craig Civale unknowingly broke the news to Parra's grandmother, Susan Castro, at her residence early Wednesday night, Valentine confirmed. Her car was crushed several hours earlier when an 18-wheeler fell onto it after plunging off the overhead Woodall Rogers Freeway ramp. The bizarre tragedy received heavy coverage on all four major local TV newscasts.
Valentine noted that authorities had held a news conference three or so hours before Civale knocked on Castro's door.
"It was under the assumption that everyone had been notified. I certainly wish it wouldn't have happened," Valentine said. "The reporter wishes it wouldn't have happened. . . Things fall through the cracks, and that happened in this case. We were not rushing to get to the house to get that on the air immediately. The timing from our end was just poor."
An anonymous tipster from a rival station earlier had accused WFAA8 of "committing the worst crime a news station can be accused of. . . They need to be called out on this because it's avoidable, irresponsible and makes me ashamed to be in the TV news business."
WFAA8 and all reputable news organizations have policies against notifying family members of such tragedies before authorities can contact them.
Valentine noted that the station had erred on the side of caution just a few days earlier in initially holding back the name of Dallas police officer Victor Lozada, who died Monday morning in a motorcycle crash while helping to escort Hillary Clinton's motorcade.
Rival stations publicized his name, but "we did not because police hadn't given us clearance to do it," Valentine said.
That doesn't excuse the Parra situation, he said. "It was an honest mistake, and we were wrong."
NBC5 also interviewed Parra's grandmother on-camera, arriving at her home shortly after WFAA8 did. CBS11 interviewed Parra's grieving fiance and her aunt.
Fox4 didn't interview anyone close to Parra on its Wednesday, 9 p.m newscast. Nor did the station even identify her during reporter Jeff Crilley's coverage.
CBS11 broaches a volatile campaign issue -- but will it go any farther than that?
02/28/08 12:25 PM
By ED BARK
Longtime D-FW political activist Adelfa Callejo ran circles around political correctness in her blunt, racially charged comments to CBS11 about the Texas Democratic presidential primary.
But she also spoke the truth as she sees it, and shouldn't be shunned or vilified for that.
The racial dynamics behind support for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are a very touchy topic. So far no local TV news operation has dared to touch it in depth. But it's a key element of the campaign, particularly in Texas. And it was addressed earlier this month in a fair and perceptive piece by CNN's Soledad O'Brien. She dared to explore both sides after beginning her story by asking, "Are Latinos rallying for this white woman or against this black man -- just because he's black?"
First appearing on Tracy Rowlett's Sunday night "Perspectives" segment, Callejo, 84, said that, in her mind, sharp divisions remain between the Latino and black communities.
"When blacks had the numbers, they didn't do anything to support us," she contended. "They always used our numbers to fulfill their goals and objectives, but they never really supported us, and there's a lot of hard feelings about that. I don't think we're going to get over it anytime soon."
She then was asked about Obama's efforts to court Latino voters.
"Obama simply has the problem that he happens to be black," said Callejo, who's supporting Hillary Clinton and attended her rally in Oak Cliff last Friday.
CBS11 reporter Jack Fink later brought up Callejo's comments during a one-on-one satellite interview with Clinton. In a story that aired on Wednesday's 10 p.m. newscast, he asked whether she would reject or denounce them.
"People have every reason (the probably meant "right") to express their opinions," Clinton told him. "I just don't agree with that. I think that we should be looking at the individuals who are running, and that is certainly what I intend to do."
Clinton made it a point to jab at Louis Farrakhan's unsolicited endorsement of Obama during the two candidate's Tuesday night debate in Ohio. Noting his anti-Semitic comments over the years, she called on Obama to reject his support, saying it wasn't enough to merely denounce his views.
The Clinton campaign, in a subsequent statement to CBS11 Wednesday night, fell back on sharper rhetoric in responding to Callejo's remarks.
"After confirming that they were accurately portrayed, Sen. Clinton of course denounces and rejects them," the statement said in part.
There obviously are many views within both the Hispanic and black community regarding the respective support of Clinton and Obama. Callejo's is only one of them, and it's easy to dismiss her as an addled member of the "Old Guard."
She has, however, provided an opening to look deeper into this volatile issue. But will any local TV reporter have the guts to touch it in the final days before the March 4th Texas primary? Or will the racial elements of the Clinton-Obama race simply be boiled down to the latest polling data -- and left at that? That, of course, would be the easy way out.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot -- Feb. sweeps finals edition
02/28/08 10:02 AM
By ED BARK
Missed by that much. WFAA8 came within less than inches of winning all four major local news battlegrounds, but settled for dominating victories at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in the just-concluded February sweeps ratings wars.
The 6 a.m. laurels went to Fox4's Good Day, which rallied in the second half of the 20-day period before surviving a strong finishing kick by WFAA8's Daybreak on Wednesday's sweeps sign-off. The difference in the total homes Nielsens ended up as a statistically insignificant 244 homes, with Fox4 logging a 4.05 rating and WFAA8 a 4.04.
Fox4 had a bit more breathing room at 6 a.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. It won that one by a comparatively whopping two-tenths of a rating point.
WFAA8 won the 10 p.m. wars for the fourth straight sweeps period in total homes, and for the third consecutive time among 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 previously had dominated those competitions for five years dating to Feb., 2002.
WFAA lost year-to-year audiences only at 5 p.m. in total homes, but still won comfortably in that measurement.
Fox4 took the early morning golds for the third straight sweeps period after running second last February to NBC5 in total homes and WFAA8 among 25-to-54-year-olds. The station also registered significant gains in the early evening newscast competitions, moving into second place in three of the four key ratings measurements.
CBS11 won't be shouting from the rooftops, but can take some comfort in showing year-to-year ratings gains in all four major newscast time periods. There's a kinda hush over at NBC5, though. The Peacock lost major ground across the board.
Also of note: Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast, aided on some nights by American Idol lead-ins, averaged 172,928 D-FW homes in the sweeps. That beat the ratings averages of all competing network programming, which was a mix of originals and repeats in a strike-torn season. Fox4 ran a close second to ABC programming among 25-to-54-year-olds. Both are impressive showings, with Fox4 raking in all of the advertising revenue while its rivals get only a small slice of local ad time within their respective network programs.
Here are the complete results from the principal newscast battlegrounds, with gains or losses from February 2007 in parentheses. (Also note that there's been a bit of ratings inflation from year to year. Based on revised Nielsen estimates for this season, a rating point in D-FW equals 24,356 homes and 29,445 viewers in the 25-to-54 demo. Last February, the respective net worths were 23,800 homes and 28,700 viewers of the 25-to-54 persuasion.)
10 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
WFAA8 -- 241,124 (+34,064
NBC5 -- 160,750 (-34,410)
CBS11 -- 155,878 (+15,458)
Fox4 -- 121,780 (+19,440)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
WFAA8 -- 147,225 (+15,205)
NBC5 -- 114,836 (-31,534)
Fox4 -- 85,391 (+19,380)
CBS11 -- 79,502 (+10,622)
6 A.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Fox4 -- 98,642 (-1,318)
WFAA8 -- 98,398 (+5,578)
NBC5 -- 75,504 (-33,976)
CBS11 -- 43,841 (+5,761)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Fox4 -- 76,557 (+10,547)
WFAA8 -- 70,668 (+1,788)
NBC5 -- 55,946 (-4,324)
CBS11 -- 29,445 (+6,485)
6 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
WFAA8 -- 170,492 (+11,032)
CBS11 -- 119,344 (+7,484)
NBC5 -- 99,860 (-28,660)
Fox4 -- 94,988 (+6,928)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
WFAA8 -- 94,224 (+16,734)
Fox4 -- 61,834 (+7,305)
NBC5 -- 55,946 (-10,064)
CBS11 -- 41,223 (+6,783)
5 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
WFAA8 -- 136,394 (-18,306)
Fox4 -- 104,731 (+23,811)
NBC5 -- 97,424 (-21,576)
CBS11 -- 82,810 (+20,930)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
WFAA8 -- 79,502 (+2,012)
Fox4 -- 53,001 (+15,691)
NBC5 -- 50,057 (-1,603)
CBS11 -- 32,390 (+12,300)
Missed by that much. WFAA8 came within less than inches of winning all four major local news battlegrounds, but settled for dominating victories at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in the just-concluded February sweeps ratings wars.
The 6 a.m. laurels went to Fox4's Good Day, which rallied in the second half of the 20-day period before surviving a strong finishing kick by WFAA8's Daybreak on Wednesday's sweeps sign-off. The difference in the total homes Nielsens ended up as a statistically insignificant 244 homes, with Fox4 logging a 4.05 rating and WFAA8 a 4.04.
Fox4 had a bit more breathing room at 6 a.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. It won that one by a comparatively whopping two-tenths of a rating point.
WFAA8 won the 10 p.m. wars for the fourth straight sweeps period in total homes, and for the third consecutive time among 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 previously had dominated those competitions for five years dating to Feb., 2002.
WFAA lost year-to-year audiences only at 5 p.m. in total homes, but still won comfortably in that measurement.
Fox4 took the early morning golds for the third straight sweeps period after running second last February to NBC5 in total homes and WFAA8 among 25-to-54-year-olds. The station also registered significant gains in the early evening newscast competitions, moving into second place in three of the four key ratings measurements.
CBS11 won't be shouting from the rooftops, but can take some comfort in showing year-to-year ratings gains in all four major newscast time periods. There's a kinda hush over at NBC5, though. The Peacock lost major ground across the board.
Also of note: Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast, aided on some nights by American Idol lead-ins, averaged 172,928 D-FW homes in the sweeps. That beat the ratings averages of all competing network programming, which was a mix of originals and repeats in a strike-torn season. Fox4 ran a close second to ABC programming among 25-to-54-year-olds. Both are impressive showings, with Fox4 raking in all of the advertising revenue while its rivals get only a small slice of local ad time within their respective network programs.
Here are the complete results from the principal newscast battlegrounds, with gains or losses from February 2007 in parentheses. (Also note that there's been a bit of ratings inflation from year to year. Based on revised Nielsen estimates for this season, a rating point in D-FW equals 24,356 homes and 29,445 viewers in the 25-to-54 demo. Last February, the respective net worths were 23,800 homes and 28,700 viewers of the 25-to-54 persuasion.)
10 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
WFAA8 -- 241,124 (+34,064
NBC5 -- 160,750 (-34,410)
CBS11 -- 155,878 (+15,458)
Fox4 -- 121,780 (+19,440)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
WFAA8 -- 147,225 (+15,205)
NBC5 -- 114,836 (-31,534)
Fox4 -- 85,391 (+19,380)
CBS11 -- 79,502 (+10,622)
6 A.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Fox4 -- 98,642 (-1,318)
WFAA8 -- 98,398 (+5,578)
NBC5 -- 75,504 (-33,976)
CBS11 -- 43,841 (+5,761)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Fox4 -- 76,557 (+10,547)
WFAA8 -- 70,668 (+1,788)
NBC5 -- 55,946 (-4,324)
CBS11 -- 29,445 (+6,485)
6 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
WFAA8 -- 170,492 (+11,032)
CBS11 -- 119,344 (+7,484)
NBC5 -- 99,860 (-28,660)
Fox4 -- 94,988 (+6,928)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
WFAA8 -- 94,224 (+16,734)
Fox4 -- 61,834 (+7,305)
NBC5 -- 55,946 (-10,064)
CBS11 -- 41,223 (+6,783)
5 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
WFAA8 -- 136,394 (-18,306)
Fox4 -- 104,731 (+23,811)
NBC5 -- 97,424 (-21,576)
CBS11 -- 82,810 (+20,930)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
WFAA8 -- 79,502 (+2,012)
Fox4 -- 53,001 (+15,691)
NBC5 -- 50,057 (-1,603)
CBS11 -- 32,390 (+12,300)
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Tues., Feb. 26)
02/27/08 01:40 PM
By ED BARK
Disparate results from two local TV station polls conducted in the past week make it anyone's guess whether Hillary Clinton is slipping fast or still holding her own against Barack Obama.
WFAA8 chimed in on Tuesday's 10 p.m. newscast with the first "exclusive" results of a Belo/WFAA Texas Tracking Poll, conducted by Public Strategies, Inc. from Feb. 24-25.
A night earlier, CBS11, in partnership with KRLD-AM radio, released the latest results of a poll done by SurveyUSA from Feb. 23-25.
WFAA8, with Brad Watson dispensing the facts and figures, said that Clinton still clings to a 46 to 43 percent lead over Obama, with the poll's margin of error (plus or minus 4.4 points) basically making it a dead heat.
Her lead with Hispanics remains firm at 63 to 30 percent, Watson said.
In the far less hotly contested Republican race, John McCain leads Mike Huckabee by 59 to 29 percent overall. But his edge among "Christian conservatives" is just 47 to 42 percent, Watson reported. And with crossover voting allowed, "McCain might not get the winning margin he's planning on," in Watson's view.
One more thing. Public Strategies Inc. polled 507 Texans who are "likely to vote" in the Democratic primary, and 293 like-minded Republicans, according to data on WFAA8's Web site.
CBS11, with Jay Gormley doing the honors, gave the impression that Clinton is "losing her grip" across the board. The station's first poll, released on Monday, Feb. 18th, had her ahead of Obama by 50 to 45 percent (with a margin of error of 3.8 percent). A week later, Gormley said, she trails Obama by 49 to 45 percent.
Her pulling power with Hispanics also is in virtual free-fall, CBS11 reported. A 30-point lead over Obama has melted to 13 points in the week between polls, Gormley said. That's a considerable difference from the aforementioned WFAA8 results.
McCain has a 56 to 32 percent lead over Huckabee in the CBS11 poll. And his edge with respondents who say they're pro-choice is 50 to 40 percent.
SurveyUSA polled more Democrats (704) and more Republicans (484) than Public Strategies, Inc. did, according to data provided here and here on CBS11's Web site.
Polls were notoriously wrong in New Hampshire, at least for the Democratic primary. WFAA8, which plans to put out a nightly "tracking poll" until the March 4 primary, so far has Clinton in better straits momentum-wise than the CBS11 poll does. But no matter they're sliced, their respective statistical margins of error make it two ongoing dead heats for the Democrats.
Hillary's unpredictable husband, Bill Clinton, also appeared in North Texas Tuesday for a series of daytime speeches delivered from pickup trucks. Charitably put, attendance was sparse. And by the time the late night newscasts rolled around, Big Bill had been reduced to a virtual non-person.
NBC5 had no coverage of him at all while WFAA8 and CBS11 offered sub-brief video blips.
Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast gave him some quality time, although most of it was via reporter Shaun Rabb's "inside look" at preparations for his appearances, all of which saw him arriving typically late.
Rally-goers did get free Mexican food, though, and "at each event, mariachis," Rabb reported.
Fox4 also was home to the first late night news campaign commercial from Huckabee, The 30-second spot billed him as both a "Christian Leader" and an "Authentic Conservative," with Huckabee saying, "Faith doesn't just influence me, it really defines me."
He further zeroed in on the Christian conservative vote by declaring, "I believe life begins at conception."
And In Other News . . .
Fox4 and NBC5 both did a good job of humanizing the escalating number of home foreclosures in Texas, according to newly released statistics.
The Peacock's Scott Friedman visited a DeSoto neighborhood to interview a man who's unsuccessfully been trying to sell his home at discount prices in a neighborhood "hit by a wave of foreclosures."
Fox4's Jason Overstreet, reporting from Plano, told viewers that a police presence is required when banks move in to remove the remaining contents from foreclosed homes. That's because it can be a dangerous situation if the aggrieved former resident is on the premises. But the time spent policing such situations means that other police duties can suffer, including warrant-serving.
***Starbucks got tons of free publicity from Tuesday night's three-hour nationwide closings to retrain employees in the are of making drinkable espressos. But at least Fox4's Jeff Crilley turned it into an expanded and interesting piece on how competitors hoped to take advantage.
***WFAA8's Steve Stoler went some extra miles to track the abuse of HOV lanes by single-passenger vehicles.
While stationed on the Legacy Drive overpass above Central Expressway, "we counted 29 solo drivers" in 30 minutes, he said. Moving on to the Parker Rd. overpass, the tally was 30 soloists in 10 minutes.
Limited entrances and exits to and from the HOV lanes make it hard for transit police to catch offenders, Stoler said. But increasing those numbers would slow HOV traffic. Which is another way of saying that law-abiders again can count on getting screwed.
***CBS11 reporter Ginger Allen returned with yet another lengthy narration of a story aimed directly at keeping women viewers from tuning out.
This time, however, the station didn't try to pass off a fellow CBS-owned station's reporting as a "CBS11 investigation," as it did on Monday night's 10 p.m. news.
The report, on "Mommy Make-Overs," at least originated from North Texas instead of Florida. Allen never appeared on-camera, nor did any other CBS11 reporter. But the station did appear to be shooting its own interview footage.
***WFAA8 wrapped up its Tuesday late nighter with overhead footage of shark-infested waters near Boynton Beach, Fla.
Sports anchor Dale Hansen, again wearing a camel-colored plaid sportcoat that only anchor Gloria Campos seems to like, joked that a shark would throw the thing back if he became its dinner.
"Surely, he wouldn't finish you," weatherman Pete Delkus jabbed, still mining fat jokes despite Hansen's newly svelte appearance.
It was a funny line, though, and Hansen laughed all the way to Nightline.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Feb. 26)
02/27/08 10:10 AM
By ED BARK
It'll still be close, but it looks like it's over.
Fox4's Good Day had decisive twin wins over WFAA8's Daybreak Tuesday in what's been a piping hot 6 a.m. news race. That should be enough for Fox4 to defend its ratings title and win for a third straight sweeps period in both total homes and among advertiser-favored 25-to-to-54-year-olds.
Good Day beat Daybreak by a full rating point in total homes and won by a wider margin in the 25-to-54 demo. With just Wednesday left to be counted in the February competition, only a mega-meltdown would keep Good Day from successfully capping a second-half sweeps rally against a very formidable Daybreak. The margin of victory will be pencil-thin, though, and for the most part statistically insignificant. But it does ensure bragging rights in on-air promos.
Meanwhile, WFAA8 can swell its chest at 10 p.m., where its newscasts continue to thrash the competition. Tuesday's Nielsens saw WFAA8 rolling up 299,579 homes in more than doubling the audience for its nearest competitor (CBS11 with 141,265 homes). The ABC station made an equally big splash with 25-to-54-year-olds.
The 10 p.m. battle for second place in total homes is still alive, though, with NBC5 and CBS11 arm-wrestling to the end. The Peacock slipped to fourth place in that measurement Tuesday, opening the door for a big CBS11 finish.
WFAA again ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m. Tuesday; it has long had those races wrapped up.
In prime-time, the premiere of NBC's quarterlife, which originated as a series of Internet "web-isodes," ran a flat-footed fourth at 9 p.m. in total homes (51,148). It did, however, nip another dead issue, CBS' Jericho, among 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming. But both network show were trounced in that demo, even running a bit behind CW33's 9 p.m. newscast.
The 9 p.m. hour was controlled by Fox4's local newscast in total homes, but ABC's competing, semi-newsy Prime Time: What Would You Do? won among both 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox controlled the 7 to 9 p.m. terrain with a 90-minute American Idol (399,438 homes) and a new episode of the returning Back to You (231,382 homes).
In the cable universe, MSNBC's Ohio debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton drew an impressive 94,988 D-FW homes to dominate the three-way news channel competition. Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes drew just 26,792 homes opposite the debate. And Larry King likely has more suspenders than the 9,742 homes tuned to his show.
It'll still be close, but it looks like it's over.
Fox4's Good Day had decisive twin wins over WFAA8's Daybreak Tuesday in what's been a piping hot 6 a.m. news race. That should be enough for Fox4 to defend its ratings title and win for a third straight sweeps period in both total homes and among advertiser-favored 25-to-to-54-year-olds.
Good Day beat Daybreak by a full rating point in total homes and won by a wider margin in the 25-to-54 demo. With just Wednesday left to be counted in the February competition, only a mega-meltdown would keep Good Day from successfully capping a second-half sweeps rally against a very formidable Daybreak. The margin of victory will be pencil-thin, though, and for the most part statistically insignificant. But it does ensure bragging rights in on-air promos.
Meanwhile, WFAA8 can swell its chest at 10 p.m., where its newscasts continue to thrash the competition. Tuesday's Nielsens saw WFAA8 rolling up 299,579 homes in more than doubling the audience for its nearest competitor (CBS11 with 141,265 homes). The ABC station made an equally big splash with 25-to-54-year-olds.
The 10 p.m. battle for second place in total homes is still alive, though, with NBC5 and CBS11 arm-wrestling to the end. The Peacock slipped to fourth place in that measurement Tuesday, opening the door for a big CBS11 finish.
WFAA again ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m. Tuesday; it has long had those races wrapped up.
In prime-time, the premiere of NBC's quarterlife, which originated as a series of Internet "web-isodes," ran a flat-footed fourth at 9 p.m. in total homes (51,148). It did, however, nip another dead issue, CBS' Jericho, among 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming. But both network show were trounced in that demo, even running a bit behind CW33's 9 p.m. newscast.
The 9 p.m. hour was controlled by Fox4's local newscast in total homes, but ABC's competing, semi-newsy Prime Time: What Would You Do? won among both 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox controlled the 7 to 9 p.m. terrain with a 90-minute American Idol (399,438 homes) and a new episode of the returning Back to You (231,382 homes).
In the cable universe, MSNBC's Ohio debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton drew an impressive 94,988 D-FW homes to dominate the three-way news channel competition. Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes drew just 26,792 homes opposite the debate. And Larry King likely has more suspenders than the 9,742 homes tuned to his show.
Dropping anchor: Dale Hansen's larger-than-life diet makes him local TV's biggest loser
02/26/08 10:01 PM
By ED BARK
WFAA8's INCREDIBLE SHRINKing man says he's dropped 47 pounds since New Year's Day.
Which means that sports anchor Dale Hansen is only about seven-eighths the man he used to be.
Ah, but we kid. And as the February sweeps ratings period enters its final day, there's no more danger that a rival station -- or WFAA for that matter -- will use his regimen as fodder for another of those miracle diet stories. So dish, Dale. What's gotten into you -- or out of you? And please don't mean it when you say on the air that you're going to gorge yourself on Saturday and then quickly pack it all back on.
"I did have all my clothes tailored down," Hansen says in an email. "So the bottom line is if I do gain it back it's gonna cost me a fortune. And even I'm too cheap to do that. But no promises."
His regimen, scheduled to continue through at least Friday, has him strictly abiding by the following:
"I do two Slim-Fasts in the morning with a banana in the blender.
"A vitamin pill.
"One or two V-8s during the day.
"And two Slim-Fasts with a banana or berries in the blender at night.
"And that's ALL I've had since Jan. 1."
Hansen says he "was tired in the beginning but that soon passed." And now "I'm never hungry."
He's hoping to keep the faith, but knows what a backslider he can be.
"Making the changes necessary to keep it off might be a little harder" than dropping all that poundage," Hansen says. "But I think I have the motivation and the plan to do it. At least I hope so. . . A nutritionist once told me I could lose weight on a doughnut diet. I just wouldn't be able to eat very many doughnuts."
Hansen says he's had many inquiries about his new strapping buck look. Now it's time to keep Lumpy Rutherford on the outside looking in.
"Somebody will probably follow my diet and die and then sue my ass," he jokes.
On the plus side, there's not as much to sue anymore.
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Mon., Feb. 25)
02/26/08 11:34 AM
By ED BARK
The following may shock or surprise you, as they like to say in the TV news biz we all know and love/loathe.
NBC5's 10 p.m. newscasts appear to be undergoing at least a semi-extreme makeover. The Peacock-ian fixation on quick-hit crime and tragedy -- and quickie cosmetic fixes -- seems to be going out of fashion. Respectability lately has crept in under cover of dark. And it seems to be taking hold.
Monday's edition marked the second straight weeknight without any spot news dollops of violent crime or flaming car wrecks. No, this is not a misprint.
Instead NBC5 sent the very capable Scott Friedman to a Monday night public hearing on controversial student transfer initiatives in the McKinney school district. It was the only station with a live, reporter-driven story on something that clearly doesn't make for "sexy" video or overblown anchor buildups.
Even Brian Curtis got into the act. Oft-ridiculed in these spaces for his "Big Fat Savings" dispatches and borderline informercials for area merchants, Curtis had a "Lowfat Lowdown" piece that actually had some meat to it. And "with results that may surprise you," anchor Jane McGarry prototypically teased.
Curtis bought four supposedly low-fat/low-calorie meals from the weight-conscious menu choices at Chili's, Applebee's, T.G.I. Friday's and the Olive Garden. Then he had them tested at a lab for fat grams and calorie counts. The results at all four restaurants were pretty much in line with the information on menus.
Some stations might say there's no story if you can't find a figurative fly in the soup. But in fact it's also news if the verdict is "Not Guiilty" of customer deception. So Curtis gave it to viewers, as he also presumably would have if one or more of the restaurants had screwed up.
NBC5's Meredith Land, who likewise used to specialize in classic NBC5 superficiality, had an interesting piece on Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway's latest crusade -- against garage sales. Clearly he needs to take a chill pill and ease up, because garage sales are the American way. But knowing Caraway, he'll next be waging an all-out war against dogs peeing on fire hydrants.
The Peacock's Ellen Goldberg also regularly shows her her mettle as a resourceful nightbeat scooper. This time, though, she joined rivals in covering the candlelight vigil for police officer Victor Lozada, who died in a motorcycle crash Friday morning while helping to escort Hillary Clinton's motorcade.
Goldberg unfortunately wore a snow white outfit, necklace and notably heavy makeup that made her look more suited to a toney Highland Park tea party than this somber occasion. She usually knows better.
CBS11, engaged in a tight fight with NBC5 for second-place in the total homes Nielsens, also had some reporting of note. But the station engaged in clearly pre-meditated deception, too.
Assuming it's accurate -- which is a big assumption these days -- CBS11's latest poll in partnership with KRLD-AM radio had some deflating news for Mrs. Clinton.
As reported by Jay Gormley, it showed her now trailing Barack Obama by a 49 to 45 percent margin among would-be Texas voters. That's a reversal of last week's results, when she led by 50 to 45 percent.
Clinton's lead among Hispanics also has dropped -- from 30 to 13 percentage points -- in just a week's time. And she's also "losing her grip" with women, Gormley said. We'll see when the vote comes in on March 4th.
CBS11's Kaushal Patel, lately chipping in as one of the station's gumshoes, had an "exclusive undercover investigation" of a drug-testing facility that also seems to be giving failing patrons a way to mask results via a "body cleansing system."
A producer with a hidden camera talked to an employee of the Uni-State lab who offered 14-day and 10-day cleansing systems as well as a "Quick Solutions" method. The latter would yield a five-hour "clean time" window on the day of testing.
A subsequent visit to the facility was rebuffed in roughly the same way that an inquiring snoop would be tossed from a TV station's lobby.
"Is that thing turned on? You need to turn it off," a woman snapped.
Dallas County district attorney Craig Watkins told Patel he plans to launch an investigation. And Uni-Stat, in a subsequent face-saving statement, said it regretted its association with the body cleansing product.
The station's Kimberly Ball also had an interesting story on the grieving mother of a Midlothian teenage girl who was killed by an alleged drunk driver who's in the country illegally. And J.D. Miles joined other reporters in following up on acknowledged dispatcher problems that caused a delayed response to the scene of officer Lozada's fatal motorcycle crash. Miles first broke this story on Saturday, CBS11 anchor Karen Borta told viewers.
Borta also touted what she called "another CBS11 investigation into cosmetic concerns." In fact it was nothing of the sort. Its "reporter," Ginger Allen, again was no more than a decorous prop for a story on "potentially dangerous" levels of mercury in mascara and other beauty products.
An unclebarky.com archaeological dig on the Internet located the true origin of the story. It's by Michele Gillen, an investigative reporter for CBS-owned WFOR-TV in South Florida. Video was posted Feb. 11th on the station's Web site, and can be found by searching for "mercury in cosmetics" in the station's video archives. CBS11's only contribution to the story was to edit it from an original running time of 5 minutes, 47 seconds. It otherwise has the same interviewees, etc.
Ironically, the WFOR story was introduced by co-anchor Shannon Hori, who left CBS11 last year after a stint on the station's early morning news program. Hori's news director at WFOR, Tom Doerr, formerly had that position at CBS11.
It's one thing to work in partnership with a corporate sibling. It's quite another to give that station no credit and instead pass a story off as "another CBS11 investigation." The station should be above this, because its overall news content otherwise is significantly improved under news director Scott Diener. He took over last fall after a brief reign of terror by predecessor Regent Ducas, now in Providence, R.I.
Allen, who also co-anchors CBS11's early morning news, has been appearing night after night in the service of stories obviously aimed at keeping women viewers tuned in. But as with Friday's "Headache Agony" piece and numerous others this month, she's a narrator piggybacking on others' work while standing next to an HD screen. The impression however, is that Allen is out there reporting this stuff. She isn't, and it's shame to see it come to this for a once capable member of the station's investigative team.
And In Other News . . .
Fox4 investigator Becky Oliver did her own work in the service of a story on police and courtroom bungling of a case that clearly resulted in the wrongful arrest and physical abuse of a young man accused of slapping a woman at the Red River Dance Hall & Saloon. She rightly called it a "legal fiasco," and had the goods to prove it. Good work.
***The station's invariably resourceful Jason Overstreet had a piece on a recently announced Lifetime cable movie drawn from the "cheerleaders-out-of-control" scandal in late 2006 at McKinney North High School. Its working title is Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal, with well-worn Tatum O'Neal as the principal. Current-day students and some of their parents say they're upset, even though some also admit they'll be watching.
***Meanwhile, "everybody watches Channel 4," said a woman who's been looking for the owner of a military ring ever since she found it three years ago. She finally called on "What's Buggin' You?" correspondent Saul Garza after "watching Channel 4, as I always do."
That should be worth a little paycheck bonus for Garza, who as yet can't find the ring's owner either.
***WFAA8's Brad Watson wrung a decent quote out of Hillary Clinton during a one-on-one satellite interview. He asked her about that recently distributed picture of Barack Obama in an African turban and robe, for which his campaign blames her.
"Every time I traveled to foreign countries, I wore the costume of that country," she told Watson. "You can find dozens of pictures of me in different parts of the world. You know, this is one more attempt by my opponent's campaign to change the subject."
Fox4 anchor Steve Eagar made do Monday with a satellite interview of John McCain, who's yet to campaign or advertise in the state but is scheduled to make an appearance in North Texas Thursday.
As previously posted, only the two remaining Republican presidential candidates are willing to talk to Fox4. The Democrats aren't making themselves available to the station because they distrust the station's cable sibling, Fox News Channel. As also posted before, that's pretty childish of them.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Feb. 25)
02/26/08 10:31 AM
By ED BARK
ABC's stellar three-hour production of A Raisin In the Sun had gratifyingly high ratings in D-FW Monday night, sweeping the prime-time field in total homes.
Raisin averaged 241,124 homes, even winning in its first hour against NBC's ramped-up "Million Dollar Mission" edition of Deal or No Deal.
Advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds also turned out, giving Raisin an overall first place finish in this key demographic after Deal controlled the first hour. ABC's only scheduled made-for-TV-movie of this season looks to be an odds-on favorite to make a big Emmy haul this coming fall.
Jason Kidd's home debut with the Dallas Mavericks also pumped up the team's flagging Nielsen ratings. The winning effort against Chicago averaged a nice-sized 143,700 homes, peaking at 204,590 in its final 15 minutes.
In the local news derby, Fox4's Good Day got a little breathing room in its tight battle to retain the 6 a.m. ratings title against WFAA8's very formidable Daybreak. Fox4 edged WFAA8 by two-tenths of a rating point in total homes, but won by a fairly comfortable margin among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target for news programming.
With two weekdays left in the February sweeps, Fox4 has the pole position, with WFAA8 still trying to catch a last-minute tailwind.
The ABC station otherwise ran the table at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in both ratings measurements. WFAA8 has ironclad locks on first-place finishes in all three competitions.
A hot battle for second place in the 10 p.m. total homes race is still in progress, though. NBC5 remains slightly ahead of CBS11 after a one-tenth of a point win Monday night.
ABC's stellar three-hour production of A Raisin In the Sun had gratifyingly high ratings in D-FW Monday night, sweeping the prime-time field in total homes.
Raisin averaged 241,124 homes, even winning in its first hour against NBC's ramped-up "Million Dollar Mission" edition of Deal or No Deal.
Advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds also turned out, giving Raisin an overall first place finish in this key demographic after Deal controlled the first hour. ABC's only scheduled made-for-TV-movie of this season looks to be an odds-on favorite to make a big Emmy haul this coming fall.
Jason Kidd's home debut with the Dallas Mavericks also pumped up the team's flagging Nielsen ratings. The winning effort against Chicago averaged a nice-sized 143,700 homes, peaking at 204,590 in its final 15 minutes.
In the local news derby, Fox4's Good Day got a little breathing room in its tight battle to retain the 6 a.m. ratings title against WFAA8's very formidable Daybreak. Fox4 edged WFAA8 by two-tenths of a rating point in total homes, but won by a fairly comfortable margin among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target for news programming.
With two weekdays left in the February sweeps, Fox4 has the pole position, with WFAA8 still trying to catch a last-minute tailwind.
The ABC station otherwise ran the table at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in both ratings measurements. WFAA8 has ironclad locks on first-place finishes in all three competitions.
A hot battle for second place in the 10 p.m. total homes race is still in progress, though. NBC5 remains slightly ahead of CBS11 after a one-tenth of a point win Monday night.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Feb. 22-24)
02/25/08 10:07 AM
By ED BARK
Sunday night's 80th annual Oscar ceremony on ABC may have hit an all-time ratings low in D-FW.
The three hour, 21 minute ceremony averaged an 18.9 Nielsen rating (460,328 homes), significantly down from last year's 24.1 rating (573,580 homes).
(Note that a Nielsen rating point was worth 23,800 homes in February 2007. Adjusted for yearly inflation in the number of TV homes, each point now equals 24,356 homes, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 460,328 total is based on the lower number of homes.)
The Oscars also dropped more than three ratings points among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Even so, the Jon Stewart-hosted trophy give-away easily vanquished everything in its path, nearly tripling the total homes audience for the most-watched competing program (CBS11's 10 p.m. news with 165,621 homes).
The Dallas Mavericks early evening road win against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, which was ending just as the Oscars began, drew 63,326 homes on Fox Sports Southwest.
Barbara Walter' annual 6 p.m. Oscar warmup show lured 146,136 homes, losing to CBS' competing 60 Minutes (168,056 homes) in that measurement but winning among 18-to-49-year-olds by a more than two-to-one margin. But the end of Fox's NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Fontana, CA handily beat both of them.
On Friday, NBC's premiere of the Dennis Miller-hosted game show Amnesia bombed with just 70,632 D-FW homes from 8 to 9 p.m. That put it fifth in that measurement and also among 18-to-49-year-olds. The Peacock had better not forget to cancel it soon.
Meanwhile, the local early morning news race remains way too close to call. WFAA8 returned to the 6 a.m. winner's circle in total homes Friday, edging Fox4 by just one-tenth of a rating point. Fox4 returned the favor in the key 25-to-54-year-old news programming demographic, nipping WFAA8 by two-tenths of a point.
With just three weekdays to go in the February sweeps, either station could win, lose or draw in both competitions.
WFAA otherwise ran the table at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. At the latter hour, the real race is for second place in total homes between NBC5 and CBS11, which drew very close to the Peacock with a comfy runnerup finish Friday.
This means that all four stations will be cracking the whip down the homestretch in their respective hot races. It could make for some wacky promos, but topless anchors still remain at least several years in the future.
Sunday night's 80th annual Oscar ceremony on ABC may have hit an all-time ratings low in D-FW.
The three hour, 21 minute ceremony averaged an 18.9 Nielsen rating (460,328 homes), significantly down from last year's 24.1 rating (573,580 homes).
(Note that a Nielsen rating point was worth 23,800 homes in February 2007. Adjusted for yearly inflation in the number of TV homes, each point now equals 24,356 homes, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 460,328 total is based on the lower number of homes.)
The Oscars also dropped more than three ratings points among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Even so, the Jon Stewart-hosted trophy give-away easily vanquished everything in its path, nearly tripling the total homes audience for the most-watched competing program (CBS11's 10 p.m. news with 165,621 homes).
The Dallas Mavericks early evening road win against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, which was ending just as the Oscars began, drew 63,326 homes on Fox Sports Southwest.
Barbara Walter' annual 6 p.m. Oscar warmup show lured 146,136 homes, losing to CBS' competing 60 Minutes (168,056 homes) in that measurement but winning among 18-to-49-year-olds by a more than two-to-one margin. But the end of Fox's NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Fontana, CA handily beat both of them.
On Friday, NBC's premiere of the Dennis Miller-hosted game show Amnesia bombed with just 70,632 D-FW homes from 8 to 9 p.m. That put it fifth in that measurement and also among 18-to-49-year-olds. The Peacock had better not forget to cancel it soon.
Meanwhile, the local early morning news race remains way too close to call. WFAA8 returned to the 6 a.m. winner's circle in total homes Friday, edging Fox4 by just one-tenth of a rating point. Fox4 returned the favor in the key 25-to-54-year-old news programming demographic, nipping WFAA8 by two-tenths of a point.
With just three weekdays to go in the February sweeps, either station could win, lose or draw in both competitions.
WFAA otherwise ran the table at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. At the latter hour, the real race is for second place in total homes between NBC5 and CBS11, which drew very close to the Peacock with a comfy runnerup finish Friday.
This means that all four stations will be cracking the whip down the homestretch in their respective hot races. It could make for some wacky promos, but topless anchors still remain at least several years in the future.
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Fri., Feb. 22)
02/24/08 02:18 PM
By ED BARK
The tragic death of Dallas police officer Victor Lozada, who crashed Friday morning while helping to escort Hillary Clinton's motorcade, obviously figured prominently in newscasts throughout the day.
It remained the lead story on two stations' late night newscasts while two others opted to first give viewers "Breaking News" of a warehouse fire in Azle.
Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 all should be commended for their solid and compassionate coverage of Lozada's death. But yes, some were better at it than others.
NBC5's Ellen Goldberg, who's quickly establishing herself as a savvy and resourceful newcomer, had the most affecting interview with Lozada's distraught best friend, Sr. Cpl. Robert Garcia. WFAA8's Gary Reaves and CBS11's J.D. Miles also talked to Garcia. Fox4 overlooked that key component of the story on its featured Friday 9 p.m. newscast, where it has more time than its rivals.
Three of the four stations -- again NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 -- also had companion late night newscast stories on the soccer team whose players included Lozada's 10-year-old son, David. His dad was one of the team's three coaches. Fox4 followed their leads with a Saturday story on the team.
NBC5 and WFAA8 topped their newscasts with team coverage of Lozada's death. Fox4 and CBS11 first went to the three-alarm warehouse fire in Azle, where two firefighters and a witness suffered minor injuries. The Peacock had just a brief mention of the fire while WFAA8 ignored it all together. The latter arguably was an error of omission.
Fox4 and WFAA8 gave viewers an opportunity to express condolences to Lozada's family on their Web sites. By 2 p.m. Sunday, 25 had done so on Fox4 and 39 on WFAA8.
The ABC station also made the somewhat controversial decision to add a Web poll asking, "How do you think Senator Clinton handled this tragedy?"
A great majority of the 107 respondents (by 2 p.m. Sunday) praised her comportment. But others questioned the propriety of such a poll. Said one commenter: "How dare WFAA manipulate the news, using Cpl. Lozada's death as an easy way to scrutinize a political candidate . . . You insult me as a viewer."
Another commenter used a coarse description of Mrs. Clinton that would never be allowed on the air. The station ought to consider removing it.
And In Other News . . .
NBC5 had one of its best newscasts in recent memory -- and all without a single violent crime story. That may be a first, but shouldn't be a last.
The station's solid work included Brett Johnson's story on the busting of a major identity thief ring in Richardson and Meredith Land's followup interview with the pregnant widow of a big rig driver who died in a heavily covered Nov. 15th wreck.
Their first child, a girl, is due in early July, and Sarah Webb says she hopes for a Fourth of July delivery.
"Daddy went out with a bang and baby comes in with a bang. That's what I really want," she told Land. Sounds a little insensitive, but you had to see the story.
***WFAA8 also weighed in with some worthy reporting. Reaves returned with a second contribution, this time on a tough new illegal immigrant law in Oklahoma that has many fleeing to Texas. Some employers say the state's economy is being severely compromised as a result.
The station's Chris Hawes offered an eye-opening, up-close look at what's become the annual "School Campout" in Arlington. Some parents already have rented RVs and claimed spots in line for a March 3rd enrollment day that allows them to handpick their child's school. Meanwhile, the district's school superintendent is looking for ways to put an end to this jockeying for position.
***On CBS11, reporter Stephanie Lucero had an interesting piece on a Salvadoran family that illegally settled in North Texas after being violently threatened by a gang of thugs demanding payment of a "livestock tax." Authorities quickly deported the father, who was murdered in what appeared to be retribution. His widow and their children, who have lived in the U.S. since the middle of last year, now also are facing deportation. But their attorney is arguing that this also could be a death sentence for them.
***Fox4 continued to follow the story of a college prep school whose owner, Karen Dillard, is being accused of illegally obtaining copyrighted SAT tests.
"We first reported this last night (Thursday)," said anchor Steve Eagar. That's true. But NBC5's Goldberg had the story on Wednesday night's 10 p.m. newscast, including an interview with Dillard. WFAA8 also briefly touched on the story during Wednesday's late nighter, but didn't include Dillard's side.
Fox4's nightly "Viewers' Voice" segment included a variety of gripes from viewers complaining about the station's political coverage.
"You can definitely tell who Fox4 is voting for -- (Barack) Obama," one of 'em said.
In reality, sources within Fox4 say the station has been stiffed by both Obama and fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, who have declined to do any one-one-one satellite interviews with Fox4 because of their distaste for cable's Fox News Channel. That's small-minded on their part. Fox4 is part of the same corporation as Fox News Channel, but its local news coverage marches to its own beat.
***WFAA8 solicited viewer email on sports anchor Dale Hansen's light blue plaid sportcoat to determine whether it's "ugly" as charged by weatherman Pete Delkus.
Hansen said the verdict was running seven to one in favor of ugly, with one viewer telling him that "Verne Lundquist (Hansen's long-ago predecessor) called and he wants his jacket back."
Anchor Gloria Campos said she liked Hansen's attire, but "she's been drinking," cracked Delkus.
"Not too much," Campos retorted. "It's early yet."
Yo ho ho. Anchor John McCaa, ever the newscast's bulwark, again shook his head while grinning gamely. The poor guy oftentimes just can't help being Zeppo Marx in the company of Groucho, Harpo and Chico.
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Thurs., Feb. 21)
02/22/08 01:37 PM
By ED BARK
Investigator Brett Shipp's hammer-and-tong approach to the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium may not be entirely fair. It is fun to watch, though.
The WFAA8 gumshoe sought to give owner Jerry Jones another wedgie Thursday night by treating viewers to an inside look at "the posh extravagance portrayed in the sleek animated renderings" that depict the finished product. It's his third February "sweeps" tackling of the still incomplete edifice.
Shipp is "the only reporter taking a critical look at the project," anchor Gloria Campos told viewers before his "How 'Suite' It Is" story likely made Jones want to strip him naked, coat him in silver and blue, towel-snap him and then make him run laps around Flozell Adams' waistline.
"Fans want premium service," Cowboys spokesman Greg McElroy told Shipp before he donned a hardhat and toured the unfinished concrete cavern in Arlington. The place is so massive that top-row seats are 180 feet above field level, he said. To illustrate, Shipp stood atop the WFAA TV tower and peered down at the company parking lot shared by WFAA8 and Dallas Morning News personnel. It's romantic to think that a big oil spot from my old Ford LTD might still be visible from even those heights.
Shipp contrasted that nose-bleed view of the game with Jones' under-construction personal suite, which at 30,000 square feet is the length of a football field, he said. Other football palaces, such as the new Reliant Stadium in Houston and the yet-to-open Indianapolis Colts' home field, are much cheaper than the roughly $1.2 billion that Jones and Arlington taxpayers are spending, Shipp said.
And of course, Houston fans say they have all the amenities at a fraction of the cost.
Shipp also flashed footage of the Green Bay Packers' Lambeau Field, where hardy Wisconsin natives like myself are willing to freeze their asses off for the privilege of watching the Green and Gold. In comparison, the Cowboys' Taj Mahal is hermetically sealed. The team's fans will "never suffer the indignity of discomfort," said Shipp, whose disdain almost matched Martha Stewart's feelings about skim milk.
Jones still won't talk to him, said Shipp, who asked the anchors at the end of his report if they'd like to know the takeoff point of Jones' new private elevator. He then plugged the 6 a.m. hour of WFAA's Friday Daybreak, where he planned to tell all. That explored new promotional vistas in the ratings war between WFAA8 and Fox4's Good Day, which are locked in a virtual first-place tie with just four weekdays to go in the sweeps.
CBS11 investigator Robert Riggs also zeroed in on a favorite target -- the alleged donor-abusing hierarchy of UT Southwestern Medical Center, led by president Kern Wildenthal. The state university fired back at Riggs and CBS11 Friday in a lengthy rebuttal posted on its Web site. Riggs' reporting, it said, "demonstrated the most negative attributes of investigative journalism" and also was flatly untrue.
Combing through public records, Riggs detailed what anchor Doug Dunbar termed a series of "eye-popping discoveries." Some of donors' "hard-earned dollars" were being spent not on medical research, Riggs said, but on "expensive Belgian chocolates," gourmet popcorn (to the tune of $30 grand), caviar, repeated "business lunches" at a Mexican restaurant and tulips ($13,000 worth).
Much of this came in the form of gifts to donors as enticements to give more. But Riggs found two veteran consumer watchdogs who said it's uncalled for.
"They strike me as indulgent," said one.
"It's a bloody waste of money," said the other.
Riggs tried to corner Wildenthal outside the Mexican restaurant where he regularly has "business lunches" with fellow hospital officials.
"This is not an appropriate time," he told Riggs, who has yet to land an interview with him. CBS11 even went to the extent of having hidden cameras inside the restaurant to capture Wildenthal and friends eating. They also could be overheard discussing their golf games and other leisure activities instead of business, Riggs said.
Hospital officials would be wiser to just sit down with Riggs and have it out with him. If they think this is a baseless vendetta or a sweeps stunt, then they should tell him so on-camera. Riggs at times does seem to take undue delight in skewering his prey. So does Shipp for that matter. But it's always easier to take pot shots when your targets won't talk.
And In Other News . . .
All four major TV news providers sent reporters to Austin for live dispatches on Thursday night's Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama debate.
NBC5's Grant Stinchfield seemed to think he was Chris Matthews. "Most people agree they both fared very, very well," he began. "But that 's a problem for Clinton because she came into the debate needing to throw that knockout punch. And that she didn't do."
It took almost an hour for Clinton to "fire a shot across the bow," in Stinchfield's view. He again interjected himself at report's end, telling viewers, "Well, there's speculation the two were acting so nice to each other because they may end up on the same ticket. I think it may be they just respect each other."
CBS11's Tracy Rowlett stumbled out of the block, almost drawing a blank in trying to say Barack Obama's full name. He got half of it out (the Obama part) while telling viewers that Hillary Clinton probably didn't succeed in any mission to "pull herself away" from the frontrunner.
Rowlett was joined by colleague Jack Fink who hit the post-debate "spin room" for some less than pulsating quotes.
"He did terrific," said an Obama rep. "She did great," said a Hillary advocate.
Fox4's Shaun Rabb, in his Scoops McDeadline fedora, said he had been right in telling viewers on an earlier newscast that this would be a "cerebral drama." As for a clear-cut winner, "in this observer's opinion, no," he concluded.
Brad Watson of WFAA8 had a comparatively straight-ahead report after first noting that "Hillary Clinton needed to strike some sharp contrasts tonight to Obama and his momentum. After a pleasant start, she drew some sharp lines of difference."
***WFAA8's Gary Reaves had a very nice story on a Millbury, Mass. group that calls itself The Lord's Builders. They've journeyed to Oak Cliff to renovate a church that thieves had burned down way back in 1995 to cover their tracks. Its pastor had died before being able to bring his church back to life. It remained largely in disrepair until the volunteer Good Samaritans arrived.
***Fox4 consumer reporter Steve Noviello gave viewers an informative look at how complimentary "companion certificates" offered by airlines are often anything but bargains when you first must pay a premium price for a single ticket on eligible flights.
***NBC5 anchor Mike Snyder copped to being a snorer and invited viewers to read his blog after Brendan Higgins' story on a device that supposedly can work wonders. He's been blogging quite a bit lately. Tell me about it.
***CBS11 sports anchor Babe Laufenberg got off a nifty little line after dispatching his two principal staffers to New Orleans for the Dallas Mavericks and Surprise, AZ for the Texas Rangers' spring training.
"Here's how you keep your job as the main sports anchor," he said. "You send everyone else out of town."
***Finally, Fox4's nightly "Viewers' Voice" segment included a bizarro suggestion.
"Steve Eagar needs to shave his ears," said a fan of the newscast. "He has a halo this evening."
Eagar mugged a tad for the camera. Yes, Steve, these are your viewers.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., Feb. 21)
02/22/08 09:51 AM
By ED BARK
CNN's Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton debate from Austin had blockbuster ratings Thursday night -- at least by the cable network's standards.
The one hour, 45-minute faceoff, which began at 7 p.m., averaged a robust 138,829 D-FW homes. That exceeds the audiences for several of the night's network entertainment offerings, including CBS' Survivor: Micronesia (124,216 homes), the "enhanced" reprise of last week's Lost episode on ABC (104,731 homes) and NBC's Celebrity Apprentice (70,632 homes).
Fox's American Idol of course ruled the ratings, with the seventh edition's first vote-off drawing 336,113 homes. The network's following Don't Forget the Lyrics! also scored big (245,996 homes).
In the local news derby, D-FW's hottest race is still at 6 a.m., where Fox4 edged WFAA8 in total homes and tied the ABC station among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. The two stations remain in a virtual tie in total homes, with Fox4 keeping a slight edge in the 25-to-54 demo. There are just four weekdays to go in the February sweeps, which end on Wednesday.
Also of note: CBS11's early morning show perked up to finish a rare third -- ahead of NBC5 -- in both ratings measurements.
WFAA8 held serve at 10 p.m. with twin wins. It's dominating in total homes and has a comfortable lead over the Peacock among 25-to-54-year-olds. The race for second place in total homes tightened, though, with CBS11 taking the silver medal to inch closer to NBC5.
WFAA8 easily ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m., where first place sweeps finishes are assured.
CNN's Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton debate from Austin had blockbuster ratings Thursday night -- at least by the cable network's standards.
The one hour, 45-minute faceoff, which began at 7 p.m., averaged a robust 138,829 D-FW homes. That exceeds the audiences for several of the night's network entertainment offerings, including CBS' Survivor: Micronesia (124,216 homes), the "enhanced" reprise of last week's Lost episode on ABC (104,731 homes) and NBC's Celebrity Apprentice (70,632 homes).
Fox's American Idol of course ruled the ratings, with the seventh edition's first vote-off drawing 336,113 homes. The network's following Don't Forget the Lyrics! also scored big (245,996 homes).
In the local news derby, D-FW's hottest race is still at 6 a.m., where Fox4 edged WFAA8 in total homes and tied the ABC station among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. The two stations remain in a virtual tie in total homes, with Fox4 keeping a slight edge in the 25-to-54 demo. There are just four weekdays to go in the February sweeps, which end on Wednesday.
Also of note: CBS11's early morning show perked up to finish a rare third -- ahead of NBC5 -- in both ratings measurements.
WFAA8 held serve at 10 p.m. with twin wins. It's dominating in total homes and has a comfortable lead over the Peacock among 25-to-54-year-olds. The race for second place in total homes tightened, though, with CBS11 taking the silver medal to inch closer to NBC5.
WFAA8 easily ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m., where first place sweeps finishes are assured.
Escape to L.A.? Prison Break plotting to vacate North Texas if and when there's a fourth season
02/22/08 07:11 AM
By ED BARK
A fourth season of Fox's Prison Break is by no means assured. But if it happens, odds are it won't be in North Texas, where the series' second and third seasons were filmed.
"Right now we are being told the plan is to take it to Los Angeles," Dallas Film Commission head Janis Burklund said in an email sent to Dallas-based Fox4 and unclebarky.com. "Nothing has been announced officially by the studio. Be assured the City of Dallas and the Dallas Film Commission have not given up. Mayor Tom Leppert has expressed his desire to assist in this effort and will be placing calls to the heads of the studios and network to ask if there is anything additional the City of Dallas can do to convince them to keep Prison Break shooting here."
The escapist drama has helped to pump multi-millions into the area economy, but has performed modestly in the Nielsen ratings this season. The show's Feb. 11th third season finale, which capped a strike-shortened order of 13 episodes, finished 33rd in the national rankings with 7.8 million viewers.
Fox so far has not announced whether PB will return next fall or from where it might originate. Its first season was filmed in the Chicago area before the network moved it South to warmer climes. But the blistering summer heat of North Texas proved to be no picnic either.
Burklund, who is seeking news coverage of the city's and Film Commission's efforts, said that "the discussion of relocating is due to creative reasons and the direction the show will take in the future, and not a negative reflection on their experience here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area."
The show's producers, she added, "have assured us they have had a very positive experience in Dallas and the region and have nothing but praise for the local crew, talent and the community. And we have every reason to believe there will be other projects to come in the future with this studio and the producer."
PB's two principal stars, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell, varied in their adaptations and approaches to Dallas.
Miller, who lived "not too far" from Southern Methodist University, said he enjoyed exploring his new surroundings.
"I try to go out to these little towns on weekends and see what there is to see," he told unclebarky.com at a Fox press party in Santa Monica last summer. "It occurred to me on my summer break in L.A. that I don't live in L.A. anymore. I actually live in Texas for 10 months out of 12. So the reality is that Dallas is my home for the time being."
Purcell, still an avid surfer, saw Dallas as something of an occupational hazard.
Asked if he was enjoying the city, he said, "No, of course not. I'm away from home. But that's part of the deal. I get to play, I love what I do and I get good money. I'm not gonna sit here and whine and bitch about bad my life is because I'm in Dallas. It's hard being away from my kids and the surf and water and stuff. But it is what it is."
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Wed., Feb. 20)
02/21/08 02:39 PM
By ED BARK
Two presidential candidates and a prominent surrogate converged on North Texas Wednesday, presenting late night newscasts with interesting choices on how to play them up -- or down.
Democrats Barack Obama and Chelsea Clinton held their rallies during daytime hours. Republican Mike Huckabee had the only nighttime event, which made him fresher news. Even so, Obama drew by far the biggest crowd, so wasn't he the biggest news at any hour? Let's go to the videotape after first noting that all four major TV news providers already had provided extended Obama coverage during their early evening shows.
WFAA8 was the only station without a reporter-driven story on Obama, instead opting to have anchor John McCaa narrate footage from his event with accompanying sound bites. But McCaa also called Obama's noon appearance at Reunion Arena "the largest single political rally in Dallas ever," with its estimated 17,000 attendees easily topping the 10,000 drawn by Ronald Reagan in the same venue. So didn't it deserve another full-blown presentation from a reporter standing live either outside Reunion or in the comparative warmth of WFAA8 studios?
McCaa's Obama reader led to a little schmear of video from Chelsea's appearance on behalf of her mother at the University of Texas at Dallas. Next came reporter Shelly Slater's live report from outside Huckabee's event at Collin County Community College in Plano. Her backdrop was a half-dozen or so signs for GOP candidate Ron Paul.
Huckabee earlier did one-on-one interviews with reporters from all four stations, but Slater easily got the most colorful quote out of him. Texans don't like to be told that the nomination already has been decided "by people on the East Coast," he told her. "That's when Texans put their boots on, but it isn't just to strut and look pretty. It's to kick some backside. And I think there's going to be some serious backside-kickin' goin' on March 4th."
Anchor Gloria Campos later revisited this particular imagery after sports anchor Dale Hansen lightly twitted the opening night performance of Jason Kidd, who looked hesitant and out of sync during the Dallas Mavericks' loss to New Orleans.
"You are mean," she somewhat jokingly told him. "Hope that bites you you-know-where."
But we digress.
NBC5 was the only station to put Huckabee at the top of the candidate pecking order after anchor Mike Snyder first gravely intoned, "A cold front is moving into North Texas as we speak tonight."
Reporter Randy McIlwain then reported from the scene after finding a spot without any Ron Paul signs. He noted in his closing standup that The New York Times would have a front page story Thursday about Republican John McCain's alleged affair with a woman lobbyist.
"Certainly a bad time for him as he tries to court more conservative voters," McIlwain opined.
Obama duty went to reporter Grant Stinchfield, who stood outside Reunion Arena and fell back on the