Our 250th Birthday in the News

 "It's our 250th birthday, and no one seems to know what we're celebrating" read a story in The Atlantic. Their point is that our shared history isn't taught in schools and even universities nowadays.

I taught "Media--its impact on History and Culture" and "Critical Studies in Media". Both were about history, and mostly our history. But there is no demand for those subjects now! Sigh.

It's more than long speeches and fireworks explosions. Oh, yes, there were long speeches and fireworks. There was reflection our history, our forefathers. There were tall ships on the Atlantic shores. And, yes, there were speeches. Most speeches focused on ideals and aspirations. President Trump took the stage after 11 p.m. after a three-hour delay due to thunderstorms, but ever the showman, Trump insisted that the show must go on despite the late hour.

National news coverage was all about Independence Day, with the exception of the gross spectacle of the hotdog eating contest. Predictably, Fox was more devoted to Trump. NBC news nowadays has a new tone due to the retirement of Lester Holt and the promotion of Tom Llamas.

Llamas was even more breathless than usual. He was cramming the cast, rattling off one story after another. He did squeeze in an airplane, the new Air Force One, as it flew over the Washington celebration. (Nightly news seems to have an airplane crash or some issue in ever show. It is a show now. That will be a future post.)

Locally, the holiday news was tempered by the July 4, 2025 disastrous, deadly flooding. Around 130 a.m. people died when the Guadelupe River washed away camps, communities, and recreational vehicles in the dark, early hours that holiday. Twenty-three were girls at Camp Mystic. All media included remembrances in their coverage. KXAN TV had special stories all week telling about the event and the enduring damage to lives and property.

Then, of course, there was video of neighborhood parades and festivities. But, what about patriotism, love of country? Where can we get a dose of patriotism? We can watch Ken Burns' documentary "The American Revolution" on PBS. And if we need a present-day model for patriotism, consider the people of Ukraine.

Choose Your Media Carefully

Choose your information sources carefully in the light of Meta's decision on fact checking:

"The Washington Post’s “Seven Principles for the Conduct of a Newspaper,” published by Post owner Eugene Meyer in 1935:

"The first mission of a newspaper is to tell the truth as nearly as the truth may be ascertained.

"The newspaper shall tell ALL the truth so far as it can learn it, concerning the important affairs of America and the world.

"As a disseminator of the news, the paper shall observe the decencies that are obligatory upon a private gentleman.

"What it prints shall be fit reading for the young as well as for the old.

"The newspaper’s duty is to its readers and to the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owners.

"In the pursuit of truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such course be necessary for the public good.

"The newspaper shall not be the ally of any special interest, but shall be fair and free and wholesome in its outlook on public affairs and public men."

[Mr. Bezos might want to read it too.]

You Know?

You know?  Apparently, a lot of people don’t.  


As one who teaches public speaking at the university level, I shutter when I started hearing things over and over and over.  Vocalized pauses have been a part of our speech patterns forever, but one has invaded discourse rather recently.  It’s “You know?”


Bite my tongue, but I’ve heard “You know” escape from my lips too.  Instead of “uh”, “uhm”, “like” and the like, people are saying “You know”.  I’ve heard interviewees say it as many as six times in one reply. 


It’s a habit.  A bad habit littering our language.  I’d rather hear “uh”.  What folks need to do is slow down, think about what you’re saying, and pause, you know.  It’s driving me  c r a z y.


While I’m on the subject, here are some more.


What does “There is no there there” mean?  Where did that come from?


When did we start saying people were in someone’s “orbit”?  Give some space.


How did something get “baked in the cake”?


Is it another “shiny object”?


Is the “red line” near the “guard rails”?


How did we get in “uncharted waters?”  Did we go off the guard rails?


Did it happen “of late”?


Did it happen when something or someone become “unhinged” or “unmoored”?


Is it an “existential” threat?


Are we at an “inflection point?”  Huh?


Well, it must come to a “full stop”.


Maybe it’s “a bridge too far”.   They keep “moving the goal posts”.


If so, it’s impossible to “center around”.  You may center ON.


Then, there are the grammatical issues that drive me nuts.


There is a difference between “further” and “farther”.  Look it up.


Something isn’t “very unique”.  It’s the same as “completely destroyed”. 


“Who” and “Whom” are not interchangeable.


Do you feel “good” or “well”?  When?


Which is correct?  “Pleaded guilty” or “Pled guilty”.  The former is technically correct, but grammatists have given up. 


How about, “It may not be 2019, but…”  No.  “It isn’t 2019 but…”


Here’s one I hear one the news very often:  “[Name] has died.”  No, [Name] is dead.


Admittedly, some of these useful and descriptive, but they’re often overused, you know.

Ch-Ch-Ch Changes!!!

I hate change, but change is inevitable in the news business, it seems. 

I saw this latest change coming.  New Austin American-Statesman owner GateHouse Media has something of a reputation for buy-outs and layoffs.  Sure enough, “GateHouse recently announced they were extending voluntary buyout offers to all of it’s employees,” according to the American-Statesman.

Publisher Susie Biehle and Editor Debbie Hiott both decided it was to time to take their offers.  Biehle had only been at the newspaper since 2011, but highly respected Hiott had worked her way up to top management after starting as an intern while still taking classes at what was Southwest Texas State.  That’s 28 years at the newspaper.

Losing top talent can be damaging to the news product.  Out the door with these managers go goodwill, contacts, and possibly credibility.  “Cutting people isn't always the best way to save costs,” said an anonymous GateHouse employee posting on www.glassdoor.com. 

Another post was more ominous: “This company is bleeding money. They cannot turn a profit. Stay away. Layoffs are always happening. I repeat. Stay away!”  People posting on Facebook here in Austin predict more and more people will be taking the buyouts, leaving lower paid and less experienced people behind. 

Will this help the local newspaper better?  Hiott made it better when she took over the newsroom.  Readers will judge, if they stick with their subscriptions.

Change happens in TV news too.  It seems like every time I tune in KEYE TV and KVUE I see a face I haven’t seen before.  Austin used to be a destination market.  Reporters would want to be a part of this city and stay.  While some have left “the business” over the year, many of them are still in town. 

One of them is Kate Weidaw whose last day at KXAN was Friday, August 24, 2018.  She had been doing whatever was asked of here in the mornings on KXAN and KNVA.  Kate holds a PhD.  She had been teaching part time at The University of Texas, but they made her a full-time offer she couldn’t refuse.  So, she is staying here with her family. 

I get it.  After 16-plus years at KXAN, I’m teaching at St. Edward’s University.  It was a good change.  I’m at the beginning of my ninth year.

It should be said that, for the most part, anchors at the TV stations haven’t changed much. 

Judy Maggio is still on the air at KLRU TV after having worked at both KVUE and KEYE.  KXAN’s Jim Spencer probably holds the record for continuous weather broadcasting at one station, KXAN.  Noteworthy is KXAN’s Robert Hadlock.  He is celebrating 28 years at the KXAN anchor desk this week.

The stability on and off the air can be what contribute to good ratings.  That’s part of why KXAN continues to hold the edge in the evenings.  Many of the producers and behind the scenes managers have many years at the station too.

The post prior to this one on newsmcnabb was six years ago this month.  I can’t say if I’m going to resume posting to this blog on a regular basis, but because of the flux of the past week or so I couldn’t help myself.  Yes, I still watch everyone in town, and I’ve been taking notes.

Wage Peace,

© Jim McNabb, August 28, 2018

I'm Not Kidding...

The End

This is possibly the last newsmcnabb post. I’m hanging it up. I say “possibly the last post.” Something may be so juicy or troublesome that I could feel compelled to write, but I think four years of periodic posts is possibly enough.

At the outset, I wanted the blog to be more than a recitation of comings and goings. That can be accomplished in much the same manner as “Transactions” in the sports pages of the Austin American-Statesman. Comings and goings seem to be more and more frequent nowadays for a variety of reasons.

I wanted to go deeper, digging into all media in the market, and I think I did.

This doesn’t mean that there is no longer anything to write about. Just look at the almost daily “corrections” on Page 2 of the American-Statesman. Some of them are glaring. The most common and possibly the most heinous are misidentifications. Misidentifications can sometimes result in lawsuits!

I thought about writing something about the new owners of KEYE TV, and Sinclair’s history in politics. I decided to take a “wait and see” approach. If you are curious, just Google Sinclair Media.

New owners and TV news consultants are also an interesting subject. Many think what worked in another television market will work in Austin. It probably won’t. Austin is not a “cookie-cutter” market. Yet, these managers who “ain’t from around here” will keep trying until the audience/the ratings prove it to them.

Consultants would be more useful in coaching new staff members some of whom seem to be working their first TV jobs. Somebody needs to tell them to stop yelling at the audience; just talk. Be conversational. Your voice in your live shot should match your delivery in the voice track. It would be mean and possibly hurtful to be specific, so I didn’t write about that.

I could have written more about the online, hyper-local media such as CultureMapAustin, Austin Post, the Austinist, and several others. I’ve wondered if folks glean their news from these sites as much or more than so-called “main stream media.”

Taking stock, my 272 posts over four years is probably plenty.

When I started writing newsmcnabb, I felt like I was filling a void. There is still a void, but it is smaller. Gary Dinges of the Statesman, whom I’ve never met, is doing a good job of covering local broadcast media now. No, he’s not going to criticize his own newspaper, and he’s not going to take a point of view, but he is doing good reporting. It’s his full time job.

Writing newsmcnabb is not my full-time job. Right now, I’m more interested and even obsessed with the coming semester at St. Edward’s University. For the next nine months, my energy, creativity, and priority will be focused on preparing solid content for my students. It must be said, it is so very, very satisfying when those students succeed!

So, “newsmcnabb” will remain in cyberspace for archival purposes for a while, but it’s time to turn the page. Turn the page without even so much as creasing the corner.

One final and important thing: To those who followed or subscribed to my missives, thank you!

Wage peace.

-30-

© Jim McNabb, 2012

Really?

Media: Texas is a One-Party State

An incredible feeling of freedom swept over me when I walked out of a newsroom for the last time. For the first time in decades, I could openly express a political preference and opinion. Journalists, bound by ethical standards, keep those views to themselves.

The campaign manager for a mayoral candidate years ago was convinced that I hated her candidate when in fact, I voted for him. I could not let it show. Reporters must be objective. Reporters must stick to reporting facts.

So, I’ve been disturbed by the reportage of the Ted Cruz/David Dewhurst runoff. I was shaken by this assertion by The Austin American-Statesman’s Ken Herman: “There’s no doubt we’re a one-party state.” Really? That news may come as a surprise to former lawmaker, Democrat Paul Sadler who will face Ted Cruz in November.

True, no Democrat has won a statewide office since 1994, but does that mean that Texas is a one-party state? Does that mean that the Democratic Party in Texas should simply save its money, bolt the doors, and move to New England where the colors are shades of blue? Should journalists make these leaps of logic?

I don’t want to hammer Herman alone. After all, much of what he writes nowadays is opinion, and it’s great stuff. The problem is that the piece in today’s paper (August 1, 2012) wasn’t presented as a column. Herman is an excellent reporter, and the story appeared as analysis. Opinions, however, should be put in the context of a quotation from a source.

I’m boiling over now after having stewed in this political pot for several weeks. During the Belo runoff debate between Cruz and Dewhurst seen in Austin on KVUE-TV (ABC), one of the moderators was trying to frame a question. He said something like this, “One of you will be the next Junior Senator from Texas, and …” I gasped. I might imagine that Paul Sadler might have thrown a shoe at his television if he was watching.

Did that TV talking head forget that we have an election the first Tuesday in November, and that election will decide who is the next junior US Senator from Texas?

Back to the Statesman stories concerning the runoff election. The front page story by Kate Alexander stuck to the facts, but mention of the Democratic Party opposition was one paragraph on the “jump page”. It acknowledged that Sadler “handily” won his contest. Then, she couldn’t resist throwing in the fact that “a Democrat last won a statewide seat in Texas in 1994.

Much has been made that Cruz, who has never held elective office, had extra time and, yes, money to tell his story and build a winning campaign because of delays due to redistricting. Between now and November, the electorate will get to know more about who he is what he says he would do if elected.

The same could be said of Paul Sadler’s candidacy and his solid record of accomplishment during his time in the Texas Legislature.

Voters will see a stark contrast in the candidates. Further, in November there will likely be a much greater turnout than there was for this ill-timed, mid-summer runoff election. Finally, there are blue bastions in urban areas of Texas—Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Voter turnout is the key for either candidate.

Maybe Ted Cruz will win in November, but that still will not mean that Texas is a one-party state, no matter what the media says.

© Jim McNabb, 2012

She's Be Missed ...

ND Suzanne Black Leaving KEYE TV

There is one constant in broadcast journalism. This constant remains in place during the decades of this relatively young profession. That one constant? Change.

It was less than a month ago that I ran into a typically cheery KEYE-TV (CBS) News Director Suzanne Black while enjoying lunch with a former mutual colleague. We talked several minutes about the station’s success in the May “sweeps” and Sinclair Broadcasting, KEYE’s owners as of the first of this year.

Last week, Black announced she was leaving the station.

“I am leaving KEYE. It's a decision I've been weighing for a while,” Black says. “As much as I love it here, it's time devote some attention to my boys. They're only young once and I want to enjoy it.” Black and her husband have two children.

Black says she’s leaving while she’s on top.

“This has been a busy and successful year. We launched a new two-hour morning program, a 5pm newscast, and ended the May book with our 10 p.m. newscast moving into first place for the first time in KEYE history. It has been fun and very rewarding.”

Black came to KEYE seven years ago as assistant news director. Only a year later, she was promoted to the top job in the newsroom when then news director Tim Gardner moved on.

During her time at the station, KEYE had four management groups or owners: CBS, Cerberus Capital Management which eventually signed a local service agreement with the Nexstar Broadcasting Group. September 11, 2011, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced a deal to buy KEYE and its sister Cerberus stations. The station also converted to HDTV during her watch.

As one would expect, each change in ownership and management would result in uncertainty, but Black clung to her journalist values with a commitment to put a quality product on the air every day, changes notwithstanding. She was rewarded with loyalty by many producers, photographers, reporters, and anchors.

“I will miss the people of KEYE tremendously. They are hard-working, loving, passionate people,” Black says. Her last day in the station is this Thursday.

Sinclair posted Black’s job within days if not hours after her announcement.

© Jim McNabb, 2012