Secrets of the City

Congrats, Jason.

So Jason, are you buying drinks for the mnspeakers who drove you to the top with all that raise they obviously owe you?

Matt- I need to send this page to my bosses. I’ve been trying to tell them that I’m responsible for the ratings. As soon as they switched me from the day shift to the 10 p.m. news, we started winning. Coincidence? I think not.

In reality, ratings sucess directly translates to new cars for salespeople. So maybe I can get them to buy drinks. We have really tough competition in this town, so it’s been fun to see the viewers respond to what we’re trying to do.

Jason is on the news!

I thought he was a baby photographer!

That’s my real money-making gig. I have an exclusive contract with one baby.

The ratings at KTIS mean nothing. Escapism and convenience sell, so “clean music with a positive message” seems like just the ticket. Tune out the real world and praise Jesus in the easiest way possible — just hold up your hands and listen to the crappy, soothing tones of Christian music.

Did anybody notice that the KARE manager said losing Vascellaro and Barlow hurt them. They could have easily kept Vascellaro, but instead we got the guy with the teeth. Nobody knows the name of the guy with the teeth. But I guess it’s ok that KARE thinks that only the teeth matter. OK for WCCO.

Oh, Jasons one mean mofo. Don’t count him out.

If you could copyright that green line, you might have something.

Let it be known throughout the land that Champs was the first to turn this thread political with the predictable, liberal, and smarter than everyone else comment bashing KTIS.

Why so threatened? Do I sense insecurity perhaps? It’s really OK Champs!

Hey Jason, I’m younger than Shelby.

I don’t really see anything liberal in his comment or political for that matter.

Asinine ranting…Yes! What else would we expect.

Tom, you sound a little like me talking to the interns when I say, “I’m only 31.”

I’m younger than Shelby.

If you’re over 54, the advertisers don’t care. (some don’t care if you’re over 49) As a news guy, I want all viewers… regardless of age.

I don’t think the station would be to my taste, but I haven’t found morning drive station that is; mainly because I’m not driving in the morning.

If people like KTIS, I don’t mind.

Um, this was a Kersten story, wasn’t it?

Boy do I feel left out! I don’t have a radio, a car or a TV! Scratch two of today’s stories off for me…

Kersten was certainly trying to make some kind of point, either politically or socially, so and answer of a political/social nature would probably be fair.

Not a story, champs. Column. She is not a reporter.

“Boy do I feel left out! I don’t have a radio, a car or a TV!”

That’s radical.

It’s not only radical, but totally tubular, dude! Like woah!

And Kersten’s job function is basically to stir the pot and annoy city folk.

T Mayhem:

Do you find my response unusual? I’m fairly sure you heard it before.

,,, or are you just being a wiseass?

annoy city folk

Care to elaborate?

I believe I was correct when I said “story”. I know KK is a columnist, but people take notice when she really starts to editorialize.

tmayhem, you still have the poop transplant. Everybody Poops.

I was mostly defending you…I guess the second part was out of line.
My bad!

I love to poop!

and I’m always being a wiseass, but I *was* an adolescent in the 90s … in california, so some things die harder than others. (with a vengance) (part III)

Funny, Champs calling for the truce…..

This is beautiful.

Puff pieces are not journalism, whether writted by Kersten or Doug Grow.

Now if someone can find something for me to do for the next 5 hours as I sit and my desk everything will be golden!

Look at what Paul Magers is up to in LA. His station went from doormat to number one! It’s a tiny margin, but it’s a win.

We definitely need a Paul Magers – Ron Magers cage match!

Think of the ratings!

If Kersten’s job is to be annoying, she’s doing a good job.

She’s one of the reasons I don’t pay for the s’trib.

You know those rating systems are flawed. They don’t take in account houses that have… uh… more than two television sets… and other things of that nature.

If you’re over 54, the advertisers don’t care. (some don’t care if you’re over 49) As a news guy, I want all viewers… regardless of age.

Since you’re in the bidness I have no reason to doubt you, but why are the network evening newscasts nothing but a constant string of metamucil and pharmaceutal ads?? Seems to me they’re convinced that the people watching them are of the coot demo.

“If Kersten’s job is to be annoying, she’s doing a good job.”

Do you find this column particularly annoying?

“She’s one of the reasons I don’t pay for the s’trib.”

What bothers you about her?

Seems to me they’re convinced that the people watching them are of the coot demo.

You’re just noticing that now? I was hip to that when Dan Rather had black hair.

…the coot demo

I am officially starting a band for no other reason than to record a demo called The Coot Demo.

I love it! The coot demo! Indeed the network newscasts have a more “mature” viewership. Advertisers still want to reach those people– but they pay a premium to reach the younger demos.

The theory being that younger people have softer brand preferences, and so are more likely to respond to an ad.

Jason may be able to speak to this in more detail, but I’ve seen a lot of talk that shows a definite skew toward older demos in traditional (print and broadcast) news venues. Not because that’s what they want, but because most of those crazy kids are getting their news online — hence the ads for products dedicated to the all-important regularity.

Broadcast is losing a ton of younger viewers, and ad-dollars, to cable. Adult Swim on Cartoon Network and Comedy Central are cleaning up rather nicely in those demos.

Hmmm…Maybe because she’s a bigot with an agenda? It’d be one thing if her columns were well-reasoned and well-researched. I could handle that. She’s a columnist. No one has to agree with her. But not a single column that I can recall has resembled anything bordering on well-researched. The Strib is actually doing a diservice to readers and Republicans by allowing her to be a mouthpiece for the conservative movement. For that reason, I hope she stays.

And in advertising circles, the coot demo is also referred to as the Dust Farters.

Dan Rather had black hair? I kid!

Nice Riemenschneider piece–he wrote about “gay rapper” Tori Fixx first two years ago. More on the man and the events this weekend here and here, ‘case anyone’s interested. WCCO coverage?
–Pete Scholtes

Much hand-wringing goes on in the network executive suites and in the local cubicles about attracting younger viewers. It’s not easy.

I worked at a station that was trying to attract women viewers to a 6 p.m. newscast, and they thought that closing the news every night with 2 minutes of the latest fashions from CNN’s Elsa Klensch. Pandering, and it didn’t work.

Do they abbreviate all hip-like though, you know, “the DFs.” Because Dust Farters seems like a mouthful.

Tony, did you really just put the words “Dust Farters” and “mouthful” in the same sentence?

Jason, you’ve got 6 more months of me in the desirable demo. Make the most of it. Sell me some metamucil.

Puff pieces are not journalism, whether writted by Kersten or Doug Grow.

or Nick Coleman. ZING! hey Colemeister, I’m waiting for my dirty email!

Rich, I did indeed.

Pedo pulverem.

Not to get all Dave Barry around here but “Coot Demo and the Dust Farters” would be a good name for a rock band. I’m just saying…

Maybe you should start doing reports like this one….maybe you could stake out the new library!!??

library fun

Sweet, Tom! Last night I saw a V iagra ad in our 10 p.m. news… so maybe that’s something for you, you desirable viewer!

Had to put a space between the “v” and the “i” in that product.. because the spam filter denied it! Funny. I guess people try to sell that product in spam.

Kersten is so one-dimensional.

It seems like all she can do is talk about christians, name-drop the center for the american experiment, and promote thinly veiled FUD-bigotry.

Basically, she’s a completely vapid columnist with nearly zero creativity who has no place in a major daily newspaper.

I respect the strib’s mission to be more balanced, it’s always great for a media outlet to present all sides of an issue, but they could have at least picked someone good… maybe someone that’s an intelligent conservative to make well-formed arguments instead of someone who just bleats about wedge issues and repeats the same ol’ stuff we hear all the time.

How would you compare Kersten in terms of colunm depth and clarity of thought to Syl Jones?

Since Syl Jones doesn’t appear as often as Kersten (or, more accurately, doesn’t appear on strib.com’s front page), I don’t get to read many of his columns as I’m not a “super-regular” reader. However, from what I’ve read, some of his stuff is reactionary.. I’m not a fan.

However, from what I have read, I think Syl makes an *attempt* at forming something resembling a well-formed argument.

In Kersten’s columns, you can get a sense of what she might be trying to say, but she takes readers on a wild ride to a sometimes sketchy destination that leaves me scratching my head as to the point of the piece itself.

For example, today’s column. What exactly is her point? I think her ultimate point is: “Christians!!! YAY!” and she’ll just find some current event to write about to make that point. And, I think if we took a look at a lot of her columns, plenty would seem to fit this as well.

Well the big difference between Syl and KK is that Syl writes editorials and KK is a columnist.

Neither tend to write overwhelmingly compelling stuff.

I haven’t read either of them to any degree. What I remember about Jones is thinking there must be some clause in his contract that won’t allow the editors to cut his pieces. He’s a wordy blowhard.

Maybe that’s the problem, maybe KK should be in the editorials. Then she wouldn’t have to write opinion pieces under the thin guise of a column.

Don’t all columnists write opinion?

just read the NY Times. Technology allows all of us access to a quality newspaper.

A gay rapper? Now that’s just plain crazy talk! Next thing you know the whitefolk’ll be trying it!

just read the NY Times.

Heh. Let’s see, is it two or three plagerists they’ve admitted to so far? Besides, if KK is a christrian cheerleader (and I wouldn’t know since I’ve never read her), according to the polls, over 86% of the population is self-described christians. So if anything, she’s writing for the masses.

Nothing wrong with that unless you’re part of the 14% and someone is forcing you to read it.

Heh. Let’s see, is it two or three plagerists they’ve admitted to so far?

Dennis, if you’re thinking of Jayson Blair and Judith Miller, neither one of them were “plagerists.”

http://www.thinkandask.com/news/nyt.html

I want all viewers… regardless of age.

That’s just sick.