Secrets of the City

FOX9 did an occasionally silly, but generall informed report about Twitter; they then posted it as a text story to their site that reads like it was written to be a Mr. Rogers’ script. DeRusha sees this as a teachable moment: Tonight’s lesson for TV journos: Text rules online, not video. You need to own the online version. Write it yourself.

Esme Murphy is a little less charitable: Of all the depressing developments in local journalism these days the Fox 9 version of their Twitter story ranks right up there.

Vita.mn links to and discusses a FOX9 report about the somewhat chaotic scene around the Lake Street Popeye’s franchise, the only Popeye’s in Minneapolis, who decided not to honor a nationally televised one-day only sale, leading to some irate customers. Irate enough that the cops showed up.

Cruise around in an unmarked SUV and pull up to random children to ask directions. This astonishingly bad idea apparently never really got off the drawing board, but just the fact that it was considered is drawing ire. Brauer provides more context.

Otherwise known as: How to title a story so that Bunny will read it.

FOX9 looks at rudeness from Metro Transit drivers. MnSpeak’s own Transit Librarian has a few comments.

A Tuesday Fox 9 report had all the keywords to scare the pants off of you: A “pack” of teens “randomly preyed on people in the area about every 15 minutes for a ’solid’ hour.” They “turned on a couple” on a bike path before their “crime spree… escalated to home invasions.” Scarier yet is that these “teenage robbers” are “still on the loose” — and in the charming neighborhood of Bryn Mawr no less.

Problem is, according to an email by Minnepolis Police Department crime prevention specialist Tim Hammett, Fox got its facts largely wrong.

Since we’re already talking about Fox anchors, I noted this report on Jeff Passolt, hearing loss, and stapedectomy on the broadcast after the game last night. I’m not a big fan of the “anchor/reporter personal health story, but I did find this one interesting.

Oddly enough, a story on hearing loss, and the web posting of the story is video only, with no captioning.

Stepping into the Minneapolis townhouse of Fox 9 news anchor Robyne Robinson is like entering a work of art in progress.

Anyone tried the FOX 9 candidate matchmaker?

From KMSP via the Strib:

“FOX 9, in partnership with the Minnesota Vikings, have reached an agreement to purchase the remaining tickets to Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. FOX 9 and the Minnesota Vikings will donate the tickets to local charities.”

It’s nice that local charities (hopefully for underprivileged kiddies) and Fox 9’s ratings will benefit, but pretty weak that the Vikes couldn’t sell those last tickets.