Does anybody read these?

News vs. Entertainment

I think I blogged a little bit about the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I saw the part that I cared about, which was the Marching 110's performance. I really liked that OU grad Matt Lauer was the commentator for the show. It was like Homecoming or something.

I'm not dogging on Matt Lauer and Katie Couric, because I know they are both journalists and I can vouch for their professonal credentials. I know Matt's a good journalist because he went through the same program I did and I've followed his career since his early days in Huntington. And I have a friend who used to do Public Affairs in the Pentagon who is friends with Katie. Both are fantastic journalists. However, I don't really see "Today" as news or journalism most of the time. I find it to be entertaining. Maybe that's bad of me, but I like it for the musical guests and movie reviews and little chit-chats over coffee with Hugh Grant and the He's Just Not That Into You guy. When I want hard-hitting, up-to-the-minute, breaking news, I don't tune in to Today. Sorry, NBC, but I don't.

That's why this article shocked me a little bit.

NBC to still allow anchors to work parade

I read it because the headline piqued my curiosity. What had Matt and Katie done wrong? They always seem so professional to me. Well, I had to read to find out. I didn't watch the whole parade. I watched the part that interested me, blogged about it and finished my laundry and sweet potatoes before my family arrived. But I had heard later that some balloons came untethered and hurt people. Apparently Matt and Katie didn't stop their chit-chat about lollipops and Santa Claus and baton twirlers to tell everyone of this catastrophe. Apparently they blurred the line between entertainment and journalism and some people had ethical issues with it.

First of all, Matt and Katie didn't know. For all of you who haven't ever done broadcast journalism, the folks at the desk only know what is on the TelePrompter, some index cards in front of them or is piped into their headphones. That's it. Did Matt and Katie see the M&M balloon pummel some lady in a wheelchair? Nope not unless it happened in front of the viewing stand where they were perched (or between them and the TelePrompter). Yes, they are journalists, and yes that was pretty big news. As a journalist I'm not upset about this at all. As a news consumer, I'm even less upset. I tuned in to watch Sponge Bob balloons and the Rockettes. I didn't turn in to watch another "Tragedy at 11" kind of thing. The Macy's parade is about floats and Santas, not the negativity that's rampant in today's broadcast journalism. Quite simply, I tuned in to be entertained. If I wanted news I'd have turned on CNN instead. And frankly, while I KNOW Matt and Katie are great journalists who have worked their asses off to get the cherry network jobs, I watch them to entertain me. For better or for worse. And if this incident had caused NBC to change their policy on the "Today" anchors covering the Macy's parade; I'd probably have changed my policy about tuning in...

posted by Laura at 3:16 PM