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Sometimes TV journalism is home alone too

Sydney Morning Herald publishes article on Christmas TV -but doesn't make it very clear it's all about US programming.

“If the holidays still seem a long way off, you clearly haven’t done much television channel surfing lately,” notes the Sydney Morning Herald.

Their article then goes on to write about various Christmas programming on Hallmark, Lifetime, ABC Family, finishing with “Home Alone: The Holiday Heist on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.”

Thanksgiving? Hallmark? Lifetime?

As one who regularly aggregates articles, I’m all for stories on US programming trends which will affect Australian viewing trends, but the entire thing is republished without any opening sentences that note it is an article on US programming for US viewers.

Only when you reach the bottom does it indicate in small print, “© 2012 AP DIGITAL. This story is sourced direct from an overseas news agency as an additional service to readers. Spelling follows North American usage, along with foreign currency and measurement units.”

In other words, “we haven’t attempted to put this in any context for you because too many of our journos are busy working out their redundancies and the intern lifted this one from the wires.”

Maybe the opening sentence should really have been, “If relevancy still seem a long way off, you clearly haven’t done much subbing lately.”

11 Responses

  1. I suppose they could blame the subs…. if they hadn’t been made redundant and outsourced.

    PJs – totally agree, but mom? C’mon, really, mom? Or are you pulling my leg?

  2. Careful, old boy – hope you’re not biting the hand that feeds you (sometimes, at least)…

    Gotta admit though, the SMH Guide isn’t the same without Doug.

  3. It’s not just the entertainment (read, TV) side of journalism that suffers this malaise. I tire at seeing TV news coverage of reporters in hot pursuit of some wicked person and asking “have you anything to say to your victims?”. It seems this is the only question such reporters are aware of and all seem equally surprised when the villain fails to respond.

    When was the last time you saw/heard a reporter ask a politician a question and then haul the polly back onto track when he/she inevitable rants off on a totally unrelated topic? Never.

    Or attention grabbing headlines screaming “Mother Dies of Shame as Son Plays Tiddlywinks” only to learn the kid is a world champion ‘winker’ (or should that be ‘tiddler’) who lives in Uzbekistan… oh, and mom did not cark it.

    Or (again) a television reporter who can start a sentence without using the word “Now..”

    Some might point a finger at our education system and say “that’s where the problem is and that explains why journalists are losing their edge”. Perhaps the rise of blogging and the less stringent journalistic standards associated with blogging bleeding into mainstream journalism is to blame.

    Nonetheless, I get more enjoyment out of TV Tonight than I do out of commercial television evening news.

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