Call It What It Is 4.09.2007 | 4 Comment(s)
I'm going to pick on Channel 2 here because I'm tired of the station using their newscasts as marketing vehicles for their web site. I get it, you have a new web site and you want people to visit. I feel bad for all the folks out there without Internet access who miss an important number or address while watching Channel 2. Instead of repeating the number or address on air, the reporter will offer the information once then refer you to their web site.

Anyway, KTVI's new promo's about how well they cover "my neighborhood" cracks me up. My biggest laugh came when somebody was proudly proclaiming how Fox 2 covered their neighborhood when a "neighborhood" name flashed up on the screen...St. Louis County. O'Fallon, Missouri was another "neighborhood."

O'Fallon isn't a neighborhood, it's a municipality. St. Louis County is....well, a "large administrative division" in eastern Missouri. I realize that "neighborhood" is an all encompassing word, a way for the media to chop up our region into cozy, feel good sections, but I don't appreciate the misuse of the word.

Having lived in a City of neighborhoods, each with its own flavor, I've become very possessive of the word "neighborhood." After almost 3 years of city living, I realize that "neighborhood" is people, architecture, the good & bad of all walks of life. It's dynamic and unchanging all at once. Neighborhoods have names. Neighborhoods aren't subdivisions. Neighborhoods are geographical areas within a city's limits! To Fox 2's credit they did get the "Lafayette Square" & "Soulard" designations right.

This whole topic is probably a whole lot of nothing to 99% of people, but I bet there are some of you reading this who understand where I'm coming from.
4 comments:

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:14 AM

I agree, they don't have a clue about how people really live in this part of the world. I bet that campaign came from corporate in NYC.

 

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:32 PM

I don't have a problem with TV stations (or magazines) directing people to their websites for more information. TV news can't be expected to provide the in depth coverage of newspapers, etc. Although not everyone has internet access at home, the public library offers access for everyone.

 

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:10 PM

I'm with KTVI on this one. They have clearly decided to put a lot of effort into that website. There's some pretty good stuff on there.

 

By Blogger Brick City, at 8:34 PM

I don't have a problem with their website or a less aggressive way of pushing traffic to the site. The constant plugs for their site, after almost every story, is over the top.

And why can't television stations be expected to cover stories in depth? If they covered a few stories indepth instead of giving viewers brief, non-informative recaps of random crap that happened during the day we might be a better informed community.