Readers of this and other blogs know that broadcast TV stations in Atlanta and elsewhere are suffering the same problems as newspapers and magazines. Mainly, ad revenue going online. Also, people are now aware they can watch network news programs online, and so can bypass the local lead-in.
However, a couple of recent bulletins in Atlanta made me, and no doubt others, realize that the TV journos’ hustling and rolling out of bed at weird hours still pays off.
It was at the start of the 8 AM newscast Sunday on WSB that I first heard that champion boxer Vernon Forrest, a Georgia native, had been slain Sunday night in a robbery. A quick scan of local and national Web sites turned up nothing, and a Google search only had one report from a source that I would not trust. However, WSB’s Ashley Hayes had a good account. Click this for video.
Within an hour, updates were rolling in on Twitter, but what was the source? Local TV.
Also, WSB anchor Amanda Rosseter told viewers Sunday that she’s leaving the station for a communications job at St. Joseph’s hospital in Atlanta. Not sure of any political factors, if any. But Rosseter had advanced from reporter to weekend anchor in less than two years, which is not easy to do. And the fact that Jovita Moore is the likely successor to iconic Monica Pearson (my photo) may have made Rosseter realize that she had little growth potential at WSB.
Again, I searched online for any previous word about Rosseter’s departure, and found only some loose chat. I had seen nothing in local media or blogs, so it obviously was not widely known or discussed.
And more kudos to WXIA (@11alivenews on Twitter) for airing their twice-daily news meetings online. Makes potential viewers feel involved, or at least that’s the intent.
So amid all the car chases, shootings and apartment fires that the local stations sometimes overdo, they still do some quality work that you can’t get elsewhere. Good job.
Human Clipping Service 