The “national championship” of media cheerleading goes to WKRN-Channel 2 for its transformation of Monday’s evening newscasts into orange-colored, pre-game and post-game celebrations.
The station that claims to be “first, fast, and accurate” with local news preempted its 6 p.m. broadcast altogether and aired instead an hour-long special called “Quest for a Championship,” starring anchors Bob Mueller and Anne Holt, live from Tempe. Holt looked warm and very orange in her UT jacket as the pair filled the time with pro-Vol features and predictions.
After the game, sports anchor John Dwyer seemed to be in a free-fall. He got the score wrong, the year wrong, and, for a painful moment, the name wrong of the player he was interviewing. Mike Hill, his over-excited colleague, kept saying “baby,” first in questions to the players, then in comments to a bewildered-looking Dwyer and Mueller.
Back in Nashville, orange-wearing anchor Brette Lea managed to report a minute or two of news but seemed to spend most of her time trying to detect intelligible sounds from reporter Jay Korff, who stood trapped among screaming fans at a local sports bar.
It was all, of course, in good fun, unless you’re a Florida State fan or, less likely, you believe that even sports reporting should be neutral.
Editorial justice
Metro cops and local prosecutors may be in for some surprises Monday, when The Tennessean’s editorial page editor, Sandra Roberts, begins hearing cases as forewoman of the Davidson County grand jury.
An unabashed liberal, Roberts is principally responsible for The Tennessean’s editorial opinions. But for the next three months, Roberts will also play a leading role in deciding who gets indicted, and who doesn’t, in Nashville.
Courthouse veterans said this is the first time in memory that a working journalist had been selected as grand jury forewoman. Criminal Court Judge Steve Dozier, who appointed Roberts, said he’d only met her once, at a Tennessean editorial board meeting, but thought the experience of running the grand jury would educate her and, indirectly, newspaper readers about the criminal justice system. Dozier said he wasn’t familiar with Roberts’ politics.
Dozier made a wise choice, more so, perhaps, than he realizes. One of the paper’s best, Roberts is bright, conscientious, and, some fuzzy editorials aside, intellectually honest. She’ll closely question witnesses, supervise fairly, and perform her duties better than most.
But Roberts’ new job also raises conflicts that she should publicly disclose before hearing testimony. A reporter’s job is to tell secrets; a grand juror’s is to keep them. Roberts’ oath as forewoman will put her directly in conflict with the demands of her editors, fellow staffers, and the obligations of a newspaper employee. Moreover, the paper’s editorial staff can hardly avoid writing about the criminal justice system over the next three months; nor can Roberts, one of only three editorial writers, credibly abdicate her role as editor each time the subject comes up.
The best solution is for Roberts to keep doing both jobs but to disclose her conflict of interest, first in a column and later in a small note on the editorial page whenever the paper comments on law-enforcement issues.
Many talented journalists, inflated with their own self-importance and believing that they serve a higher calling than the legal system, would have avoided these messy issues by declining Dozier’s offer. Roberts, to her credit, made the right decision for the city. With a little effort, she can also make the right decision for the newspaper.
Although Roberts was appointed in mid-December, there was no mention of her new job in The Tennessean until Tuesday, after the Scene began making inquiries among legal circles. “When a conflict comes up,” Roberts said Tuesday, “I’ll deal with it at the time.”
Odds and ends
At year-end, there was a budget squeeze at The Tennessean, according to sources at the paper.
Here’s one reason the paper may be looking for ways to cut expenses: According to recent reports filed with the Audit Bureau of Circulations, The Tennessean sold almost 60,000 reduced-price subscriptions during the six-month period ending Sept. 27. That’s four times more than in the same period last year or in any recent year. Tennessean publisher Craig Moon said Tuesday that 46,904 of those subscribers were Saturday and Sunday readers who converted to seven days a week, at no extra charge, for 13 weeks.
That’s 47,000 free papers, five days a week—more than a fourth of the paper’s total Monday through Friday circulation.
After the Nashville Banner closed, The Tennessean promised advertisers that the morning daily would still reach as many readers as the combined, unduplicated circulation of both papers. It appears they’ve done it, but at a price.
To comment or complain about the media, leave a message for Henry at the Scene (244-7989, ext. 445), call him at his office, 252-2363, or send an e-mail to hwalker@bccb.com.
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