Wendy Bell Has an Existential Crisis (So You Don’t Have To)
Wendy Bell is upset. More like angry, fretting for the future of the human race and, probably, blocking me from her “verified, public figure” Facebook page as you read this. While the thought of that cuts me deep, I cannot let it prevent me from doing my job.
The anchorwoman’s anger was most recently evident during an embarrassing-for-all-of-us interview with Rick Flinn, the director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. It occurred in the wake of a winter-storm-fueled turnpike shutdown near Somerset on Jan. 23, which left motorists stranded for nearly 24 hours. The interview pretty much went like this:
Bell: “What would you like to say to everybody who’s watching?”
Flinn: “[Doesn’t matter to Bell.]”
Bell: “[WRATH! Accusations! Rhetorical questions! Mention of higher tolls!]”
Flinn: “You’re absolutely right.”
Bell: “So, you believe that this was handled as best as it possibly could have been? Because I got a lot of people who are emailing us here at Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 and they are not in the same boat with you. They’re outraged.”
Flinn: “Again, the issue is responding to the event …” [Bell cuts him off.]
Bell: “I think folks at home … you know, ‘I’m sorry’ might go a long way.”
Bell’s misguided attempt to play an incendiary, populist Nancy Grace-type character was irresponsible. But even worse was a missed opportunity to elicit useful information for viewers. When the goal of an interview is to beat an apology out of someone, it’s time to step back. This interview was a sobering demonstration that the line between Bell’s on- and off-air “personalities” (read on) has become blurred. That muddles the credibility of the news she delivers. Bell is peddling outrage, yet her Feb. 13 Facebook post decries “outrage culture.”
During the confrontational interview with Flinn, Bell emphasized that folks were “scared to death.” Meanwhile, that’s the very thing that local news does on a daily basis. It aims to scare you, because studies confirm you are more likely to pay attention to negative information.
That might be why WTAE hasn’t pulled the plug on Bell’s WTAE Facebook page, where she regularly chronicles her existential struggles and doles out Old Testament-style love. In a Feb. 8 post, she declares, “We’re Ruining Our Kids. This isn’t a blame game. It’s the truth. We’re raising an embarrassingly co-dependent, whining, lazy bunch of finger pointers who don’t even know how to answer the phone. Has your child ever addressed an envelope? I just had to teach this. TO MY 14 YEAR OLD [sic].”
Oh, the humanity. She also apparently worries about kids who don’t exist, playing “if I had a daughter” in a Jan. 28 post:
“When people who don’t know me learn that I have five sons, they often ask if I’m disappointed that I never had a girl. To be honest … I’ve never once thought about it … She would have been Katie. Katie Bell O’Toole. Katie Bell. This, tonight, is what I would say to Katie if she were Michael, my soon-to-be 16 year old [sic] who’s trying his hardest to be himself in a world where everyone else seems to be doing the opposite.”
She goes on to tell her imaginary daughter to be herself, stand up for others, pray, work hard, etc. She even describes her “shiny brown hair” and the “green flecks in your eyes.” She also tells her followers to “share this with someone you love. There’s a Katie Bell out there tonight in your life who really needs to hear it.”
“If Katie were Michael?” Why can’t that advice just be for the children you actually do have?
In her Jan. 25 entry, Bell also agonizes over whether her sons would have survived the Siege of Bastogne:
“When the DVD [Band of Brothers] finished, Joe [her spouse] and I sat starting [sic] at the TV. I looked at him. He looked at me. And we nearly said it together. We’d be in trouble today if our boys were the ones fighting that battle. I love my sons. They are funny, handsome, smart little monsters who give me indescribable joy. But I worry about how far we’ve drifted from The Greatest Generation.”
Please, stop doubting your kids. If you won’t do that, then at least stop doubting everyone else’s kids, and using the word “we” when you’re talking about you. The world isn’t ending; but I could see how, after watching the TV news, you might think that. Things are no worse now than they’ve been; they’re just bad in a different way. Guess what? They’re also good in different ways.
I know that local-news folks are responsible for supplying their own wardrobes, but self-righteous indignation doesn’t look good on anyone.
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2016.
Her attack on an Emergency Management official, not employed by the Turnpike Conmission and not directly responsible for the Turnpike’s (mis)handling of the situation, also betrays Ms. Bell’s ignorance of how things work in government and emergency response.
She has become Pittsburgh’s Nancy Grace, as you aptly put. No one really asked her to be that for us. And she’s been blurring the line between anchor and op-ed columnist for years now. You can’t sit through a WTAE newscast without her tossing in a scoff, or an eyeroll, or a 2-minute long attempt at a joke that should fall flat; but her co-anchors have no choice but to snicker along.
Wendy – I think it’s perfectly acceptable for you to publish your views on your Facebook page. But when you start sneaking your opinion into your everyday reporting (or anchoring, which, aside from several fluff pieces you’ve done, is about all you do on WTAE) it is harmful to viewers and inappropriate behavior as a journalist – which you aren’t, really. You’re a news anchor. You don’t go out and cover the stories you read on-air. So they ESPECIALLY aren’t there for you to make passing judgments on.
Local news has a massive impact on the views and perceptions of everyone in our community. It’s wrong to subvert your narrow-minded opinions on an unsuspecting public, who otherwise just believes it is getting fair and balanced news reporting – if that exists anymore.
Well said, John Linko. The whole news organization at WTAE should be quite embarrassed at the way Wendy did the interview, but more so with the fact that PEMA has nothing to do with the Turnpike. Shotty journalism at its best.
It’s easy to criticize people when you are hiding behind your computer screen, huh. Wendy Bell is a good journalist and a good writer. And I applaud her for being unapologetically authentic.
You people at the City Paper always seem to take the easy way out – Leave Wendy alone – she’s doing a great job –
Unbiased reporting if I’ve ever seen it. All I have taken away from this article is you personally attacking Ms. Bell. Get a grip. Become a better reporter yourself. Attacking those around make you look petty and cheap.
I love Wendy Bell and love the way she is on the news. It is one of the many reasons I only watch channel 4 news
Thank you for saying what many of us were thinking about Wendy “Nancy Grace” Bell. That was the WORST interview I’ve ever listened to in recent local news history. Your column was too kind towards her.
This coming from a rag paper! Laughable!!!
Looks to me like your a Wendy Bell yourself. Her posts are spot on with how WE, society as a whole are ruining are kids…we definitely parent a lot different than our parents did. Anyway, i guess you got your 15 minutes & gave her so much more. Now more people will check out her page & im guessing most will agree more than disagree with her posts…ect. Everyone is gonna hate on you, they will find something, anything to talk about….instead of building people up we tear them down & get more attention for doing it! You say WTAE should be embarrassed of her one interview….maybe The Pittsburgh City Paper should be embarrassed for publishing this article…But i will say negative attention is still attention, so thanks for putting Wendy out there i hope more people like her page because of your terrible article.
I think she did a great job on calling these people out on their screw up, no one else seemed to do it. People always want to push the blame on someone else. Great job Wendy and by the way I love reating yur Facebook post your always to the point and upfront. Again some people can not accept the truth.
This Just In: Frances Sansig Rupp needs to look in the mirror when accusing others of “Nancy Grace type” reporting. Did you play through her interview to pick the most unflattering screen cap you could? It seems to me you may be jealous of her 21 Emmy wins and 2 Edward R. Murrow awards. What do you have sitting on your mantel?
I don’t know who the heck you think you are, but you’re not a “reporter.” Get over yourself, get a life, and nobody cares what you think of Wendy Bell or anybody else for that matter. This isn’t reporting, it’s a personal attack. You have absolutely no class.
Wendy Bell is a good journalist.. I enjoy reading her facebook page and watching her report the news. I think its pretty easy to sit behind the computer and criticize others. I think you owe Wendy Bell an apology
I love Wendy Bell’s Facebook page. Sounds like to me someone has been bitten by the green eyed monster of envy. As for her Old Testament ways, perhaps if more folks were involved in their children’s lives the world and family life would be a lot better than it currently is. SMH, some people cannot stand for people to be happy or have an opinion or life. Perhaps they need to find a life for themselves.
The way I see it “city paper” is that you are no better. This article clearly describes your dislike for Wendy Bell. So how are you better than her? And, how do you feel that your reporting is better. It looks like you’ve rolled in the mud. Rise above it. If she rolls her eyes and allows opinions to spew during a broadcast then let her employer handle it. That is not your place. If you don’t like what she says in FB, then stay the hell off. Don’t look.
I thought she did a good job in her interview with Rick Flinn. He was giving a lot of bureaucratic non-answers and skirting the issue. It’s appalling how the turnpike situation was handled. As for Wendy Bell’s Facebook postings, she’s writing as a parent who just happens to be a reporter…no harm in that. She’s entitled to her musings, and many people enjoy reading them.
the pittsburgh paper was wrong keep up the good reporting Wendy good job
Frances Withane, aka various, her blogging is so much more interesting than your writing.
Women putting down other women, shameful and unnecessary.
What possible good did your article do? What vital information did YOU share here?
NONE and NOTHING.
Very harsh. Change the channel if your not pleased with what you are watching. Thewe are many who disagree with you. Wendy Bell is an excellent journalist with the utmost integrity.
Jealous much Ms Rupp? That’s what I got from this article. I’m sorry you could only get a job with this crap paper, and can’t be a real journalist like Wendy Bell. Hopefully the obvious backlash will be a life lesson for you.
Right on the money Frances!!!
Thank God someone called her out on her dumb fake FB posts.
“The sun is shining as I sit down to write this comment”.
She’s a hack and a fraud and you’ll get all of her mindless drones here telling you that you’re wrong. But good job.
This man is from PEMA, not PA Turnpike. People were told by PEMA, the Weather Service, and the Turnpike not to travel. The people who were stuck DID all get help, just not quick enough for their liking. They expected the people putting their own lives at risk to help them (even though they should not have been their in the first place) more quickly. 😐
Journalists should not bring personal emotion into an interview. When they do, they are no longer journalists – they are interviewers. Maybe TMZ is hiring?
THIS article by Ms. Rupp is correctly filed under VIEWS. It’s not being shown as a fact finding piece, but as a VIEW. Ms. Bell’s piece was shown as a part of the NEWS cast (which SHOULD be fact finding) – not an opinion piece. Ms. Bell handled it poorly.
I also personally agree with Ms. Rupp’s assessment of Ms. Bell’s publicly posted “personal” stories as well. It’s about time someone called her out.
Really,is this the best you can do to slam Wendy Bell? Awkward, sounds like you’re a bit on the jealous side. Work for the city paper which I think is actually worse than the Beaver County Times it’s a rag so I guess that makes yours toilet paper
FRANCES RUPP is clearly jealous of Wendy Bell’s success as shown by the followers on her page. She was spot on with that interview and that meant much more to viewers than your piddly opinion article. You will NEVER be a Wendy Bell!!! Criticize on though if that’s what gets you through the day!!!
she is definitely no sally wiggins. that’s a true news reporter and interviewer. I cant see her interviewing a president. it would be an embarrassment. Sally would handle that interview like a seasoned pro.
How stupid was this? Who cares what you think? You either like her or you don’t. And if you don’t, the beauty is you can change the channel or not read her FB post. Typical Democratic Pittsburgh want to follow the lead of Washington liberals wanting to tell us what to do, what to think, what to read or what to say. Go pound salt.
I hope Wendy Bell reads the comments and realizes how much Pittsburgh loves her !!!!! This article was a definite fail on your newspaper”s part.
I personally enjoy Wendy Bell’s Facebook comments. She has a wonderful perspective and positive outlook (despite having to report all the negative news, that Rupp mentions). Anyone who disagrees can block her posts or choose not to read them. If anyone has a problem with the way Wendy performs on-air….wait for it….change the channel!! The naysayers out there want to pick apart her newscasts….how would they know what to complain about unless they were watching? Are they saying that they watch WTAE as a form of self punishment? I choose to watch Wendy’s newscasts over other options because I enjoy her banter with her colleagues and her way of “humanizing” her position. Those who disagree should find another news outlet or choose to accept Wendy’s style. If you don’t like Wendy’s fries (no pun intended), you go to McDonalds, etc. What you DON’T do is pull up to Wendy’s drive thru, day after day, to order fries, all while telling the worker how terrible the fries are.
Oh, the pleasure of reading comments from folks that say “If you disagree don’t watch” who then proceed to disagree with the thing they just read.
Brilliant!
A column critical of a public figure is just that…a criticism. Not everyone has to agree but making it personal is being a hypocrite. In other words don’t kill the messenger…discuss the message.
As to the “meat” of the article:
I don’t watch the news that much. Local or otherwise.
However different folks have different tastes and not all presentations work for everyone.
If you like Wendy Bell, great!
If you don’t, great!
But it is perfectly fair to have the discussion about her style (or anyone’s) without being accused of anything OTHER than having an opinion on it.
The larger problem is we have a social media that allows us to peak behind the curtain and see what our talking heads look like and what they think about when they are not on our idiot boxes and computer screens.
I didn’t want to know Paul Long’s point of view on child raising or if Bill and Patti Burns argued over Sunday dinner or if Sam Nover had an opinion on, well, anything.
When you put personal reactions and opinions on the web you better understand that the internet is just FILLED with people waiting to tell you how wrong you are and right they are.
Also be ready for lots of people saying things with their keyboard that they would be embarrassed to say outloud in public. All to defend someone they do not know and to attack someone they claim to not care about.
I’m sure the author of this article knows that.
The people who responded to to it…not so much.
Wendy Bell’s viewers show all the signs of being in a cult. These people are two steps away from shaving their heads and selling flowers at the airport while chanting Wendy’s name: “Hare Wendy, Wendy Wendy …”
She shared this on her Facebook, with a note that “at least they’re talking about us!”
Okay. Stop right there.
If you are a news anchor, reporter or you give the weather forecast, the story should never be about YOU. Your job is to tell the story, give the facts, and inform people in an impartial way about goings-on in the community that may/may not affect them.
You want to get on Facebook and get into some homespun bloviating on your own time and outside of a professional context? Have at it. But the actual news outlets have time/space for news, and then time/space for OpEds. Blurring those lines, even on a local level, is irresponsible and self-serving.
Self-serving.
“At least they’re talking about us!”
Yep.
You sit and criticize Wendy Bell for her comments on HER Facebook page…what exactly are you doing here with your hateful criticizing comments? If you don’t like what she types, don’t read it, don’t be her FRIEND on Facebook. You have then turned what you read on HER Facebook page to her newscasting. She is a breath of fresh air on WTAE! She has people wanting to hear her infectious laugh, her joking with co-workers with her fun loving spirit and bring life to the horrible news of daily events we hear! If you don’t like her, you do have the option to change your channel!
It seems for at least one story every night on the 6pm news Bell feels compelled to say I love that or I like that or isn’t that great or isn’t that wonderful and so on, often with her wild laugh. We tell the TV screen how does Wendy like that, how does she feel, tell us how you feel, Wendy. So what does it say? It says the brain trust is cultivating people whom the audience LIKES. Not who are great reporters or editors, but who are likable. I suppose it is their judgment that the best way to the bucks and the ratings is via likable, loveable anchors, etc. And if I heard it right, Wendy just won a local emmy. Imagine that, the inane chatter and the laughy laughy I love it culture is now some kind of standard. Not good news reporting and reading and investigative reporting. Wendy wants us to love her and swears up and down she loves us. Of course, TV news is little more than a headline service. But it is sad to see it devolve into the cult of personality instead of the cult of a comprehensive news report.
Questions for you FRANCES RUPP:
Why do you read Wendy Bells personal Facebook page and her person articles on her viewpoints of rearing HER children in this world?
Why do you watch Wendy Bell on WTAE if you are such a hater? Just to get dirt for your paper?
France’s Rupp, you call this an article for Pittsburgh City Times or Esquire magazine? You’re the one that should be ashamed of your journalism for PITTSBURGH!
As a defense attorney, we would have one word for defending Wendy Bell: Insanity
Love you, Wendy!!
It looks like hanging onto Wendy’s coat is Rupp’s last ditch attempt at making a name for herself, doing exactly what she’s criticizing. Oh the hipocrisy! I’m laughing AT you Rupp, and shaking my head.
The days when WTAE had standards are several decades past by now. And when Wendy’s contract is up they will hand her another, as they do the other lightweights on the station. Somehow they are convinced a lot of people care that these people are on the air. If they really did serious market research they would find out otherwise and why people feel as they do.
Wendy makes Nancy Grace look like Barbara Walters but she needs interviews like this to prove her worth to WTAE brass. Jackie Cain is one of the brightest spots on the local news scene. With Jackie waiting in the wings she knows she’ll soon be replaced. So Wendy will continue her narcissistic personality by the FB posting and attention-getting newsroom antics which by what is seen in her supportive fans, attracts the shallowest of viewers. Wendy, it’s been a good run but you’re ready to move to the journalistic wasteland of the noon news desk.
If you would all ever see Ms. Bell at one of her son’s athletic events, all of you Wendy lovers would be disappointed. She is an obnoxious parent.
What bubble are WTAE management in general and newsroom management, specifically, living in that they don’t realize how badly her disgraceful performances reflect on the station’s entire news operation? Just because a few hysterical Wendy cultists jump up and down to praise her and vilify her legitimate critics doesn’t indicate how the majority of their viewers–and Pittsburgh as a whole–feel about her. It seems the executives come and go and she stays. Says a lot about the one-dimensional mentality at TAE, and no doubt at other local news operations here and elsewhere that continue employing subpar, thin-skinned on camera personnel.