Brenda Takes to the Waters
Summary: Part of ongoing coverage of a fishing tournament here. Reporter: Brenda Waters, KDKA Channel 2 Airtime: 2 minutes, 11 seconds on July 30 Visuals: * Waters among the colorful fishing boats lined up outside Mellon Arena. * Fisherpersons venturing out into the green, murky waters of Pittsburgh. Highlights: * When anchor Patrice King Brown boasts, “Some of the best bass fishermen and -women in the world are in Pittsburgh this week. The … Forrest Wood Cup fishing tournament began today, and the grand prize? One million dollars. The contestants are already reeling ’em in.” * When Waters, outside Mellon Arena, gives us the details: “The weigh-in began at 5 o’clock straight up … so that means the eliminations have already begun. … [B]ut first, let me show you my fishing technique.” * When Waters narrates, “At 7 a.m., the real fishermen and -women, the pros, headed out on the Three Rivers in search of a lucky spot. My first thought was to go looking for some of them to get some pointers. I was told by another fisherman, who was not in the competition, that that was a bad idea.” * When a Michigan fisherman advises, “They’re pretty intense. They’re really concentrated on what they’re doing, and if you get a little too close to their fishing area, they might get a little upset.” * When Waters continues, “So I put on my green boots — that’s right, green — walked along the shore, and found help.” * When Waters’ Michigan tutor tells her, “Keep your line in the water. Keep your bait in the water. You’ll never get bit if your line is not in the water.” * When Waters asserts, “Even I knew that. How ’bout a real lesson?” * When Waters, out of her boots and into her summer sandals, says, “Now, this is more my speed. There’s no million-dollar prize money, but at least I don’t have to wait for the fish to bite. In here, I bite the fish” — and she walks into Penn Avenue Fish Company and orders some grilled salmon. * Nestled in a bright green fishing boat, Waters finishes her report: “Oh yeah, and check out this boat — no movement here. I prefer a more grounded approach as I eat my fish.” Waters chomps on the fish and says, “Mmm mmm mmm. So good. … See, that’s how you go fishing!” What We Learned: There’s nothing fishy about this story. Unanswered Question: Did anyone catch a fabled Mon Monkey? An Allegheny whitefish? News Value: 7. The Forrest Wood Cup is among the more important events in the sport of fishing, and kudos to KDKA for giving it all the coverage it merited — including a story about how two anglers saved a woman drowning in the Ohio River.
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2009.
