He Yells Details By the North Shore!
Summary: How crazy is this? Crooks in disguise. Station: WPXI Channel 11 Reporter: Alan Jennings, "Live" When it Aired: Feb. 6 Running Time: 1 minutes, 36 seconds Visuals: Shots from outside the scene of the crime, and also outside the Moon Township police station. Highlights: * When Jennings teases, "A band of robbers? Running through Moon Township?" as though crime doesn't extend to the leafy suburbs. * When anchor Peggy Finnegan shouts (as is WPXI evening-news protocol), "Moon Township police are looking for two crooks in costumes. The suspects used a disguise to rob two men." * When Jennings reports, "Cops call this devilish duo 'daring.' This was an apartment invasion in broad daylight. They burst inside posing as security officers, they grabbed wallets and cell phones and left the residents in shock." * When Jennings elaborates, "The pair of suspects pulled off their strong-arm scam here at the Bradford Apartments, 285 Moon Clinton Road. ... [I]t was 4 in the afternoon. Once inside, the suspects started spinning [tales]." * When Jennings relays a possibility suggested by police: "The victims may have been targeted because of their language barrier." What We Learned: It could have been worse. They could have been mooning through Moon Township. Unanswered Question: Why is the only genus of daylight "broad"? News Value: 2. Talk about a language barrier -- I can't decide whether the real crime here is robbery or Jennings' arduous alliteration.
Courtesy Vehicles Can Injure!
Summary: Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy pre-flight! Station: WTAE Channel 4 Reporter: Michelle Wright When it Aired: Feb. 8 Running Time: 1 minute, 33 seconds Visuals: * The caption, "Airport Hazard." * Collisions "caught on tape," with the area of impact encircled in white. Highlights: * Wright's teaser: "Danger at the airport. Not in the sky. But in the terminal. Watch out, or this could happen to you!" * When she and fellow anchor Wendy Bell entice us again, with this preview, "When speed and convenience become dangerous. Yeah, see what airports are doing to reduce the collision rate inside the airport corridors." * More from Wright: "Women knocked to the ground! Kids hit from behind! Look at this! The airport convenience which sometimes becomes a hazard, next!" * When Wright continues to string us along, cautioning, "They are an airport hazard." Bell warns, "And they can strike long before you even get on the plane." * When Wright delivers the punch line of this story: "All these incidents happened in just one airport: Minneapolis-St. Paul." * When a woman hit by a car describes the experience, "It was scary. I thought a bomb had went off." * When Wright explicates that better driver training and new safety measures have reduced accidents at the Minneapolis airport from 71 in 2001 to six last year. What We Learned: Always wear a helmet, no matter where you're going or what you're doing. Unanswered Question: So how often are you at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport? News Value: 5 -- if you live in Minneapolis. If you're going to report this on local news, and especially tease it that way -- wouldn't it be appropriate and less deceptive to give us some information about Pittsburgh International? And hey, you could even compare its numbers to those of some major airports across the country!
It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Summary: There are some water-main breaks, and the rivers are freezing, and this is going to cost us a lot of money, but forget all that nonsense -- the "pothole patrol" is on the prowl, and looking for your input! Station: KDKA Channel 2 Reporter: John Shumway When it Aired: Feb. 9 Running Time: 3 minutes, 35 seconds Visuals: * Shumway sporting a Stetson. * Mammoth chunks of ice floating along the rivers where they converge at the Point. Highlights: * When anchor Ken Rice allows, "[Water-main breaks] are just one thing this deep freeze has dug up." * When Shumway predicts, "It'll be late spring before we really know the extent of what this winter has cost the city, the county and all the municipalities in between. But for right now, we are suffering big-time no matter where you live." * When Shumway reports, "Down West Mifflin Road, a Pittsburgh Public Works truck was feverishly salting down a fresh gushing of water ... and then, there is the water that flows through cracks in the pavement, only to freeze and pop out potholes." * When Public Works Director Guy Costa says, "We do have crews out there; we've had crews out the past couple days, um, pothole patching, and you know, once we get into the thaw phase, hopefully soon, um, you know, we'll start seeing some more potholes poppin' up." * When Rice concludes, "Pothole season may already be beginning. Maybe you've seen some giant potholes in your travels lately. If so, we wanta see 'em. Take a picture, and e-mail us. ... Give us the specific location ... and we'll make sure the appropriate people are notified to get that pothole fixed." What We Learned: The potholes are coming, and in Pittsburgh that means spring is right around the corner! Unanswered Question: Does the crater in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center count? News Value: 3. It was over for the Steelers a while ago, but now we can hold on to the dream that we will be the Pothole Capital of the World!
