Birds of a Feather
Summary: The Pens have a brand-new, fluffy fan in town! Reporter: Darieth Chisolm, Channel 11 News on Fox 53 Airtime: 33 seconds on April 16 Visuals: * The caption, "Pittsburgh Penguins Receive Feathered Fan." * A curious-looking little penguin. Highlights: * When Chisolm declares, "The Pittsburgh Penguins have a new feathered fan. Meet Sidney, the African penguin. He will be cheering on the other Sidney and his team in their quest for the Stanley Cup." * Chisolm: "He was born February 21 at the Erie Zoo but he now calls the National Aviary in Pittsburgh his home." * When Erin Estell from the National Aviary says, "[H]e's just a little over eight weeks old. And, um, he lived with his parents the first couple weeks." What We Learned: At least Sidney knew when it was time to leave the damn nest. Unanswered Question: Which is a bigger disruption of the natural order -- moving penguins to Pittsburgh, or playing hockey in May? News Value: 2. I can't decide which Sidney is cuter.
Dismissed!
Summary: Wrongly issued speeding tickets are reversed. Reporter: Ari Hait, WTAE Channel 4 Airtime: 1 minute, 37 seconds on April 17 Visuals: * Close-up of a citation summons. * Hait, standing outside traffic court. Highlights: * When Hait reports, "It's only been a couple of days since police announced they would have to dismiss more than 600 speeding tickets because they had used an improper radar system. Well, today, the first handful of people who got those tickets found out their cases have officially been dismissed." * When a McKees Rocks man laughs, with an air of relief, "I jumped up and kicked my heels. Because it was a $150 ticket, actually." * When Hait follows up, "But the problem is, it was a ticket handed out illegally. This is one of those citations. The city was using a system called LIDAR -- that stands for Light Detection and Ranging -- and only state police are allowed to use it. The city's police chief earlier this week said his officers used it only because of a, quote, 'miscommunication.'" * When police chief Nate Harper says, "Officers were illegal -- you know -- illegally utilizing equipment. It wasn't authorized." What We Learned: Now Chief Harper knows what happens when you use illegal equipment. Unanswered Question: Exactly what "miscommunication"? News Value: 4. Hait reports it took about 30 seconds for each ticket to be dismissed. Now that's swift justice.
