1) Shameless network programming plugs. In a rather stunning display
of its allegiance to NBC, KXAN plugged Dateline‘s supposed O.J.
interview as its top news story on Wednesday, October 11. At least they had the
guts to display the telephone number for viewers to voice their complaints to
the higher-ups in New York City.
2) The KTBC Selena fixation. With O.J. done and gone, Channel 7 has
emerged as Austin’s most aggressive station in covering every possible detail
of the Selena murder trial. Last week’s highlights included extended interviews
with the father of the slain Tejano singer. As long as the court is in session,
ratings will remain high.
3) Monday Night Football. A recent promotional spot compared an
upcoming game to an oncoming hurricane. I’m sure there are lots of folks in the
southeast who could identify with the entertainment value of watching that one.
4) The ESPN-ization of local news. Speaking of football, the Texas/OU
weekend signals the return of sports stories masquerading as news stores on our
local television stations. I thought that was the reason ESPN had been
invented.
5) The on-again, off-again Samsung deal. They are not coming to
Austin, they are coming to Austin, they are not coming to Austin, they are
coming to Austin. Maybe the media shouldn’t report it until they really
know.
6) Anti-focus groups focus groups. The Statesman‘s latest
television ads feature the no-nonsense approach of new editor Richard Oppel. In
one spot, he reveals that he’s not too keen on making editorial decisions based
on the decisions of focus groups. Fair enough, but what about the input of
focus groups on their current marketing campaign?
This article appears in October 20 • 1995 and October 20 • 1995 (Cover).