No South Dakota newscast could be that stupid… could they?
Did I really see a promo tonight on KSFY’s news at ten promoting a new feature beginning tomorrow, where they’ll be spinning a roulette wheel to determine which “most wanted” criminal they’ll profile that evening?
I thought I’d seen it all, but now KSFY is intoducing “Wheel of Felons” for our amusement and entertainment.
No South Dakota newscast could be that stupid… could they?
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Comments
Shhhhh……..
Watch what you say on here.
This is a free market-oriented blog (ethanol industry and farm subsidies excepted.
And free markets are what killed journalism.
Profit motive leads to seeking ever-larger audiences.
Seeking ever-larger audiences means dumbing-down the product.
One could say the KSFY “Wheel of Most Wanted” is the nadir of TV News.
Don’t bet on it.
Ever see “Network”? There are still some tricks up station and network owners’ sleeves.
I also greatly enjoyed the “a fire in your house can kill you” story KSFY’s Brian Allen did earlier this week. He was crawling on the floor of the SDFD’s fire safety house through the faux smoke. Classy.
Way back when I was a young pup in the TV biz, I interviewed CBS legend Charles Kurault. He said that just because you were doing a story on tricycles doesn’t mean you have to ride one. Such a quaint notion today, where the reporter IS the story.
Glad to see my friend THC is “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!” 
Todd Epp
Recovering TV Journalist
SD Watch http://www.southdakotawatch.net
Journalistic tactics aside, I think you folks are missing the point. Although the roulette wheel seems cheesy, if it helps in catching a criminal why not? Actually, I think it’s rather smart to bring the news down to the level of intelligence of the audience, catch their attention in a funny kind of way in the hopes of solving cases.
I’m sure they’ve done research to show that simply reading the news can cause some of their viewers to get hazy eyes and ignore it. Give it a chance. Hopefully, with lots of effort, some of you folks could be a guest star on that wheel.
Again, it goes to the intelligence of the readers/viewers. There’s a reason why local papers are written in 6th grade english (a quote from Al Newharth (sp.)).
I thought Republicans like stupid. They gave us Bush, Palin, Pressler. Any news station in Republican Land that appeals to dumb people is assured of continued success.
Anon 11:58.
And what did the demos give us? The View, Good morning America, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Reality TV shows, ANY show on MTV, and Beavis and Butthead….
Must be fun not to have to think.
Like Todd Epp, I used to work in a newsroom. I was constantly being told to do “stand-ups” where you were in the story, so people could SEE you, be a part of it somehow. They wanted people to know us by our faces instead of just by how well (or poorly) we reported the news. They WANT you to do the Brian Allen thing, no matter how hokey it is. Wheel of Justice? Do you hear a clicking sound as I change the channel? Great idea – catching criminals – terrible format.
Unfortunately, KSFY has been playing that game for a few weeks now.