London's Watergate

Snark · #1 Posted: **Jan 7, 2012, 4:16 PM**

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2.../19211866.html

This is perhaps a new low for a publication that has been in free fall journalistically for many a year now. A bus driver photographed eating lunch on the job.

641 words dedicated to not only a non-story, but then an attempt by the paper to spin it into some sort of scandal.

I know how this works, I've been part of the process: a "journalist" sees something, reads something, or has something sent to him by happenstance. They weren't "investigating" the matter. The "journalist" thinks "hmmm... I've got XXX number of words to fill in tomorrow's, or the next day's edition. The "journalist" then calls up a bunch of people on the phone or by email that he thinks sound relevant to the matter and solicits opinions. 45 minutes later: voila - a story is born.

Everyone should just remember this when reading stories from the media, especially local media (and not just from the Freep). Great stories are not usually that great. Bad stories are not usually that bad. Outrageous stories are not usually that outrageous.

manny_santos · #2 Posted: **Jan 7, 2012, 5:45 PM**

I agree with your thoughts. There are a lot of drivers in this city and everywhere else who eat while driving; this one just happens to be driving a transit vehicle.

I have also been involved in the news media, at the student level. Usually we worked on more stories than would fit in the next day's paper, just in case one or two stories couldn't be completed for some reason. If there was a serious gap that needed to be filled, such as on a slow news day, we turned to other publications and tried to put a local spin on the story. We had a policy of not printing articles from the Canadian Press or other publications, but a paper like the Free Press can easily put in a story from another Sun Media paper if they truly can't find a good local story. In some cases they can put a local spin on that story, especially if it's related to provincial or federal politics.

Underground100 · #3 Posted: **Jan 7, 2012, 11:56 PM**

I just went to the comments section of the article and found this guy's blog; this is his archive of complaints:

http://dougbale.blogspot.com/

And I can't believe this is actually some big story. Oh LFP

ForestryW · #4 Posted: **Jan 8, 2012, 12:14 AM**

This one is my new favourite:

Giant boot stolen
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2.../19209511.html

manny_santos · #5 Posted: **Jan 8, 2012, 12:41 AM**

^^ Sounds like the police blotter in Dog River, Saskatchewan.

In other news, an elderly man with white hair was seen stealing a napkin from The Ruby. Some locals refer to him as Oscar.

Wharn · #6 Posted: **Jan 8, 2012, 6:45 AM**

Why does anyone bother reading the LFP? It's nothing more than a simple-minded tabloid that makes absolutely no effort to make any relevant commentary on any relevant issue. If you're a Liberal, grab the Globe. Conservative, take a copy of the Post.

Blitz · #7 Posted: **Jan 8, 2012, 6:21 PM**

^ Good luck finding any local news stories in those papers. Many people don't read newspapers for the politics, they read them for local news.

Wharn · #8 Posted: **Jan 8, 2012, 11:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blitz

Many people don't read newspapers for the politics, they read them for local news.

Hardly anything noteworthy ever happens here, and when something does it's covered by the national papers (Electro-Motive is all over the NP and Globe). Half the Free Press stories are crap like "Crowbar used in Robbery" or "Kitten stuck in tree ties up Fire Department".

MolsonExport · #9 Posted: **Jan 9, 2012, 3:09 AM**

Saw the article in question. Drivers should not be eating/texting/calling/etc. while their vehicle is in motion. But 641 words? Front page? Damn, either the news is really slow or the reporters are.

Blitz · #10 Posted: **Jan 10, 2012, 10:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wharn

Hardly anything noteworthy ever happens here, and when something does it's covered by the national papers (Electro-Motive is all over the NP and Globe). Half the Free Press stories are crap like "Crowbar used in Robbery" or "Kitten stuck in tree ties up Fire Department".

Electro-Motive may be noteworthy but it's not particularly relevant to most people. Many would rather read about a robbery especially if it occurred in their neighbourhood.

Snark · #11 Posted: **Mar 17, 2013, 6:16 PM**

With the front page of the Free Press this weekend, I believe that this once well regarded publication has completed its descent to the level of the bottom feeders:

Not a stitch of an actual article, screamer headlines, rampant sensationalism, and "stories" that are either about sports or something scandalous - in this case a scandal that didn't even actually occur.

They are now exactly like their parent publication: the Toronto Sun. The Freep is now totally absorbed into Fox News North.

London desperately needs a new, reputable news source.

manny_santos · #12 Posted: **Mar 17, 2013, 7:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snark

With the front page of the Free Press this weekend, I believe that this once well regarded publication has completed its descent to the level of the bottom feeders:

Not a stitch of an actual article, screamer headlines, rampant sensationalism, and "stories" that are either about sports or something scandalous - in this case a scandal that didn't even actually occur.

They are now exactly like their parent publication: the Toronto Sun. The Freep is now totally absorbed into Fox News North.

London desperately needs a new, reputable news source.

Red Alert? What is this, a battle in Star Trek?

I think this kind of sensationalism reporting can lead to more problems, because certain types of people want to be on the news. Just look at the Stanley Cup riots in Vancouver.

I don't think we're ever going to see another daily print publication in London, but there's room for expansion on radio and television, both of which can establish robust online presence. The most critical piece of the puzzle London is missing is a real CBC Radio station, and CBC television station. A morning radio show based mostly in Toronto with a reporter in London doesn't count. They need to set up full-fledged radio and TV stations, like what is in Windsor, with a full online presence. Now that K-W has its own radio station with website and local morning program, London is the largest city in Canada without any local permanent CBC presence. Kamloops, Inuvik, Corner Brook, Sydney, and Thunder Bay all have better CBC presence than London.

We do have AM 980 and CJBK, but both are on the AM dial, which reaches fewer and fewer people in the 18-49 demographic than ever before (and their BBM ratings show it). AM 980 has at least some online presence, but CJBK has very little. And of course we have CTV London, which is trying to grow its online presence but doesn't seem to get a fraction of the traffic that the Free Press gets (based on volume of comments on news stories), and on television they've lost a lot of relevance to Londoners' daily lives in recent years with cutbacks. The Free Press seems to be the only media outlet with a strong omnipresence in Londoners' daily lives today, and for a metro area of almost 500,000, that's quite sad.

That said, the pending acquisition of CJBK by Bell Media which would put it in co-ownership with CTV London might change some things.