Open Mike
By Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/22/2006 8:00:00 PM
Un-Bravo
Regarding the cover story on Bravo [“The In-Crowd,” Oct. 2, p. 16]: As an original member of Bravo’s 1981 marketing team, I term Bravo’s programming transformation as “From Bravo to Barfo.”
It is truly lamentable that NBC has been compelled to “trade up” from timeless, classic and beloved programming to trendy, trashy and disposable shows. Shame on NBC and shame on the entire TV industry for facilitating and embracing the undermining of American intelligence.
Jeffrey Grimshaw
American Ingenuity TV
Washington
Networks Aren’t Wal-Marts
B&C’s editorial “Take Risks” [Oct. 9, p. 50], concerning the complaints made against Big Media at the FCC’s public hearings in L.A., fails to mention the primary reason the FCC was holding public hearings in the first place: because broadcasters who have been granted a license to use the public’s airwaves, with no payment to the public, are required by law to operate in the public interest. Analogizing broadcasting to Wal-Mart while ignoring this critical fact is misleading and inapposite.
The editorial suggests that creatives blocked by the networks from access to the public airwaves should instead create for the Internet and YouTube. Many are doing just that. But the existence of the Internet does not in any way relieve broadcasters of their obligation to operate in the public interest. As David Rehr, president of the NAB, said the day after the FCC’s public hearings, “By any measure, broadcast remains the undisputed leader in news and entertainment—by far.”
Jonathan Rintels
Center for Creative Voices in Media
Washington
No Couric Fan
Frankly, I was always a Peter Jennings fan and couldn’t bear to watch ABC News without him, so I switched to CBS.
We loved Bob Schieffer. We loved the show. We thought the story selection, depth of coverage and reporters were superior.
To say we were shocked the first night of Couric’s broadcast would be an understatement. [The Robins Report, “Empty Promises,” Oct. 16, p. 6]. Couric is a terrible anchor. She has no life, no spark, she’s passive, she looks bored. She has the same facial expression and vocal range throughout the entire newscast, is terrible at transitioning between stories, and gives no punch to her reading. She also has virtually no give and take with reporters. In my humble opinion, her newscast is a train wreck.
We now watch NBC, and by the way, are in the “coveted” 25-50 demographic.
CBS blew it. It’s a shame.
Diane Watson
Scottsdale, Ariz.
There is nothing wrong with animal stories on the evening news [The Robins Report, Oct. 16]. Two in one week? There should one a night.
David Congalton
KVEC(AM) San Luis Obispo, Calif.
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