Loyal reader Cameron sent this missive last night. It’s quite entertaining. Cameron has sent notes before, and once he gets rolling, there’s no stopping him. So let’s hear what he has to say:
Ash:
I almost exploded this evening……and ACTED ON MY FRUSTRATION….and it felt DARN GOOD.
After three consecutive botched stories on the News 13 11 O’clock’ news’….I called WLOS…at 11:10PM….and let someone in the ‘News Department’ have it. (I was relatively polite…but my 3 minutes….were intense.)
(I have been biting my lip for years……sound familiar?)
WLOS’ GEMS:
#1
Holly Headrick….fresh from a news conference in Sylva….with 5 different law enforcement agencies…..mentioned that a ‘propane tank’ exploded ……with no mention of the size. (The Sporting Goods Department was the site…..so it might have been a ‘Coleman’ tank for a camp stove…..about the size of a coffee thermos….BUT WLOS DID NOT SAY WHAT SIZE IT WAS). And…as you so often and ably report…..the News Department at WLOS is and has been short a competent News Director for as long as most of us can remember.
#2
As a resident of Mitchell County…their report about Governor Easley’s DISASTER DECLARATION for Spruce Pine really irked me. Larry Blunt reported that “50 businesses” were destroyed in two shopping areas.” Locals call them ‘Upper & Lower’ Streets…..and there are @ 50 businesses on the two streets. l0 businesses were directly effected by the fires 7 weeks ago…and 8 of the 10 have re-opened.
News 13 and, to some extent, The Asheville Citizen-Times, have left the impression that SPNC’s downtown is IN RUINS….which would be news to Blue Ridge Properties, Blue Moon Books, The Mitchell News-Journal, Dellinger’s Hallmark, Wildflowers Herbal Remedies, The Toe River Arts Council (TRAC) Gallery, Peoples Furniture, Wachovia, The Carolina Theater…….. etc. etc. etc.(Absolutely ABYSMAL news coverage….which directly effects the livelihoods of dozens of LOCAL businesses!)
#3
I wax far too poetic….and I am taking too much of your time….but I added a comment about News 13’s next story…about the 11,000 square foot home in North Ashvegas that burned last week. (You know …..the single-wide with the MOVIE THEATRE ON THE THIRD FLOOR.) The interviews with the owners were ‘heart rending’ as they mentioned what a shame it happened to so ‘dear and sweet’ a home..or something of that nature. (And some people…in far away lands…like Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and….perhaps 99% of ALL 300,000 of WLOS’ viewing area…might not have had the money to spend 4 years renovating THEIR MANSIONS.
I did mention the station’s two highly incompetent meteorologists….and then said ‘damn’…..so might have been a wee bit exercised by the end of my comments…..but my message did get through…to the news room…..and I will sleep better knowing…I SPOKE OUT AGAINST INCOMPETENCE.
I felt positively ‘Ashvegan’!
Thank you for reading my words…and KEEP UP YOUR FIGHT FOR MEDIA ACCURACY & THE TRUTH! (What a concept!)
-Cameron
4 Comments
Way to go Cameron…more power to you!!!
Walmart still hasn’t said what kind or size of propane tank it was, so how the hell were they supposed to know? The citizen times doesn’t know, mountain express doesn’t know, no one knows? Should they have made something up to satisfy your bizarrely picky standards?? LOL.
As for the Mansion story, should they only cover it when poor people’s homes burn? What are you hoping for? WLOS GHANDI 13? News is news. Sometimes bad things happen to rich people. Should we laugh and point? What are you, a child?
So basically, none of the stories were wrong, they just didn’t appeal to you.
To Cameron:
Good for you for letting WLOS have it, but y’know, chances are the person who answered the phone was just some lowly intern who was stuck at the assignment desk answering phones for 8 hours straight. If that was the case, they probably just jotted down maybe 1/3 of what you said and then told a producer or someone that some nutcase just called and went back to being bored out of their skull. I know, because that’s what I did when I interned there 🙂
However, there is also the chance that whoever it was actually did listen to your complaints and pass them on to the right people. It’s a very slim chance at WLOS, but a chance nonetheless.
This guy’s great. I think he need to be featured here more regularly!