• Registered: 2005-03-07

Topic: New coverage of UFOs

I recently made a big move and, not finding other work immediately, I got a job as a cameraman at a news station (with the help a friend who works there). 

I've always disliked mainstream news, but I thought "What the hell...It'll at least give me an opportunity to see the inner workings of the bullshit...")

And it has.  I don't have any whistleblowing kind of information, but rather anecdotal noticings. 

For instance, whenever our station covers a UFO sighting, the pattern is always the same.  They usually give the story to our "funny" reporter, who is known for his cynical, tongue-in-cheek "sense of humor."  He always delivers the lead-in or lead-out with a joking air.  They seem to always include a statement like, "Perhaps we'll never know..."  And then, when the reporter tosses back to the anchors, the anchors always make a moment.  Ordinarily, the news has to run quickly, and the director discourages "making moments" but when we do UFO stories such moments are never an intrusion. 

The typical dialogue between the anchors is something like: "Well, what do you think?" ... "I think someone's got a vivid imagination."  And, this is strange, but they place these stories behind another story that includes another reporter or the weatherman, and, tossing to them, they ask them what they think.  And that reporter/weatherman also always makes a joke of it, too.  The weatherman might say, "It was a weather balloon!" or "I think somebody did a little something in college..."

Also, whenever we do these stories, everyone in the studio (backstage) is in the same jocular frame of mind.  Somebody will get on the headset and say "Do-do-do-do" a la "Twilight Zone."  The director, who rarely, rarely asks for musical underscoring will ask audio to "play something like 'X-Files'" as the UFO story wraps up.

And my friend, who got me the job (who works in graphics) always inserts--as a joke--a tiny image of the Star Trek Enterprise in the graphic, or the spaceships from "Close Encounters."  And this always makes everyone laugh, too.  He'll put it in the graphic and then when the story comes up he'll get on headset and ask everybody, "Notice anything?"     

But what's most bizarre to me, is that this cynical, disbelieving, making-a-joke-of-it energy is there while the content of the UFO story might be actually pretty convincing.  Or, at least, the reporting suggests that there is no easy answer. 

This energy just seems to descend and affects everyone but me...  smile

-Dreamosis

You can't change a tiger's stripes,
but you can avoid its teeth.
  • From: zerone
  • Registered: 2004-08-16

Re: New coverage of UFOs

oh my, i bet youre gonna have alot of 'fun' with that job!

he should insert a picture of the Mars Attacks! aliens, that would be tres hilarious.

hey, does your weatherman always try to throw in his own joke about the last story? even if it was before the commercial break? hahahha

have fun, and maybe u should get one of those voice recorder thingies, you never know when you'll hear something 'important' !!

z

"...i was taken by the hand, from the ocean to the sand..."
nitin sawhney - 'eastern eyes'

zonabi's Website

  • Registered: 2005-03-07

Re: New coverage of UFOs

The weathermen always chime in when they can--and their jokes are always lame.  And yet, the anchors laugh at.

...I never thought of tape-recording people at channel 4--I bet that would be interesting.  I think they might occasionally record headset chatter, for training purposes.  I know the big boss listens in on us from time to time. 

I don't know what it's like at other places, but the headset chatter at our news story is pretty vulgar.  People are constantly making bad jokes about others' suffering.  I have a co-worker, who I am more certain than not is an OP.  He brings political right-wing books to work with titles like, "Seeing in Black and White Again: How Liberals Are Ruining Our Homeland."  And he seems to enjoy engaging as many people as he can in verbal combat.  One day he actually defended the abuse at the Iraqi Abu-Grab prison, saying "we should pump in Metallica and force them to watch gay porno until they start talking..."

I'd like to record him just so this forum could laugh at his ludicrousness.

Hehe...

You can't change a tiger's stripes,
but you can avoid its teeth.
  • Haven
  • Haven
  • bull in a china shop
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2004-11-24

Re: New coverage of UFOs

I think that they make such a joke out of it is so that they can cover the news without discrediting themselves.  Remember, careers are on stake when they pursue these stories and types of interest.

* When we start identifying wisdom with our ability to comprehend its form, what wisdom is that?
* Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
* People want platitudes, not progress.

5 Reply by lyra (edited by lyra 2005-03-17 20:00:17)

  • lyra
  • lyra
  • Naked Emperor Pointer Outer
  • Offline
  • From: my own private idaho
  • Registered: 2004-03-25

Re: New coverage of UFOs

Hi dreamosis.....I don't know how you do it.   I can't even tolerate hearing the news on a TV when I encounter it out in public, let alone actually work for the news!     Everything about it bugs me to no end.  You very accurately described the tactics I've seen in the "news" as well, and brought it all back for this non-TV watcher who doesn't own a TV.   Good luck with this job.   It will be interesting to see the inner workings though, that's for sure.....

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit ... what a ride!"  - Anonymous
-----
"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
-----

lyra's Website

  • Registered: 2005-03-07

Re: New coverage of UFOs

Yes, Haven, I do think they act as they do partly because the reporters and anchors are thinking of their careers.  I am fond of a few of the reporters/anchors at work, and find them intelligent; however, from my perspective (though I am new to the news business) the process of news-reporting is very controlled.  And if the process is not controlled, it is at least unquestioned.

For instance, I work for an ABC affiliate, and I would say 95% of our nation news coverage is received directly from ABC-national.  Our local station doesn't have--or I presume doesn't have--the money, or the time, to cover national stories themselves, so we literally download the national stories off of the internet.  There's an electronic news wire called Pathfire.  The editors download packages and simply shorten them, strip the audio and let our local anchors read voiceover over the video.  So, if you think about it...there are four major American networks and four national stations...so, the affiliates around the country are simply regurgitating four different opinions on any issue.  And, if the national stations are run anything like my local affiliate, that means that there are no more than a dozen people at each network framing the perspective on every issue. 

But I don't take it too seriously. smile  Every now and then I have a good laugh about how robotically my news station defends MCS beliefs and stances--and how predictable our anchors' words will be in response to anything.  (Another for-instance) Whenever we report on violence done by somebody who worked for the government, be it army or city or state government, we always characterize them as a loner or lone wolf, a "bad seed" or as having a history of mental problems.  I swear it's the same wording, or a variation of the same wording, everytime.

And lyra, I plan to quit eventually.  I too want to lose my TV--(alas, my wife loves her sitcoms).  I swear the best few months of my life were when my wife went on-tour with a theatre company and I unplugged the TV and turned it around.  I read, I listened to music--I loved it...

You can't change a tiger's stripes,
but you can avoid its teeth.