Opinion: MSNBC; the 24 hour leader in Ostrich news…
I’ve been stewing over this (link via TVNewser) since I saw it on ReplayTV this evening when I got home (no streaming video capability at work). It’s so ridiculous but at the same time it’s really sad. This never should have seen air. The fact that as far as I know MSNBC never came back to the story and we never did see the Ostrich is telling. What’s perplexing is that MSNBC.com put the video up. I would have thought they’d want to bury it as quickly as possible.
Watching poor Chris Jansing being forced to ad lib through this (at one point blurting out “I went to College…I just want everyone to know that…”) made me wince. I felt badly for her. Jay Barbree nailed it when he said he didn’t know if that was breaking news (Jansing agreed she didn’t know either) and joked that he had a bicycle crash and wanted to know if they wanted to cover that. I hope Dan Abrams was watching this and realizes that yes indeed there are limits to what constitutes breaking news. Time for remedial training of your producer corps methinks.
Shameful
Comment by The Voice of Reason — September 21, 2006 @ 12:16 am
Not only did they put the video up, but it was linked from the front page under “NBC News Highlights” with the title “Ostrich causes chaos at MSNBC TV.” If that’s a highlight, they’re in a little trouble.
They likely put it up on their own to beat people putting it up on YouTube. Or maybe the net division (if they alone decide) is trying to send a message.
Comment by Coreyback — September 21, 2006 @ 1:03 am
This trivia, along with MSNBS’s faulty judgment, is one of the worst booboos ever. So much for gravitas.
Comment by RGL — September 21, 2006 @ 6:14 am
That is the most ridiculous thing I have seen in a long time. It was almost as funny as Kyra’s potty talk.
Comment by jerziegrl — September 21, 2006 @ 8:10 am
Really, the worst part was that the ostritch made no appearance at all (as Spud mentioned). A bird story was trivial to begin with, but to have the “guest of honor” be a “no show” was just the worst. Poor Chris.
Comment by Missy — September 21, 2006 @ 9:56 am
along with MSNBS’s faulty judgment, is one of the worst booboos ever
It’s right up there with FNC spending forever watching a dog stuck on an ice flow several years ago…
Comment by Spud — September 21, 2006 @ 10:08 am
Awww Spud, but that dog was near my father’s house. ;)
You’re right, of course… but at least FNC showed us the dog.
Comment by OverHere — September 21, 2006 @ 10:10 am
I remember that dog rescue. It was riveting!
But I also remember Joe Scarborough (at MSNBC) having the dog on his show later that evening! It really was a big deal at the time.
Comment by Missy — September 21, 2006 @ 10:24 am
I love Fox’s animal stories as do most animal lovers and this was not billed as “breaking news”. I, for one, WAS rivited but then again, I relate to dogs, not no-show ostriches. There is no comparison between these two stories.
Comment by sophia — September 21, 2006 @ 10:30 am
A dog stuck on an iceflow is a big deal? I have two letters to give you in response to that…B and S…
And there is entirely a direct comparison between the two stories.
1. Both were local stories only.
2. Neither should have aired on a national cable newscast.
3. Both were pandering to sensationalism at the expense of real news.
Cable news has not yet learned to come to grips with the technology at its fingertipes. Just because you can broadcast a story live doesn’t mean that it is a story you should broadcast live. How many local structure fires (houses, apartments, etc) have aired? How many car chases have aired? You don’t see this stuff on your nightly network newscasts most of the time and there’s a reason for that. It’s because it’s not newsworthy of a national newscast. Now if the cable nets could just figure that out…
Comment by Spud — September 21, 2006 @ 10:56 am
I thought it was so pathetic and sad that it was hilarious, especially when Chris and Jay started laughing.
Comment by Brent — September 21, 2006 @ 11:36 am
I’ve seen plenty of “horse” rescues on all the networks too.
Comment by Terance — September 21, 2006 @ 12:12 pm
On FNC, Shep has a segment called “Shot of the Day.” Could this have been better viewed there? Or as a closer to a news show?
Comment by erljr — September 21, 2006 @ 12:21 pm
Wow, I think everyone has just about covered how embarresing and pathetic this was. Chris Jansing handled it well though and hopefully she stopped by Abrams office to complain. Top notch work MSNBC, really. Did they tout how they were first to break the story?
Comment by Buck — September 21, 2006 @ 12:50 pm
Spud, you’re offending animal lovers everywhere!
Everything you say is true. But there’s nothing better than to see an animal delivered from peril!
Comment by Missy — September 21, 2006 @ 1:17 pm
I was in the chopper. It was an emu, not an ostrich. The emu was returned to its owner.
Comment by mike hanson — September 21, 2006 @ 8:38 pm