Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Area TV stations offered in-person coverage of Rowan Ford murder case hearing

It appears the Joplin Globe was the only major traditional media outlet that did not provide in-person coverage of the hearing in the Rowan Ford murder case Tuesday.
I have already written about the presence of KSN's Stephanie Diffen, who offered a solid piece on the hearing, which apparently was placed on the website one day after it aired. (Yesterday, the only video on the website was Toni Valliere's read-through during the noon news.)

When I checked the KOAM website, I found no video of the hearing coverage, but I received an e-mail today letting me know that reporter Jennifer Denman covered the hearing and the video was on the site, but was cycled through quickly.

The Globe also offered its own form of coverage. It wasn't a big enough event to cover in person, but a story bylined "From Staff Reports" was featured in the newspaper and on the website.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Turner, lay off the Globe. It's easy for TV to be there for canned events like an arraignment, while the Globe reporters (operating with about half the staff they need to effectively cover their area) are out doing serious enterprise reporting for TV to rehash at 5, 6, and 10 (see: Ostmeyer, Andy, Redden, Susan; Spellman, Derek; Kennedy, Wally; or Woodin, Debby.) Call me when TV breaks a major investigative story.

Anonymous said...

Hey Turner, lay off the Globe. It's easy for TV to be there for a canned event like an arraignment (which typically takes less than 10 minutes, and even in a major case like Rowan's, wouldn't last an hour for both) while the Globe beat reporters are out breaking major enterprise stories, which TV rehashes as 5,6, and 10. Call me when any of the local stations actually breaks a major investigative story.

Anonymous said...

KODE's Brian Richardson provided "in-person" coverage as well. His story did include an interview with Rowan's mother, much like Jennifer and Stephanie's stories.

Anonymous said...

So if a tree falls in the woods, does anyone hear it? I don't understand your point, Randy. You seem to be praising the tv media for being thee in person, even though the coverage was "cycled through quickly." Someone without a bias against the Globe might say it's better to have the coverage available on the web site longer than it is to have covered it in person but not have it on the web site, right? You really wear your heart on your sleeve, and sometimes it impacts your logic. Don't let that rub off on your students.

Randy said...

I do believe the Globe should have had someone at the hearing, but your comments about the television stations and how I stand on their coverage do not hold up. I did not get to see the newscasts that night, so I had to go by what was on the websites. When I received information that said KOAM had been there, also, I corrected the record. I also had a comment that indicated KODE had a reporter at the scene (I had wrongly believed KODE had used KSNF's footage.) There is no hidden agenda, though, as always, you can believe whatever you want.