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November 18, 2004
Destroying Journalistic Integrity
I've included two pictures below...to give a small example of what passes as news with this woman and this station. Clearly meant to bring in viewers interested in T&A, this proves there was no journalistic merit to the story, and it wasn't about art whatsoever...
Again, I have to mention this clueless boob (reporter- so she claims), Sharon Reed. Trash TV clearly sells, as viewers came in to see the newscast in record numbers when she stripped off her clothes for a story. As I mentioned earlier, reporters aren't supposed to become the story, so there's strike 1. News can't be taken seriously when it uses stunts like this to pull in viewers during sweeps (I just now read that this story was filmed in June...the only reason they aired it in now, 5 months later, is for ratings for sweeps)- a tactless ploy like this on the news is strike 2 for Reed and her station. Reed tried to claim this was a piece about art, but if that were the case, they would have ran it in June not November...and they wouldn't hype it during every single newscast, and do story after story after story on it. It's about her taking her panties off, plain and simple...and she no longer has one ounce of respect or credibility as a journalist (Reed was involved in a scandal in Philadelphia, and questioned by police about nasty remarks posted on the net about another anchor she worked with- she was fired after this incident from what I've found out)...strike 3.
This stunt also means other women in the news will be forced to do similar things, because bosses will be demanding ratings get a boost. Don't fool yourself into thinking some naive young female anchor won't feel forced into doing the same sort of thing thanks to the tactless Reed, because she will, and others will feel the same pressure across the country.
This wasn't about news...it wasn't about art, it was about Reed's constantly controversial behavior. She was fired once and had to go from Philly to Cleveland...let's hope she gets canned again and this time she's forced to do the news on some tiny UHF station in some miniscule town in the middle of nowhere.
Reaction on the story:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2004-11-17-nude-news_x.htm
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/television/10212138.htm?1c
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10209169.htm?1c
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/110077411887260.xml
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/gossip/10201613.htm
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/10192773.htm
Posted by Josh at November 18, 2004 05:21 AM