Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Local News at its Finest

My friend Rudy sent me this video a while back. It came back into my life recently, and I thought is worth sharing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5C2gihnEkE&feature=player_embedded

Note: This is a legit news report. If you can't watch it, it's a video of a reporter covering a news story about how a bear had been spotted around the area.

Most reporters would go to the scenes where the bear had been seen and report from there. They would probably interview witnesses as well. But my hat goes off to WJW Fox 8 Reporter Todd Meany. He wanted to give the viewers the real experience. So he got a cardboard cut out of a bear and placed in the camera shot. "This is what the bear probably looked like...only real..."

But that wasn't enough. Oh, no. To illustrate the bear escaping, he crouched behind the cardboard bear and made it hop across the woods to show what it would have looked like running away. Classic. He also recreates the bear climbing up a tree. And perhaps the best part of the whole report - in order to assure pet owners that their beloved pets will be safe, he films a 2-second close up of a man in a rabbit costume saying he's not scared because he's faster than a bear.

You know, you just can't teach this level of commitment and dedication to journalism, nay, to America. Anyone can stand on a highway and say "some joggers spotted a bear here." But what is the point? There's no difference between that and a RADIO report. Instead, Todd took full advantage of his medium. To SHOW, really show the viewers what the bear would have looked like running away, he did the next best thing to chasing an actual bear.

I must say I was enriched by the report. While others may mock Mr. Meany for his tactics, I admire him for his commitment. When I think of reporters going the extra mile, I think of weathermen reporting in 90 mph winds, war correspondents in the middle east. And now...I will also think of Todd Meany. Crouching behind that cardboard bear. Prancing it into the woods. Sir, I salute you.

No comments:

Post a Comment