Ben Sherwood gets thumb in the eye from ABC News staffers

ABC News staffers really hate their new boss, Ben Sherwood. So much so that they edited a video of the speech he gave upon accepting the job of president of ABC News to advertise what an underwhelming talent he is. For example, they call him a liar and a failure. Gawker has the video here.

Whatever other faults he has, Sherwood definitely has a weak news background (unless you consider "Good Morning America" a strong news show). That fact alone explain why some news staffers are unhappy with his selection. Usually, when a mass media company brings in an interloper to run a news division it's because the higher ups want a fiddle around with staffing (i.e., lay people off or hire flashy but substance-less talent) and experiment with programming without having a respected news veteran stand in their way.

The revolution will be covered in ivy

Andrew Heyward, former president of CBS News, commented on the resignation of David Westin as head of ABC News:

The thing to watch is who ABC appoints as Mr. Westin’s successor, Mr. Heyward said. (No names have yet emerged as serious contenders). Someone with formal corporate training, like a person from ABC’s stations division, would most likely forecast a decision to manage costs in the short term, he said. Someone with a digital background, like a former Google executive, could signal a radical and more long-term approach.

 The choice ahead will require an extremely diverse pool of applicants, as Mr. Heyward pointed out:

“I think you’ll either see someone from Harvard Business School or a Harvard dropout.”

(via Romenesko)

The anchorless newscast and other imagineering

Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels has a vision for his bankrupt newspaper and television empire, and it looks a lot like the empires of MediaNews Group and Gannett - meaning a constant focus on findings ways to cut staff (centralizing and shrinking copy and news desks, sharing stories to fill pages or on-air time) and a nearly erotic attachment to the idea of consolidation.

Here are some key quotes from an interview Michaels did with the Wall Street Journal:

"Stories [are] laid out in modules — standard sizes with collections of headlines, content, images [reducing the need for layout and copy editors]. If you pick up the Allentown [Pa.] Morning Call, the foreign news was written in Los Angeles and the national news was written in either Chicago or Washington. It's probably higher quality journalism than a local paper that size is going to be able to afford."

"We are about to launch a TV newscast in Houston that has no anchors, that has great pictures and great writing, but doesn't involve a set or a desk or anyone standing in the way of the picture. Now is it going to work? We're going to find out."


"On the TV side, this is an industry ready to consolidate. I believe my experience in helping people look rationally at opportunities to grow their business by intelligently consolidating regionally will be very helpful."

Ailes to Fox staff: Don't talk about Fox

After the Washington Post reported on a rift within the Fox News staff over the rise of host Glenn Beck, Fox News chairman Roger Ailes told his employees to shut up about family matters. Or, as Mediabistro quoted him saying:

"I was brought up to defend the family. If I couldn't defend the family I'd leave. I'd go to another family."

In other words, family values means sharing opinions about your political rivals, even in newscasts. Sharing opinions about the way in which these opinions shape Fox News and its overall coverage is anti-family.

News on the lack of news

On Tuesday's "Which Way, LA?," host Warren Olney talks with Martin Kaplan, head of USC's Norman Lear Center, and Stacy Woelfel, chairman of the Radio, Television and Digital New Association, about last week's "Local TV News in the Los Angeles Media Market" report, which found very little news, local or otherwise, on local television news broadcasts. Here's a link to the segment, which begins about the :28 minute mark.

(Coincidentally, LA Times media critic James Rainey weighs in on the report here.)

Four in the morning

1. The Daily News looks at dismal results of a recent USC study of local television news and asks backers what they plan to do about it. DN

2. After someone leaked his 119 words and phrases that should be banned from radio, a cranky Tribune CEO Randy Michaels met with staff to show them his thin skin. Vocalo

3. The annual "State of the Media" report is out from the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism. Every media sector is losing money except for cable news. Pew

4. Fox News host Glenn Beck cries even during rehearsals. Howard Kurtz

Spare news

Local television news has been in decline for some time, but recently announced cutbacks at ABC and CBS news divisions shows an industry in decline. And, as with newspapers, industry leaders are telling themselves the same lies about how less is more. From the Wall Street Journal:

ABC has been experimenting with smaller newsgathering teams in far-flung locations. On late-night show "Nightline," staff sometimes shoot and edit their own material, a practice [ABC News president David] Westin cited in announcing his cuts.

"Maintaining the quality, or enhancing the quality, but for much less money—I think that is a very viable business model," Mr. Westin said.

NBC News also makes use of several "backpack" reporters. But NBC has no immediate plans to change its mix of traditional- and digital-reporting techniques, Mr. Capus said: "You have to pick your spots."