Sitting Down with a Local Legend

I am putting off my theater and journalism theme yet again to write about something else I’ve been putting off. (No, not my taxes; I finally did those this past weekend.) Over spring break, I interviewed Local12’s Bob Herzog for an assignment in my interviewing class. However, due to the off-week, the blog audit and the extra credit post for the SPJ panel, I never got around to talking about this interview.

Herzog is Local12’s weekday morning traffic reporter and weekend anchor. (He was also once featured on Anderson Cooper's show for his "Dance Party Fridays.") He calls himself odd because he does not have a hardcore journalism background nor did he ever have to leave Cincinnati to find a job. Yet, here he is, working in news in the Queen City.

Through this interview, I learned many things about the news industry that I wanted to share with all of you:

1) News people are more approachable than you think. Before the interview, I got to sit in on the Saturday morning newscast. I was surprised by how friendly and unstressed everyone seemed. There was plenty of banter on commercial breaks and lots of laughter. I always assumed news people were busy, stressed and often Debbie Downers because the news is serious and often unhappy. But, literally, everyone was kind to me, and Herzog was very excited and willing to talk about his career and the industry.

2) You never know where your life is going to take you. Herzog started out pre-med at Xavier, but he realized in his organic chemistry class that he’d much rather be up and talking and telling stories, which translated into his Electronic Media degree. His college internship at one radio station turned into a news director position right out of college at its sister station. While at channel 64 as the weekend movie host, he made connections that eventually led to his “foot in the door” at 12. Moral of the story: figure out what you like and meet as many people as you can.

3) Make your market your home. Herzog said it probably helped that he grew up in the Westside because viewers could see him and recognize him as someone who was familiar with the Cincinnati neighborhoods and why some things were important to certain areas. So, get to know your viewers. Make connections. Find out what’s significant in each area and “earn the trust of the people who are watching you.”

4) Take advantage of your time in school while you can. Herzog said to really dig deep into your journalism courses. Understand the ethics behind reporting.

5) Realize journalism is a hard career. Herzog said to be prepared for weird hours and low pay. You’re not going to immediately get a job in a top market. Networking is really important, both for landing jobs and for creating a directory of sources, so make contacts whenever you can. With the digital revolution changing media every day, there are fewer jobs and more people fighting for them. Herzog said he was on the verge of quitting and going back to practice law when he got the call from 12.

Red Carpet Resurrects Musical Past

This week, I was trying to think of another musical in which the press plays a large part in the plot, but I didn’t like any of my options. Plus, I wanted to write about a topic with which more of you would be familiar.

Then, suddenly, I HAD IT! The biggest night in movies with the young hosts who were making a buzz. (That would be the Oscars with James Franco and Anne Hathaway, in case you live under a rock.)

For several weeks prior, the press was all over the story, speculating what this young duo might do. When the actual night came, it was the people who spoke…all over social network sites. 

Both were new to the gig, but the two made several allusions to Hathaway singing during Hugh Jackman’s opening a few years earlier. So, maybe musical theater was still in the bill? Hathaway and Franco did make a video parody of “Grease,” after all.

Some of the biggest hits, as it turned out, did relate to musicals.

 1) Auto-tuning popular movies. Franco and Hathaway introduced this montage 

 by saying the musical was still alive. And when this is what mainstream music has become, why not musicals, too? (But please, Hollywood, don’t get any ideas about a “ Twilight” musical!)

2) James Franco in a dress. After Hathaway appeared in a suit to sing a parody of “On My Own” (from the musical “Les Miserables” FYI), Franco said he figured he should reciprocate the action, apparently by cross-dressing as Marilyn Monroe from the movie musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” On a related side note, the other female star of that film, Jane Russell, died earlier that day.

3) “ Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Perhaps the most famous song from a movie musical (“The Wizard of Oz”), this number was sung by the students of Public School 22 from New York as a Cinderella story closing to the evening.  

In a night full of surprises, but also of expected wins, I never expected the musical to come up. None of the films up for Best Picture (or anything else, for that matter) were musicals. But the media and the musical have been intertwined for so long that it’s bound to crop up. Of course, actually seeing it in the media excited me, and to find out that other people (via Twitter) cared enough too to tweet about it made me simply giddy. Whereas, in the past, it was all about the professional critics from different publications, the media today is really about the common person. They have the Twitter accounts and the blogs. They have the big voice. The Oscars were a great indication of how the general populace now picks the trending topics and how everyone can be a journalist. So, get out there and get with it! Get musical!

Does Money REALLY Make the World Go ‘Round?

As I was struggling through another Broadcast Announcing class, trying to connect with the copy, our professor told us the most important thing to remember. Money. You may think a company’s cookies taste like vomit, but if they give you $500 to say you like them, then oh my, these cookies are the best in the world. Yes, we were talking about commercial copy, but I must ask, Is this true for news as well?

To explore the idea, I will be using the character of Mark Cohen from the musical “Rent.” Mark wants to make a meaningful documentary about the homeless and HIV-positive in New York City. His career takes off when he films a riot at a performance protesting the closing of a tent city and sells his footage to the local news.

Producer Alexi Darling sees his footage and offers him a deal (the woman starting at 0:19) to produce regular segments on her news show “ Buzzline.” Mark comments how sleazy “Buzzline” is but eventually “ sells his soul for three grand a segment.” 

Near the end of the musical, Mark examines his life (“What You Own”)  and ultimately takes a stand, quitting “Buzzline” to work on his documentary.

His story raises three questions for me:

1) Should money rule your life? Where is the line for journalists between compassion/ finding stories that matter and making ends meet by covering whatever story the boss wants? In the SPJ Code, journalists are told to act independently by not accepting money or favors from other organizations, but what if your own organization is paying you to produce sleaze to keep their high ratings?

2) What is the value of tabloid news? Before the start of “What You Own,” Mark introduces his next segment as “Vampire Welfare Queens Who Are Compulsive Bowlers.” As a veritable journalist, he cannot live with himself in this role. He wanted to be a filmmaker who made a difference, but ended up as corporate America’s lackey. When he, and so many others like him, could be covering stories that matter, why are they practically forced to work for organizations that make the ratings? Can this tabloid news style even be called news at all?

3) When should a journalist decide enough is enough? Obviously, it’s important to be able to pay the bills in any job. But where is the ethical line or the line to be true to oneself? Honestly, I don’t know if I have the guts Mark did to quit his day job and pursue his real interest.

Overall, Mark Cohen is a great examination of modern journalists, especially the rookies who still dream of making a difference. He is exploited by producers (Alexi) who want cheap talent. He is exploited by businessmen who want positive press (a former roommate Benny Coffin pays his rent in a charity stunt). He is exploited by performance artists who want publicity, period (his ex Maureen Johnson wants to stage a protest so that Mark can film it). Everyone around Mark realizes he is their ticket to getting on the nightly news, and he simply wants to improve conditions for everyone through his documentary of the homeless and the HIV-positive New Yorkers. The song "Halloween" covers his inner struggle with always being the observer in the group and trying to remain objective, although the stories he films are very emotional. How should he pick which stories are told? In "Goodbye Love," his roommate Roger accuses, "You pretend to create and observe when you really detach from feeling alive." The ultimate dilemma for Mark is: stand up for what I believe in or pay the Rent?

There's Always a First Time

Hello, readers!

I've decided to create this blog to share my musings with the larger world. The world wide web is truly a community now, so I figure I'll become a more active part of this community as part of my transition into the professional world.

I don't know what I'll write about. It may be the meme of the week or a thought after reading a friend's Facebook status. Most likely, though, I will be copying and pasting my posts from blogs I'm writing for my ethics and news writing classes so that a greater number of people can read them.

If there's anything you'd like to read about, just let me know! I'm always open to new ideas and new angles on old stories.