Journalism and marketing shouldn't mix. But our flagship East River TV news station keeps doing it:
Water is flowing over a bridge in southern KELOLAND and it's now closed to traffic [KELOLand.com, 2011.03.16].
Really? We have a flood, a major travel disruption, and a risk to public safety. This is important news to report. You still get to brand your report with your reporter's sign-off tag and KELO logos all over the TV and computer screens. Must you also bastardize the text itself with your silly branding?
But keep those hip-waders handy: high water's coming to Madville Times-ville!
Related gripe: I visited Mom yesterday and glanced at the TV. There on the 5 p.m. news were images of a car floating away, the James River washing out roads, and workers scrambling to raise levies. "Holy crap! Where's that happening?" I asked. Turns out it was just Don Jorgenson recounting the 1997 floods. With far. Too many. Don Jorgenson. Pauses.
Folks are nervous enough with the flood warnings. If you're going to broadcast historical footage, you might want to make sure those clips have "1997" stamped up in the corner so people know Brookings and Huron aren't underwater right now. And please, Don: try saying a complete sentence. Without inserting. Several dramatic. Periods.
Update 20:51 CDT: They did it again tonight! "Governor Dennis Daugaard takes to the skies today to view the first hand flooding in eastern Keloland."
Kelo TV and I don't get along. I refuse to watch them and refer to them as the National Enquirer of South Dakota journalism.
You're right.
I also got a charge out of the promo they were doing a night or two ago, pimping their story of a ranch flooding out near Wasta. As it turned out, by the time KELO had gotten around to getting their crew out there, the ice dam had broken, the water gone down. I'm sure the TV crew (all one of them) was disappointed to learn that there weren't any drowning calves to film.
Thought that despising that "KELOLAND" thing was just me. Has bugged me from the day I moved here.
Actually Cory - when I did my taxes, I had the choice of Keloland, The Sioux Empire, and South Dakota all as my legal state of residence...I was shocked, and a little bit confused.
On a related question - If there is a Sioux Empire, is there a Sioux Emperor? Is it a ceremonial position, or does he/she exercise unfettered control over the greater Sioux Falls area?
At the end of the day, does it really matter that much?
[CAH: Hey, it really is the end of the day! In the grand scheme of things, what does matter? But I maintain this is a relevant media critique. Consider: would people take journalists from the New York Times seriously if they referred in print to election results from "New York Times-ville"?]
Does the Governor of South Dakota have jurisdiction in Keloland? Maybe he just like to fly around looking at flooded areas.
Why worry now? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmhsrKnaqhQ&feature=related
I will, of course, assume that the governor dipped into the reserve funds to pay for his flood overview flight because of the emergency nature of flooding. I have no problem with this. But 3 months later, I still don't have an answer to how the fuel bill was paid for the multi-city pre-session tour he did to explain his budget cuts!