In Praise of Mike Gousha
We are a polarized society on so many things but there is at least one thing that people of all political stripes can agree on; local television news is a vast wasteland.
Chicago attorney Newton Minow used that term in reference to all of television way back during the Kennedy administration when he served as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Much has changed in the nearly half century since Minow chastised the broadcasters who were responsible for the thin gruel then beamed into America’s living rooms.
We’ve seen highs and lows in most everything including network news, children’s programming, prime time comedy, drama, game shows, so-called reality shows, etc., etc. But when it comes to local news, broadcast television has been a remarkable disappointment, failing to live up to its potential to contribute to an informed, involved population so overwhelmingly and completely that there is really no argument.
Almost every day the average local news broadcast proves worthy of the phrase that critics use to demean and dismiss the field; “If it bleeds, it leads.” Correspondents and camera crews stand ready to respond anytime a local resident falls victim to violence leading to the obligatory live standup with the breathless reporter on the scene in front of the obligatory yellow police tape.
That is, unless a weather event threatens to affect rush hour traffic, in which case the usually attractive “talent” (at least that’s how industry professionals refer to the folks who go in front of the camera) get to stand bundled up against the elements, often with affected traffic visible behind them.
But let’s face it, coverage of crime and potentially serious weather events are dwarfed by the true raison d’etre of local television news here in Milwaukee and that’s keeping track of the Green Bay Packers.
It’s probably unfair to refer to the extensive coverage of Brett Favre to describe this phenomenon since there is something truly extraordinary about his relationship with Wisconsin. The former Packer quarterback, and it pains even me to refer to him in the past tense, is like royalty and arguably many, probably most, of the viewing population in the Milwaukee media market feel a deep, personal connection with Favre that is something like family.
“All Brett, All the Time” came to an apocalyptic crescendo recently when Favre announced that he would indeed retire. It happened to come on the day that cycling superstar and cancer advocate Lance Armstrong was traveling across Wisconsin with Gov. Doyle to support the proposed legislation to ban smoking in all workplaces including bars.
Before Favre’s statement was released, inviting Armstrong seemed to be a stroke of brilliance. The biking icon’s popularity is quite high and his commitment to fighting cancer and promoting health issues is sincere and, well, strong. Not only were his personal appearances guaranteed to attract press attention but his appeal to male sports fans would draw the attention of a demographic not always sympathetic to health promotion issues.
But once news of Favre’s retirement hit the wires, all bets were off. It would take an event of biblical proportions to cut into Brett’s domination of local news. Gov. Doyle opened the Milwaukee-area news conference by acknowledging the great loss felt across all of Wisconsin before segueing into his remarks. Armstrong gave a passionate and substantive speech referring to the scourge of cancer, the danger of second hand smoke and the importance of ensuring that all workers be protected from toxic air on the job.
It was all for naught. The first question, proffered by WTMJ/Channel 4’s Charles Benson, asked Armstrong to provide a personal description of what Brett Favre must be going through on the day of his retirement. The audience of smoking ban supporters groaned but they shouldn’t have been surprised.
Another example of the awfulness of local news is what passes for investigative journalism. WTMJ’s John Mercure has developed a reputation as the local station’s version of NBC Dateline’s Chris Hansen in his attempts to track down local sexual predators. This subject is vitally important and worth examining, but the undercover technique is prurient and exploitative.
Not exploitative of the potential predator, those sleazebags get what they deserve, but exploitative of the audience which is feed this crap during sweeps in order to boast ratings and station ratings. Why don’t they set up cameras on the Florida beach and invite college coeds to get on television by flashing their breasts thereby documenting the disturbing morality of our young people? Hey, think of the ratings!
Courtny Gerrish’s “Dirty Dining” series on WTMJ also deserves mention. Aren’t you glad that our broadcast crusaders are using their vast resources to track down the inspection records of local restaurants and then pointing their cameras at kitchen help and treating them like perps? I guess it’s better than confronting police spouses to ask them how it feels to be newly widowed before they were notified by authorities. Whoops!
Which brings me to the story of Mike Gousha who retired from WTMJ in 2006 following a long career as the station’s highly respected lead anchor. Gousha was extremely diplomatic about his reasons for dissolving his relationship with Channel 4, saying that after 25 years he was ready to do something new. However, he also alluded to the troubling direction that television news was taking and seemed to withdraw to the ivory tower of academia when he accepted a position at Marquette.
Just this past week Gousha took on the subject of the Iraq War, always an important and newsworthy subject but especially topical following the Congressional testimony of Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. Gousha’s local angle was to interview Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, one of the most outspoken critics of the war and Brigadier General Donald Dunbar who heads Wisconsin’s National Guard.
Balanced, substantive and compelling. Bravo, Mike, bravo.
Meanwhile, over on WTMJ on Sunday mornings we continue to be treated to the most dreadful excuse of a public affairs program imaginable. Sunday Insight with Charlie Sykes is a platform for the conservative radio talk show host to enhance his brand by hoisting the right’s talking points up the flagpole. Sen. Barack Obama’s preacher uses hateful language! Shocking! Wisconsin voters defeat Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler and send the message that they don’t want activist judges. Right on!
It’s insulting to the intelligence of his viewers but I must admit that I am an admirer. Sykes is good at what he does. He surrounds himself with conservative voices to support what he says and token liberal toadies who serve as a foil to emphasize the correctness of his opinions. If there’s anyone doing this successfully on the left, I don’t know about it. (Dittoheads might say that’s what Terri Gross does on NPR but come on!)
So there you have it. All hail Mike Gousha and WTMJ-TV News Director Lori Waldron for taking the huge step of committing to do real news. Waldron is the first African American to head a local news operation and don’t we all pray that the time will come soon when it is no longer necessary to point out such an accomplishment (maybe following the November election?).
