Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By ERIC DEGGANS, Times TV Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 10, 2002
For example, WTSP-Ch. 10's Bill McGinty broke the story of Don Connolly, the speculator who bought land under and around a Tarpon Woods lake, surrounding it with an ugly fence to squeeze money from homeowners. Though local media at times seemed to overdose on the story, the media spotlight uncovered a long list of unwary folks across the Tampa Bay area who fell victim to Connolly's sharp eye for cheap land at tax auctions.
It's evidence that bay area TV stations are as strong as they've been in years journalistically, thanks in part to personnel shakeups last year that saw new news management come to three local stations: WFLA-Ch. 8, WFTS-Ch. 28 and WTSP-Ch. 10.
WFTS has made its mark with aggressive investigations, bringing new graphics and a gussied-up studio set that emphasizes energy. WTSP staffers are ramping up their efforts following a long string of marginal news managers that destroyed morale; current news director Lane Michaelsen, a former camera operator, brings a down-to-earth, supportive touch that has encouraged staff at the CBS affiliate.
WFLA has emphasized its On Your Side slogan with a code of standards it shares with sister publication the Tampa Tribune, and a "Citizens Voice" segment providing viewer feedback. Bay News 9 continues its convergence with smaller newspapers, and WTVT fills eight hours of newscast time each weekday with solid journalism.
Which convinced this couch potato it might be time to revive my "News and Snooze" column -- a forum to highlight some notable and not-so-notable efforts in local TV journalism in recent weeks. Such columns are never a comprehensive list, but they can highlight intriguing stories worth a note or two.
Here's a few of my picks and pans:
NEWS (with a slight SNOOZE): Bay News 9's stand on naming priests accused of molestation.
The issue emerged during a report last month on four priests under investigation by law enforcement following allegations of past sexual abuse.
The St. Petersburg Times printed the names of all four priests, whose names were released by the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg after it determined the charges were "credible and substantial."
But officials at Bay News 9, concerned by the growing number of allegations against local priests, told viewers it wouldn't report the men's names until they had been arrested by police and charged with a crime -- following crime coverage guidelines drafted at the news channel's inception.
"We decided to do big picture stories, rather than focus on individuals," said Rod Fowler, news director at Bay News 9. "If it gets to the point where there are indictments, we'll go back and cover them."
Fowler said the policy was inspired by a flurry of accusations that poured into the newsroom after coverage of allegations against the Rev. Robert Morris, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Lutz.
Morris was suspended for two weeks in April and May by the diocese, which investigated the priest after two women taped interviews with WFTS-Ch. 28; one claimed the priest had placed an obscene phone call to her, and another said he had fondled her. The priest was reinstated after a diocesan investigation concluded the allegations were not true.
"All of a sudden, it was like people were coming out of the woodwork," said Fowler. "Any time you name a name . . . the potential is there for ruining lives."
At WFTS, which has aired several reports on bay area priests accused of sexual scandals, news director Bill Berra said his concern over whether to name Morris in their investigative report ended once the diocese released his name and announced his suspension.
"The fact that it's a Catholic priest (in the story), makes him no different than any other suspect accused of a crime," said Berra. "That's one of the reasons these things have been swept under the carpet. For some strange reason, we are affording priests a greater protection than the public at large."
Executives at other area TV news outlets said Bay News 9's policy makes sense at a time when allegations against priests are growing. Still, none would admit a similarly expansive standard, saying each case is evaluated individually.
"There is no single litmus test," said Forrest Carr, news director at WFLA-Ch. 8. "You try to see if there's anything in the claim that seems credible, or if people in a position of authority are treating it credibly."
Carr was concerned that Bay News 9's policy might keep the station from airing investigative work such as the story WFTS was preparing before Morris' disclosure. He also expressed reservations about the media's general tendency to withhold names of sexual assault victims, wondering if journalists are continuing a "conspiracy of silence" that increases the social stigma.
Conspiracies of silence also concern Mark Serrano, a board member of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
"We don't need to have an arraignment to know whether there is a credible possibility that a priest is a predator," said Serrano, who has accused a New Jersey priest of molesting him when he was a child. "I'm not suggesting there should be a witch hunt. I just think the church has provided safe haven long enough for child predators . . . to continue providing protection in the public domain is wrong."
It's a delicate tightrope, forcing journalists to balance concerns over unfairly tarnishing priests' reputations with an effort to unravel the secrecy surrounding actual abuse.
Let's give Bay News 9 a NEWS award for taking a stand against the media feeding frenzy, with a slight SNOOZE for setting a standard that seems to allow little leeway for circumstance.
SNOOZE: Reginald Roundtree gets Botox.
It's a typical TV news move, personalizing the ongoing story about wrinkle removal achieved through Botox injections by showing an anchor undergoing the same procedure.
Late last month, WTSP-Ch. 10 anchor Reginald Roundtree got on-camera injections of the toxin -- which paralyzes facial muscles to temporarily remove wrinkles -- to smooth a bump in his forehead.
The story, which featured Roundtree and co-anchor Sue Zelenko joking in the doctors' office as he received the injections, wasn't WTSP's first on Botox -- leading this critic to wonder why they did the story at all.
Dr. Michael Markou, the Clearwater physician who administered the injections, said he planned to do the procedure for free, but Roundtree insisted on paying (his tab: $375). He also said the story boosted requests for Botox treatments at his office by about 20 percent.
"People want to know anything that anchors do. . . . They want to know about you, what you do in your time off," said Roundtree, who once performed stunts such as sitting in a car pushed into water and swimming with sharks in a chain-mail suit for a series of reports dubbed "Getting Out Alive."
"Why wouldn't they want to know if Botox worked for you?"
This critic had a hard time seeing the journalistic value in a story that seemed more like an infomercial.
NEWS: More enterprise journalism across the dial.
With its focus on spot news such as car crashes and crime, TV news sometimes has few resources left for uncovering important stories that take a little effort.
But area TV shops have countered that trend in recent weeks. WFTS's aggressive coverage of allegations against bay area priests kicked off a series of stories, with 28 Investigates reporter Robin Guess flying to Texas to confront Gerald Appleby, a defrocked priest accused of molesting an altar boy while working briefly in St. Petersburg during the late 1970s. (Some parishioners at the Rev. Morris' church have complained, however, that WFTS has unfairly targeted the priest).
And after weeks of reporting on problems with cases handled by the Department of Children and Families, WTSP reporter Mike Deeson gained national attention May 30 by buying a roomful of the agency's confidential records during an auction at a building that once housed some DCF offices.
After buying the records -- and delivering four boxes of them to Gov. Jeb Bush a day later -- Deeson made appearances on CNN and CBS Radio to outline his scoop, which came after news director Michaelsen suggested the reporter go to the auction and see if the agency left any files behind.
"In all my years . . . this is the biggest gold mine I've tapped into. . . . It touches a nerve with everybody in the state," said Deeson, who celebrated his 20th year at WTSP on June 2. "It just points out that the whole system is a mess."
SNOOZE: Constant reminders of scoops.
Much as I love good TV journalism, I hate the commercials that keep reminding us of a station's good scoops, including WTSP's promotional spots touting Deeson's story and WFTS's commercials for its 28 Investigates pieces.
TV news people will say they're a necessary evil to let viewers who missed the stories know what they've accomplished. But I can't help pining for less hype and more journalism from an industry that finds it all too easy to celebrate itself.
-- To reach Eric Deggans call (727) 893-8521, e-mail deggans@sptimes.com.