The Show That had West Tennessee (and perhaps the rest of the country) Talking and What Happens in the Hood Should Stay in the Hood.
I’m no longer a virgin. I finally watched my first Oprah show. Of course it was TIVOed. But, what was the topic you ask? Oh come on folks. It was the topic that probably gave Oprah some of her biggest ratings of the summer season if not the year. I’m talking about the Mary Winkler interview. I would just about bet the farm that the folks at WMC and every other station in the South or Mid-South that carries Oprah had to be thanking their lucky stars that they had this particular show in their stable. I see that WMC made hay while the sun shone on this particular field and as well they should. I saw at least two promotions about having reaction to the interview from the good folks from Selmer, Tennessee (where the shooting of Rev. Winkler took place for those not up to speed on the case) . I’m sorry I didn’t TIVO the Action News 5 5pm News. If they didn’t blow the competition out of the water ratings-wise I’d be surprised. Anyway, I’ve never seen Oprah and I’m not sure if what I saw is the usual format or if there is more audience participation. It was an interesting “get” for Oprah although I thought the interview dragged a bit here and there. Did it change my mind about what I think happened or the verdict in the trial. Not rally. My wife saw some of the excerpts later on some other cable news show so I’ve no doubt that it was a big deal nationally. My wife seems to think that the rest of the nation thinks Mary Winkler got away with murder. Hey, a lot of folks here in the MidSouth think that! I’ve just got to remember not to get my wife real P-Oed when I’m trying to sleep or at least hide all of the weapons if I do.
And speaking of weapons, there’s one person who needs to stay away from any sharp objects IMHO. This guy you are about to read about seems to think that some local TV news people are the cause of black people dying. Maybe he has a point but you decide. This item is from NewsBlues and sent to me by Mr. DJ who always has my back ( I think). Here is what DJ sent:
GUNPOINT INTERVIEW
A Nebraska bonehead found a novel way to get his mug on TV. He pulled his car near a news crew from KMTV-3-CBS in Omaha (Market #75), identified himself by name, told the crew to “stop killing black people,” then fired a handgun into the air. Cops arrested him a short time later.
But, wait, it gets better worse. Reporter Dave Roberts visited gunman Sean Sweet behind bars and asked him, “Whyjewdodat?”
Sweet explained (sorta) that the local news media is “killing black people” with its crime coverage. He accused TV news of “exploiting” crime stories. “If you go somewhere else they’d shoot you for putting their business out there like that. Where I come from, what happens in the streets, stays in the streets because it’s considered, it’s telling.”
So, TV news folks, stop putting the business of others out there for all to see. Otherwise, if you get yourself “capped” don’t come crying to me cause I’ll just say I told you so. Remember, “Guns Don’t Kill People, Crime Coverage Kills People. ” What a great slogan. Don’t be surprised to see some politician picking up on that.
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joelarkins 
September 12, 2007 at 10:25 pm
First — there’s Black people in Nebraska?! Who knew?
Second — while Mr. Sweet’s solution was NOT a good way to express himself, his underlying reasoning is cogent, in my opinion. TV news DOES exploit crime stories. My nightside assignment editor in Atlanta always said news directors would go crazy if they couldn’t send crews chasing after the “blinky blue lights” on police cars.
Every station in this market has made (and continues to make) hay over the crime problem in the area. Do they spend an appropriate amount of time covering the underlying reasons for that crime — problems with the educational system and lack of jobs & economic support in certain parts of town? They do not. Not sexy. No blinky blue lights. No crime scene tape. No cop-speak.
Of course, Mr. Sweet may have been upset over the Mary Winkler appearance on Oprah. TV news has certainly exploited that crime.
September 13, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Here’s the one thing that sticks in my craw about Mary Winkler, I saw a headline on AOL about her Oprah interview and it said something like, “Widow reveals all to Oprah.”
I totally get that technically, she is a widow since her husband is dead, but c’mon. she KILLED him. The widow designation is one that ellicits sympathy. To call her a widow when she is the cause of her own widowdom seems a grave injustice. Yes, I know she claims abuse and clearly the courts at least a little bit agreed with he and gave her a fairly light sentence, but still.
Maybe it’s a small point in the grand scheme of things, but it just bugged me. A lot.
September 14, 2007 at 6:31 am
I agree with you Elizabeth. I’m a “widower” only because my wife passed away from breast cancer 6 years ago. So Winkler is not a widow in that sense.
But the interview on Oprah left me believing that Winkler knew what she was doing when she went to “talk to Matthew” with a shotgun in her hands. To make a point!
She also never gave any signs of what a woman should look for in an abusive relationship, which I understand, was her reason for asking to go on Oprah in the first place. I got the impression that she asked to be on Oprah, not Oprah asking her.
As much as Oprah tried to get her to talk, she avoided direct answers, no doubt from great coaching from her “lawyers”.
September 16, 2007 at 6:55 am
Joe,
What are your thoughts about the recent assult on Andy Wise? Did you see the video?
September 16, 2007 at 10:55 pm
doug…
stop leaning on the old does the media “spend an appropriate amount of time covering the underlying reasons for that crime — problems with the educational system and lack of jobs & economic support in certain parts of town?” some is true but most is just laziness. many would rather rely on a monthly government check than go to work. there are jobs out there, and you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to find them. i know of one person down on his luck who’s making a decent living now. it took no experience or education to get the job. he’s delivering pizzas for a local pizza chain and making over $24,000 a year including tips and salary. he’s a driver not a manager. so doug, the next time you see someone opening up their welfare check, tell them a job is available down the street and to help society work a real job.
September 17, 2007 at 10:30 pm
I’m going to respond here and in the newer post, just to make sure “get off of it” knows that I’ve taken notice of their point of view.
Yes, I’m a lefty from way back, and a firm believer in helping those who can’t help themselves… but I think there are a couple of holes in your argument.
The media has a responsibility of covering ALL the problems of society — because people can’t (or won’t) take the time to learn about it themselves. Covering crime for crime’s sake is the laziest move in the news business — all you have to do is listen to a police scanner and send a crew to follow the blue lights. And all you learn is something bad happened today. And you learn it at the expense of not learning something potentially more important to society at large — because the crews are chasing cops all over town.
And you admit that “some is true” when I point out the sorry state of the educational system and lack of career path jobs in some parts of the Greater Memphis metroplex. All our media points to the benefit of getting something for nothing. Want to make millions? Play the lottery for $1. Want to be a big star? Go on “American Idol” and withstand Simon’s criticism.
TV, music & movies all teach the lessons of getting rich quick and fighting the “man” to get ahead. If you don’t have positive influences to counter-balance all that crap — you’re going to end up thinking that only chumps work minimum wage jobs — and you’re not going to want to go out like that. Yes, for those of us who have learned the value of hard work and responsibility, it seems pretty stupid — even lazy — but if you don’t know any better, you’re going to see the value in taking the path of least resistance — and bigger payoff.
Yes, you admire someone who picked themselves up to bust their butt for $24K — but it society-at-large drums it into impressionable minds that there are simpler ways to make more money — it’s a disservice to them — and the rest of us to dismiss it as simple laziness.
More importantly; don’t you think it’s a waste of your tax dollars that the city schools spends more per student than just about anywhere else in the state, but still does such a generally poor job? Don’t you want the media shining a light on that? Shouldn’t our at-risk youth be learning the value of hard work in school — just in case they’re not learning it at home? Personally, I get a little cheesed-off when I think of the school board tossing my money away without finding better ways to get knowledge into the heads of those kids.
And I don’t think the driver you know wants to do that for long. There has to be an effort to create career paths in this town — not just “jobs.” I worked in fast food for during my college years. While I’m not ashamed of the work — it sure wasn’t something I wanted to do any longer than I had to. When you hear the mayor boast about the economic development he’s brought to the area, and all the jobs the various candidates for his office and city council are promising to bring — don’t you want the media to find out just what the heck they’re talking about?
I like hard-working people better than folks who use government support as a crutch. But I like hard-working people in the media too. So should you “get off of it.”