Media Mishaps: ABC4 and D-News (again) | Buzz Blog
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Media Mishaps: ABC4 and D-News (again)

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Please, ABC4, install your new "tube," already! --- A viewer called City Weekly to complain that KTVX has been running on half-power since Saturday night due to an equipment failure. He says he hasn't been able to watch the station at all, claiming antenna users, of which he is one, are in the dark.

He was most upset about two things: First, that ABC4 news reporter Chris Vanocur wouldn't report on the outage.: "He reports on everyone else, but not when it's his station." (When we countered, "It's usually not a reporter's job to investigate an equipment failure at his own station," the caller said, essentially, "Whatever.")

Secondly, the caller seemed especially concerned that antenna people will be missing out on Black Friday ads aired by the station. He didn't mention their not being able to see Modern Family or A Very Gaga Thanksgiving or college football -- things that might raise our hackles. Black Friday ads? Not so much.

"But what if you were a car dealership or an audio shop that paid for ads, paid for a statewide audience?" the caller stressed.

Well, he does have a point. "Maybe they'll throw in some extra spots or give a discount to sweeten the pot," I offered.

So there you have it, Channel 4. May your tube soon be fixed. May your power be restored. And, going forward, may you have a backup plan for whatever is broken.

In other media news, the Deseret News served up another headline blooper today (this is after publishing a headline that trailed off the page on Nov. 18.) Under today's headline of "Feds sue Utah over immigration" comes a subhead (shown above): "Shurtleff promises vows to fight for the Utah compact laws."

"Promises vows"? Is he writing vows?

The online subhead softens the AG's stance, from "promising" and "vowing" to simply "hoping": "Shurtleff hopes to modify law to end challenge."

Over the years, City Weekly has published a blooper or two of its own, so we're not claiming to be without sin. But these D-News errors, we feel, are part of a larger problem, and one we "promise vows" to report on in the future.