Our call for pet peeves from readers about local TV news must have struck a nerve, because the peeves just keep on coming. And coming. We've received scores of rants, too many to appear in my Media Savvy column here on Tuesday . Here's some from the latest batch to hit my inbox:
From Meg Genova: "Will somebody PLEASE tell Pamela Wu on KCRA how to breathe while giving the news? I called the station once and they said they'd try moving her mike to another location on her shirt, but it hasn't helped. By the way, Edie Lambert could use some help in breathing lessons, too."
From Sharon Orris: "The thing that irritates me the most happens on Channel 3's noon news broadcast from Arden Mall. During the spot where they are actually reporting the 'Top News Stories,' there is always some yahoo behind Walt Gray, mugging the camera. To me, it is more than a little disconcerting when you are hearing about war in the Middle East or some murder or other and there is goofiness going on behind the reporter."
From John Wright: "Why does (News10's) Cristina Mendonsa always look to her right - our left - while she's talking on camera? Is she looking at the monitor to see how she looks?"
From Pat Freeman: "Brandi Hitt...she thinks everything is funny, from murders to hurricanes. Needless to say, when she comes on, I have two choices - mute or change the channel."
From Ralph Miller: "My wife and I were thrilled to realize others were upset by the language of the many broadcasters. We want news, not human interest fillers and personal opinions; presently channels 40 and 10 seem the least offensive. Our main complaint - 'Back to YOU GUYS in the studio.' When is a female broadcaster a GUY?"
From Kevin Shira: "Putting everything in present tense, no matter when it happened. Saying 'a local dog barfs to death, we're live with the story,' makes it sound like we're about to see live barfing, even though the sad
event occurred two days ago."
From Sylvia Fitzpatrick: "I do not understand why 90 percent of the women on TV news have the same awful hairdo: straight, long bangs, shaggy ends, bleached blonde with dark roots...."
From Robin Connor: "I read your column this morning with amusement until the comment about Edie Lambert by (reader) Bob Bosworth. What a cruel way to express one's opinion. We had the pleasure of seeing Edie in action last year after a tornado demolished our backyard in north Natomas. The Channel 3 news team set up their base in our backyard and we spent the day in between live shots chatting with Edie. She was extremely sincere and sympathetic about our loss and, as a result, we are now fans of Channel 3 news instead of the other local news stations."
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