"Making News: Texas Style": OK, I'll go first...
Category: Local... TV & Radio...
Posted Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at 05:55 PM [GMT-6]

I could grow old waiting for the other local bloggers to write anything about Making News: Texas Style. You'd think that an original reality show set in west Texas featuring well known local people would generate some insights and opinions, but I guess I'm the only one with nothing better to do.

I caught the second installment of the series last night (my wife DVRed the first showing but I haven't decided whether I'll watch it) and offer the following observations. But to bring newcomers up to speed, the show was filmed at the local CBS affiliate, whose studios are in a mall in Odessa, and it offers "behind the scenes" looks at the news operation.

• First, all those years of watching CNN and Fox News have apparently paid off, as the continually scrolling program listings at the bottom of the screen weren't as distracting as I expected. Still, watching an actual show on the TV Guide channel is, well, strange. It's kind of like letterboxing on steroids.


• There's an old adage in the training profession that goes, "tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what you told 'em." That sort of repetition does improve the effectiveness of a classroom, but it hardly makes for compelling TV. And thus we're maddened by the massive number of "reviews" and "previews" immediately preceding and following commercial breaks (of which there are many, as in, like, infinity). Seriously, do they think our attention spans are so small as to render us unaware of what happened five minutes earlier? [Now, out of an overdeveloped sense of fairness, I'll concede that the very nature of the TV Guide Network probably justifies such reminders, what with people popping in and out at odd times to check on which channels are not showing "Law and Order" re-runs; those folks are probably shocked to see actual programming taking place, assuming they even notice it. Just as I unconsciously filtered out the program listings, I'll bet many of the TV Guide visitors filter out the program itself, thinking it's an ad.]


• Anyway, my point in that previous paragraph is that this series is supposed to consist of thirteen episodes, and I'm curious as to whether they've actually got the footage for that run, given that last night's one hour broadcast was a pretty solid twenty minutes of original content.


• The show itself was probably entertaining for viewers who are familiar with all the characters. I'm not sure how captivating it was for the other 200 million American viewers. According to this website, the Midland/Odessa market is #159 (just behind Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson (Williston), ND and just ahead of Biloxi-Gulfport, MS) out of #210. However, the size of the market is what should attract viewers, because it shows a component of the TV news business that is rarely seen. Everyone focuses on the major markets, forgetting that millions of people don't get their local news via those outlets.


• The fascination with the show comes in seeing familiar people let their guards down, and some come off better than others. Here's my scorecard...
  
  
  • Jay Hendricks - Not surprisingly, Jay comes off as the eye of the storm. He's confident in his role and his abilities, even if he's champing at the bit to get back on camera (his non-compete clause with his previous employer kept him off the air for six months).
  
  
  • Tatum Hubbard - The former Miss Texas and Jay's co-anchor is relegated to a bit part in this episode; her only line of dialog is an almost unintelligible response to one of the station's reporter's complaints about a story the reporter is involved in. I assume we'll see more of Tatum in future episodes.
  
  
  • Kara Lee - Lee is a young reporter from Houston and occasional back-up anchor who is passing through this market on her way to bigger and better things. She's the most entertaining character of the bunch, but that's not necessarily a good thing. She curses like a sailor and doesn't hide her disdain for us rubes out here in Hicksville. Darlin', you may be able to ratchet up your Texas twang a bit in an attempt to ingratiate yourself to the citizens of Goldsmith, but don't mistake good-natured tolerance for acceptance. Also, you might want to learn the difference between a donkey and a burro. However, you do get props for chasing down and confronting the tow-truck driver who blew his airhorn behind you just as you began a live report from the field. Kara may be a force to be reckoned with if her skill and on-air charisma ever catch up to her ambition.
  
  
  • Jeff Stewart, the station's sports director, seems to be having the most fun of the group. He laments that he has to use his own vehicle to chase down stories because the station's fleet is broken and acknowledges the irony of the station owner also running a car dealership. But he's having fun because he gets to play basketball with the Hooter's Girls (in an exhibition game that the girls win by one point, an accomplishment that escapes at least one of them: Did we win?, she queries one of her teammates after the game). It puzzles me that Jeff doesn't get billing with the main cast of characters for the show; perhaps last night's episode marks the apex of his reality show involvement. This segment of the show is also marked by the brief appearance of Scott Shields, the sports director over at the NBC affiliate, and it offers a glimpse as to how media outlets in small markets work together, even as they compete.
  
  
  • The drama in the show is attributable to the presence of Bill Warren, the previous anchor whose place Jay Hendricks is taking. He's not happy with the demotion and says so. [Completely peripheral issue: he talks about the situation where he's now working for Jay. I figured the whole news department reported to the news director. Does the anchor actually have supervisory authority over other members of the team?] Bill's contract expires in July, and he's unsure of his future past that time. His angst is palpable and understandable, and yet he deals with it with humor, albeit of a gallows nature.


• One obvious absence in last night's show was the entire weather team. Again, perhaps that will change in future episodes, but the weather reports are a big reason people tune into local broadcasts, and CBS-7 has made some interesting choices in their choices of weathermen.

In summary, Making News: Texas Style has good production values, and demonstrates that the profession of TV news reporters is not all that different from any other in terms of day-to-day challenges. The people are flawed – just like you and me – and they're probably less confident in their abilities than you and I might believe. But they like what they're doing, and they take their responsibilities seriously. I doubt the show will win any Emmys, but it's not a waste of time, either. We'll be watching again next week.

Here's another blogger's take on the show, based on the first episode. Perhaps we'll see some other local bloggers chiming in at some point.