Okay, so I was running thru some footage on DTV at work yesterday for a VO I was putting together and I had another one of those moments. You know the ones. The ones where I just get angry and then come in here to TundraTalk and take it out on you. I just sit back and shake my head at how insane the business that I chose as a profession is. Now some of you out there still do not consider me a 'pro' at anything other than being an idiot. I do sometimes call my self a pro camera jockey and pretend to be and adult. Believe it or not. As pro as I can be wearing jeans and t-shirts (free ones I get from press conferences) to work every day.On certain days I am proud of what I do. Most days I am proud of where I work. The CBC is a great place to work and compared to most of the other circuses I worked in my career, the CBC is sane. We rarely chase ambulances, participate in shock journalism, and so far the consultant has failed to completely infiltrate the building. They have recently made inroads, but not to the extent of completely running the newsroom.
So the picture above is exhibit A of the reason why I sometimes get really angry with television news rooms and more specifically they way they are managed. I know, the picture is not graphic in any way. It just is a picture of a college student participating in a experiment on being homeless for a week. The kid slept on the street with four others for 5 days. Trust me on the 5th day those kids STUNK.
Anyway, that is not the problem I have with this picture. Look deeper, to the right, the chick with the STRIPPER BOOTS holding the camera. That is the problem I have. I believe she works for Global TV here in Regina. Global here in Regina has in the last year become a shell of what it once was. Don't misunderstand me, it has never been great, it just now has around 10 employees. So, the management (I can only guess) in their quest to save money and fill the black holes at 6 o'clock will put anyone on a camera. Not concerned with how the video will look like most ND's will put a young chick (who ultimately wants to be a reporter) on ENG camera. That, to me, is like the head of a Hospital, in their attempt to scrimp and save, putting a janitor into surgery because the janitor has always had inspiration to become a doctor. Well, kinda just like that.
Side note: The news director in Edmonton once told me he did his reporter recruiting at the bar by sidling up next to bimbos and handed out his card. I wonder what else he was trying to recruit in those bars. True story.
Makes me furious. I take my job serious, on most days. I have put many years behind a lens, working shitty 14 hour days, slagging tripod up and down hills for that 'shot', sat in many a news van listening to some diva reporter talk about her haircut, worked too many holidays to count, and busted my proverbial ASS to get where I am. Then some lame ass ND thinks it is okay to put the first diva wannabe who walks through his door on a camera and devalue my position. She sees it as a way to get what she wants meanwhile there are a lot of guys that slinging a lens is ALL HE WANTS.
Not to mention look at what she is wearing. Okay, if I was an assignment editor and some chick came through the door dressed in stripper boots and a WHITE FRICKING JACKET, the first thing I would do is send her to some farm to get footage of crops and cows. I mean really, she got up in the morning, looked in the closet (I am sure after she looked at herself in the mirror 35 times), and said, "I am running a camera today I think I will wear my 5 inch heel stripper boots and my white jacket. Yeah, that will be completely practical." Hey dip-shit, you are going to work, not the club.
Oh and to to things off the chick in the tan boots is her trainer. She was teaching her how to run the camera. Nice, double diva whammy. It is like Britney Spears trying to teach Sarah Palin what important books to read. I wonder if they called each other in the morning and coordinated their club hopping uniform?
I have one last thing to mention about the pictures above. Look at what the diva with the camera has on her face. SUNGLASSES. Perfect. Very important to wear the sunglasses when your are shooting. That viewfinder gets sooooo bright. There is no way that she got video that was usable and the right level by shooting with sunglasses on. Incredible. I am just in awe at how clueless this chick is. (allegedly)
So this is what it has come to. My profession, has turned into a spot where you can plug ANY jag off in and it will work. Wait, am I the jag off? Have I just been the proverbial jag off my whole career? Don't answer that.
It is rumoured that the CRTC is going to make a decision on Monday on the Local Cable TV funding issue. In a nutshell the local Canadian Broadcasters have been raising a stink over the last year or so about how cable companies get to carry their signal without paying for it. The Local TV, Global TV, CTV, and CBC, believe that they should be compensated for their signal.
Where do I stand on the issue? Well, I stand with Cable TV on this one. Even though I work in the Local TV side of things. Mainly because I see that the TV industry here in Canada has relied too much on the US for their programming. They spend billions of dollars on buying the rights to 'simulcast' bad US TV. Simulcast for my American friends, means that when Lost is on here in Canada, CTV has the right to cover up ABC's broadcast on cable with their signal which means that we see their advertisers. Which means that they often end up cutting off the ends of the shows or coming back late to the show. DRIVES ME CRAZY. But that is not the main reason why I am in favor of Cable TV. Besides the fact that my cable bill will go up is the fact that if Local TV is given this bailout, they will just spend the money on buying more really bad programming from the US. There is no way they will spend that money wisely.
Canwest Global is the company that spent billions on buying all the newspapers across the country and is now bankrupt. They are not smart enough to push that money in to Canadian original programming. That is how you get out of this spot you are in. INVEST IN CANADA. The CBC is the most Canada centric network in Canada and that is why I feel I can take this stance because their mandate will not change. Not to mention it is funded in part by the government.
If the CRTC mandates that the TV TAX is going to happen there should be some stipulations that they spend that money on LOCAL TV. There also should be stipulations that they cannot simulcast. I buy cable so I can watch US TV, not so I can watch local TV. They should not be allowed to wreck the shows that I watch with their lousy switching and shitty commercials. The Super Bowl is the perfect example.
So I hope that they do not give them a red cent because they will just continue to take chicks off the pole to run cameras and the product will ultimately suck. Oh and most importantly just make me angry again. We all do not want that.
Sorry I got off on a bit of a rant here, but I needed to get that off my chest.
NEXT: Listen to the video below. It is a bit of Ferrel's broadcast from Game 7 of last years Stanley Cup final. Ferrel is a sports guy on Howard 101 on Sirius. He is a huge Penguins fan and this is quite possibly one of the funniest things I have ever heard on Sirius. Warning, there is a lot of swearing in this clip so if you are at work turn the computer down now.
Have a great weekend and a good new week...
Now GET BACK TO WORK...
