Gibbens death and TV^
black...@vms.csd.mu.edu
coversge of Vince Gibbens's sudden demise?
I mean, come on, what was the deal with the footage of all the people crying
and consoling each other backsatge in the newsroom? WHY was a camera rolling at
all? Did they feel it necessary to "prove" to us that they were grieving? Or
are they so saturated in TV that, unless it's on TV it didn't happen?
Steven Blackwood
"Experts agree. Eveything is fine."
Candace Krepel
: AT the risk of sounding cruel and insensitive, wasn't it a bit much, TV^'s
: coversge of Vince Gibbens's sudden demise?
: I mean, come on, what was the deal with the footage of all the people crying
: and consoling each other backsatge in the newsroom? WHY was a camera rolling at
: all? Did they feel it necessary to "prove" to us that they were grieving? Or
: are they so saturated in TV that, unless it's on TV it didn't happen?
It is reassuring to know that news people are as insensitive when it comes
to one of their own as they are when covering other people's tragedies.
Candy Krepel
black...@vms.csd.mu.edu
Well, that certainly puts a spin on Gibbens's death that I hadn't thought of
but Candy Krepel makes a good point. (This is not to suggest that the grief of
Gibbens's co-workers is not genuine.)
Tom Brusky
think that it was in a sense, an act of pride, in that everyone there
simply wanted to show to everyone how important he was to them. If I were
the news director I would have done the same and probably more.
sha...@ods.ods.net
IB>AT the risk of sounding cruel and insensitive, wasn't it a bit much, TV^'s
IB>coversge of Vince Gibbens's sudden demise?
IB>I mean, come on, what was the deal with the footage of all the people crying
IB>and consoling each other backsatge in the newsroom? WHY was a camera rolling
IB>at
IB>all? Did they feel it necessary to "prove" to us that they were grieving? Or
IB>are they so saturated in TV that, unless it's on TV it didn't happen?
Its what really happend. Sure, some of it was staged...but I think it
was geniune. It was a big loss--especially to those who worked with
him an ch. 6...
--
Online Data Systems - Milwaukee, WI
(414) 546-7900 or (414) 939-4670 - SouthEastern WI
Lisa Holm
> What else could cause such alternately dreamy and maudlin behavior?
>
Standing in front of a camera IS a drug.
lisa I'm-starting-to-get-the-hang-of-this ho...@csd.uwm.edu
nan...@infomod.sol.net
BL>AT the risk of sounding cruel and insensitive, wasn't it a bit much, TV^'s
BL>coversge of Vince Gibbens's sudden demise?
BL>I mean, come on, what was the deal with the footage of all the people crying
BL>and consoling each other backsatge in the newsroom? WHY was a camera rolling
BL>at
BL>all? Did they feel it necessary to "prove" to us that they were grieving? Or
BL>are they so saturated in TV that, unless it's on TV it didn't happen?
You are right...I thought it was a terrible tragedy at so young an age
and watched the coverage...one tends to do that when they find something
unbelievable, but when they showed everyone in the newsroom crying and
hugging, I thought it went beyond the necessary coverage. It kind of
became self-serving, in my estimation.
Tom Nielsen
: AT the risk of sounding cruel and insensitive, wasn't it a bit much, TV^'s
: coversge of Vince Gibbens's sudden demise?
You are right--your question does sound insensitive.
Don Coyote
C: I'm becoming convinced that nearly all TV newspersons take LSD 24 hours a day.
C: What else could cause such alternately dreamy and maudlin behavior?
Tom Neilsen followed:
N: Gee, the death of a co-worker couldn't have anything to do with it, could it?
Sure, fine, except that they were behaving this way before his sad and sudden
death--and not just in Milwaukee, but in Chicago and Atlanta and New York. My
complaint seems to be echoed by a post elsewhere in this newsgroup, "Why is
there no news on the News?" Gradually over the past decade or so, traditional
news content has been replaced by pure, gut-wrenching emotion. What happened,
how it happened, why it happened, or even who it happened to are all now of
secondary importance to how it *feels*, and how it affects the public at large
hardly matters at all.
Certainly Vince Gibbens' death was newsworthy because of his celebrity, and
made more so by the extent of his community involvement and general "good guy"
comportment. The circumstances of his death, information regarding services,
and a full obituary were to be expected of all Milwaukee-area news outlets.
Channel 6, however, added slow-motion montages and sentimental music and
personal "behind-the-scenes" footage, and medical experts, and spiritualism,
and attempts at poetry, and counselors "for the children", and reports from
the health club he patronized for shots of the very treadmill he used--while
entirely neglecting the serious mission that he and they had accepted as their
lives' work: reporting the day's news to the the public.
At some point--I think during the live coverage of Gibbens' funeral--genuine
human tragedy began to collapse under the weight of the significance that
television was investing in it and turn into something absurd. This is
precisely what happened to the O.J. Simpson trial, and what happens these
days to almost everything TV news seizes upon. Gibbens' own colleague
stood up in church to eulogize him by noting that Vince would consider this
a "ratings sweep". Meanwhile, the camera took close-ups of Gibbens' personal
studio chair and his kendo equipment positioned thereupon. Next, over to some
clever product placement from the good folks at Harley-Davidson, and "We'll be
back with more of our continuing coverage after *this*."
After the school bus/train crash recently in suburban Chicago, schoolchildren
had to plead with TV newspersons to leave them alone. The kids reported that
some of the journalists were offering them five bucks if they would share
their feelings about their dead classmates. This outrage was, of course,
reported other, presumably more scrupulous, reporters.
It's as if the most tragic of circumstances is still not tragic enough for TV
--there's got to be a way to wring out a little more, especially in November.
For a practical standpoint, tear-jerking music and slow-motion footage is a
lot easier and more cost-effective to produce than hard, cold facts and
details and names and documents and dates. The result is a lot more visually
compelling, too.
When I see some of the awful "news" that's being passed off on all Americans
these days, I can't help but remember that there are reporters in the world
for whom death does not come unexpectedly.
Don Coyote (mailto:donc...@wi.net)
Rebecca Marie Murphy
> I agree that they did a good job on reporting the death of Vince Gibbens.I
> was not a big fan of his but is still sad when someone that young dies so
> suddenly.And he was a big part of the community.He will be missed.
>
>
I agree that there was good reporting on Gibbens' death. He will surely
be missed and it is sad that he left behind young children. However, I
think that it wasn't necessary to show other people crying. They should
have the right to mourn in private. Yes it is sad, but why make it
worse by showing how sad everyone is. It is better to be thankful for
all of the hard work he did during his life.
Becky Murphy, UWM student
Rebecca Marie Murphy
>
> : Its what really happend. Sure, some of it was staged...but I think it
> : was geniune. It was a big loss--especially to those who worked with
> : him an ch. 6...
>
>
> What parts of it do you think were staged? Fill us all in...
>
>
I don't think any of it was staged. It is natural to be sad when someone
you work with and know well dies. However, the crying and the hugging
could have been done behind the cameras.
Gibbens will surely be a legend at Channel 6 and in the Milwaukee community.
Tom Nielsen
: Don Coyote (mailto:donc...@wi.net)
Tom Nielsen
Tom Nielsen
: lisa I'm-starting-to-get-the-hang-of-this ho...@csd.uwm.edu
Lisa, are you speaking from first-hand experience?
sha...@ods.ods.net
IT>: Its what really happend. Sure, some of it was staged...but I think it
IT>: was geniune. It was a big loss--especially to those who worked with
IT>: him an ch. 6...
IT>What parts of it do you think were staged? Fill us all in...
The parts where some of the reporters and anchors sat on the news set
and talked about Vince. It wasn't scripted, but I don't think its
everyday when the anchors just gab on the news set...
Sportside1
M._Mo...@nrunner.mil.wi.us
It is an instructive gauge however, to chart the slide of journalism in
particular and culture in general.
MM
Tom Nielsen
: IT>: was geniune. It was a big loss--especially to those who worked with
: IT>: him an ch. 6...
: IT>What parts of it do you think were staged?
: The parts where some of the reporters and anchors sat on the news set
: and talked about Vince. It wasn't scripted, but I don't think its
: everyday when the anchors just gab on the news set...
Using your definition, then, every interview you have ever read or seen
is "staged"...
I would agree with one point--I don't think the discussion was scripted.
Soren Nicholas Gajewski
> In milw.general (<1995Nov19.11...@nrunner.mil.wi.us>),M._Mo...@nrunner.mil.wi.us wrote:
> | It is amazing how commercial TV can trivialize everything it focuses on.
> I agree, and feel that *this* is the important issue. By doing what
> they did, they trivialized his death into yet another ratings story.
> There was very little "class" to the style of reporting you saw; that
> report was done purely and solely to wrench guts. Which is fine for
> close friends and bereavement, but belittles the real pact between
> friends that creates grief. You did *not* know that man if all you
> ever did was sit at the TV. Their report was meant to take what
> little identity of his that you have and *use* it to pull ratings.
> It was meant to transfer grief to the individuals watching, who may
> have no reason to grieve for someone they have no real identity with.
Some of us don't need to have a particular identity with in order to be
saddened. I never knew John Candy besides in his movies, but his death
brought grief. Many people looked with respect on Vince Gibbons and that
is reason enough to grieve for him.
> Time to objectify, folks. What they did was nothing less than the
> media manipulation we've come to know, love, and trust will come from
> sensationalist reporting like TV6 is known for.
I can only strongly disagree Mr Block. This was NOT done for ratings.
Your comments are nothing short of rediculas. I was saddened about
Vince Gibbons death. One of my friends had a particularly high amount of
admiration for Mr. Gibbons and was upset over his death. Those of us who
care about people needed to see the clips of Vince's life and needed to
hear the things we heard on TV6. I don't think those people who worked
with Vince for many years found this to be a great way to boost ratings.
Give me a break. Your comments are way over blown and simply rediculas.
sng
Lisa Holm
erratically.
I said that standing in front of a camera IS a drug.
Someone addressed me by my name, which always gets my attention:
> Lisa, are you speaking from first-hand experience? >
So I say:
> No, but my father used to be a local television reporter, and his
behavior was quite unpredictable. He reminded me of me on drugs. >