Blasphemy on Ice

Proving local TV News is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better, a Las Vegas station has stooped to product placement. That’s right, those are two (fake!) McDonalds’s iced coffees flanking the plastic broadcasters of KVVU’s morning show. Station suits call the unprecedented move a “nontraditional revenue source"; most everyone else calls it blasphemy on ice. Okay, so that’s my own name for it, but what else do you call the steady erosion of your chosen field? The station’s management do their best to dodge the desecration of this formerly sacred space by pointing out that the anchors never acknowledge the vile vessels and besides - they’re only placed there after seven A.M. , when the newscast switches from the morning’s top stories to lifestyle and entertainment fare. Well now - that changes everything…..

Or does it? Ever since the Camel News Caravan rode off into the sunset, newscast producers have done a pretty fair job of separating content from corporate cash-cows. Now however, all bets are off. Many affiliates are strapped for cash; advertising is down and the internet continues to siphon relevancy from a medium that used to be the only platform of record in town. Is it any wonder the chiselers have shamelessly sold their station’s credibility to the highest bidder? No, but it’s a damn shame - because for every lecherous sales executive and grinning presenter, there are vast armies of broadcast journalists who still consider the news a higher calling than the bottom line. I count myself among that number and look forward to the day when I can inform the masses without worrying about the on-air talent wearing face-paint and red, floppy shoes.

Now please, drive ’round to the second window...