For Heaven’s Sake, Leave 11 Alone…GEEZ! – A Musings Brief

October 12, 2007 Off By Eric O'Brien

A quick glance at Rob Owen’s Q&A today suggests that tension is mounting among WPXI viewers this week. The glitches that viewers have seen have made the newscasts pretty difficult to watch. Sure you can blame the professionals if you must, but I have no doubt that they are just as frustrated as the viewers are. It happens – whether or not one knows it’s happening! We’ve mentioned it here plenty of times. We’ve seen it mentioned elsewhere plenty of times. It’s time to let it go and give the station time to get everything up and running smoothly.

Obviously moving a television station isn’t an easy task – typically you’re moving into a whole new place with new equipment and surroundings and leaving much of the old behind. There’s so much to get used to…and yes, while practice makes perfect, there is only so much time to practice. You’ve got to roll with what you have when the time comes.

Think back 50+ years ago…if (unlike me) you can remember that far. Television was a new thing. Those who were in the business back then were doing everything for the first time. They made mistakes – and sometimes before the viewers’ eyes. Eventually things got down to a science and flowed smoothly. Then came the new technology (or new studios) and people had to re-learn things. And that’s what WPXI is dealing with now. Be patient…

This has been a Musings Brief