TV News

Those who know me, know of my past in the television news industry. Those same people will tell what I think about the television news industry. For those of you who don't know, and not to put too fine a point on it, it sucks. As it is said, "It ain't what it used to be."

Self-centered reporters giving about one third of the truth on something that has NO relevance to you at the time. Making the story about themselves. Exaggeration. Indictments. It's all there and those are just some of the reasons why I don't watch it. TV news has a tendency to piss me off. Ed Murrow once said of television, "... this instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely lights and wires in a box."

When I was cutting my TV teeth at WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi, I struck up a life long friendship with a man named Tom Dees. He was a photographer there and a damn good one at that. We spent a few years working together there uncovering all sorts of ugliness and "news worthy" things. To make a long story short, the day came when I left for greener pastures and Tom moved to the other side of the camera and became a great reporter.

Dees has since moved to Memphis and can be seen on Fox 13. He's been here for many years and he's easily the best interviewer in the business and has a certain knack for getting the best out of his subjects as the following video shows. He blames me for that. On a side note here: It's his fault I'm in Memphis, so there. We're even. Yet another long yarn for later.

Anyway, he has been able to do something I could never do in my brief TV career. He's an award winning TV guy and after some two Emmy awards later, Tom is putting together a great career in an otherwise slimy business. I give you the following example of one of his latest stories:



This, in my opinion is how TV news should be done. I think I smell another Emmy for Tom Dees... the bastard.

Nice job, Tom... "Good night and good luck."