Archive for the ‘TV News’ Category
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A recent poll from the Pew Research Center found 33% of smartphone owners now read news on their cellphones — a number that’s bound to rise as more people adopt smartphones and more news orgs develop specialized apps to meet the need.
Leading the media market in New Orleans, smartphone app-wise, are WWL-TV and Fox 8 News, which are now offering free, ad-supported iPhone applications featuring current news content.
Which one is better? It depends. WWL’s is easier to navigate and seems more intuitive; Fox 8’s is a bit more stylish and customizable, and the font size and layout of the stories are definitely easier on the eyes. What may break the tie is WWL’s video offerings — you can watch selected stories or a weather forecast on the go over a basic Internet connection; Fox 8’s app doesn’t have that function.
The good news is: both apps are pretty good for keeping up with New Orleans news, and they’re both free from the iTunes Music Store. Why not try them both? Here’s a couple of screenshots for comparison, with more below the jump:
Read the rest of this entry »
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There’s Tinseltown stardust in the air for our local investigative TV guys, it seems. First now-retired Richard Angelico turns TV pitchman for a cash-for-gold company (would someone please upload that to YouTube?), and then Travers Mackel, we hear, has filmed a Mackel-evellian cameo for David Simon’s new series Tremé. But none of these star turns can compete with Peabody award-winning journalist Lee Zurik, who is making his debut as a flea in the Contemporary Arts Center’s upcoming production of Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Gambit’s own I-Team has obtained footage of “Flea Zurik” (which will no doubt be played on an endless loop at City Hall) and we’re presenting it here for the first time. Enjoy.
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At the final televised mayoral primary debate Feb. 4 on WWL-TV, all six candidates had the chance to take their last shots at their opponents. Frontrunner Mitch Landrieu was the big target, but John Georges, Troy Henry and Rob Couhig all came in for some drive-by criticism from other candidates.
Early in the debate, in a question about community policing, Landrieu made a reference to NOPD officers in communities meeting citizens, “not just as a Gestapo.” The Georges campaign jumped on the choice of words; within an hour of the debate’s end, they had issued a press release blast headlined “LANDRIEU: NOPD IS A GESTAPO” and calling on the candidate to apologize.
But it was Couhig who seized the opportunity to bring up the issue that had been hot gossip in local political circles for nearly a week: the discovery of a 1980 photograph from a party at Tulane’s Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity, in which several members posed for photographs in blackface. John Georges was a member of the frat at the time, and would become its president in 1981.
In answering a question about how the next mayor would heal the racial divisions in New Orleans, Georges stressed the diverse makeup of his company, Imperial Trading, noting his employees were “50 percent African American, 50 percent female and the leadership of my company is African American.” That left an opening for Couhig to parry, “There’s a bigger issue out here, and it has to do with Mr. Georges. I was so disappointed today when I was presented with evidence that an organization he ran had people in blackface parading around. How can you be mayor if you condone that in an organization you were the president of?”
Georges, seated directly to Couhig’s left, replied, “You know, you don’t respond to blogs. It’s not true. Those are all misrepresentations. I never condone anything such [sic], and it’s just last-minute political tactics.”
The blog in question, American Zombie (theamericanzombie.blogspot.com), had on Feb. 2 published several photographs from Tulane yearbooks featuring the Dekes in various party-animal shots, some of which included members dressed in blackface at a yearly event called the Debutramp Ball. While the blog’s author, Jason Berry (no relation to the local Catholic Church sex-scandal historian of the same name) did not claim Georges was one of the men in blackface, the photos did establish that the fraternity had worn blackface in 1980, when Georges was a member. He became president of DKE the following year, and the Debutramp Balls continued through the 1980s before DKE had its charter permanently revoked by Tulane University in 1987 after a blackface march near campus.
Reached the day after the debate for comment, Georges spokesperson Helena Moreno said, “John made a public statement on the issue last night during the debate that he won. On the contrary, we are waiting for Mitch Landrieu to explain himself to the men and women of the New Orleans Police Department after calling them the Gestapo.”
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Last night, WWL-TV released the results of a highly anticipated mayoral poll that’s good news for Mitch Landrieu and a cold splash of water for his competitors. The scientific telephone poll of 500 people, conducted by the station and the Claris Research Group, found Landrieu’s support at 45% — polling highly in all categories and demographics:
The scientific survey of 500 voters shows Landrieu does well across the board, winning among whites, blacks, men, women and all ages.
Henry’s core of support came in the African American community, while Couhig’s strongest support came in the white community.
Landrieu also outscores the others among Republicans, Democrats and independents.
The only other candidate in the double digits was Troy Henry, polling second at 14%. Coming in third, with 8% apiece, were John Georges and Rob Couhig.
Perhaps more worrisome for many of the candidates was the news that, despite an unprecedented number of forums and the new use of social media to spread their messages, most New Orleans don’t know them, or haven’t heard enough about them to form an opinion:
More than half of those questioned said they had not heard enough about Nadine Ramsey or James Perry rate them favorably or unfavorably.
Forty-two percent had not heard enough about Couhig, and 38 percent said they knew too little about Henry to rate him. For Georges, 31 percent for Georges.
Only seven percent said they didn’t know enough about Landrieu to rate him.
The undecided folks should provide a clue as to whom the candidates will be targeting in the next two weeks:
Pollster Ron Faucheux says 69 percent of the undecided voters are African American. Twenty-four percent are white.
As a result, he predicts a lot of the campaigning from now until election day will focus on the African American community.
I would’ve loved to have sent this poll to Katrina vanden Heuvel, publisher and editor of The Nation, but she doesn’t seem to have an email address on the magazine’s Web site. In an endorsement last week of James Perry, vanden Heuvel wrote:
The mayoral race in beleaguered New Orleans has a candidate who is a true social justice advocate and progressive–Nation contributor and civil rights advocate James Perry. The New York Times has declared the race all but over–pushing a “white mayor in NOLA” storyline…
Oh, bull, Ms. vanden Heuvel. First of all, the article to which you link is by the NYT correspondent in “beleaguered” New Orleans, Campbell Robertson, who, unlike you, is actually here, has actually been attending campaign events and seems to have the charmingly antiquated notion that actual reporting means talking to actual people. Second, Robertson’s article “pushed” no such thing:
The balance of power between blacks and whites in New Orleans has been an issue for decades, a back-and-forth that has only intensified since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, now that every election is a referendum on the future of the city. But a recent decision by a black candidate to drop out of the 2010 mayor’s race has made the possibility of a white man in the city’s most powerful office startlingly real.
…which, given these poll results, seems to be true. The only thing being “pushed” here is Katrina vanden Heuvel’s agenda in endorsing a candidate in a race she knows zippo about.
Anyway, read the whole poll over at WWLTV.com (usual disclaimer: Gambit owner Clancy DuBos is also a political analyst for the station, and some of our Gambiteers make regular appearances on the WWL Eyewitness Morning News to create genial havoc).
Tonight’s 10 pm news will bring Part II of the poll — the numbers on the City Council candidates. Given the turnout for last night’s council-at-large forum (6 of the 7 at-large candidates showed up to a crowd of less than 25 people, many of whom were their aides), it looks like the council candidates have some business to attend to in the next two weeks as well.
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Thursday was Misunderstanding Day at the WWL-TV newsroom. First Misty Marshall and the Moonpie King performed, leading to this awkwardly revealing on-air exchange with Paulsen:
Eric: “Actually, Sally-Ann and I are former moonpie kings and queens …”
Band: “(Ba-dum-ch!) I never knew.”
Eric: “Settle down.”
Things only got worse when Paulsen and I were discussing the Over the Line Big Lebowski Party:
Me: “They’re having a dialogue contest, outfits, trivia, lots of Caucasians being drunk around the Rock ‘N’ Bowl …”
Eric: (Looking into camera and shaking head)
Only on Misunderstanding Day could “copious White Russians getting consumed” end up sounding like “a ton of boozed white folks acting the fool.” Although I’m sure the latter is also true.
MUSIC
FILM
STAGE
EVENTS
ART
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WWL-TV announced this afternoon that the station has hired Michael Perlstein, former Times-Picayune reporter and visiting assistant professor at Loyola University, as the station’s new managing editor, spearheading the station’s award-winning investigative unit, which took a hit last year when Lee Zurik decamped for WVUE-TV.
Other changes at Channel 4: Reporter Katie Moore was formally named weekend anchor, and Marcy Planer Murray, a local attorney and researcher who worked on the station’s Peabody Award-winning story about the NOAH housing scandal, joins the newsroom as investigative researcher.
Full press release from WWL under the jump. (And, in the interests of disclosure: Gambit publisher Clancy DuBos is the station’s political analyst, and several Gambit folks appear regularly on the Eyewitness Morning News, particularly Noah Bonaparte Pais, who takes great joy in teasing Eric Paulsen.)
Read the rest of this entry »
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Add “a—hole” and “vagina” as the newest entries in the WWL-TV Eyewitness Morning News lexicon. And to think I nixed a mention of the Butthole Surfers back in September. At this rate, we’ll be casually parsing the merits of a F—k Buttons/F—ked Up/Holy F—k triple bill in no time. You can’t FCC me, Paulsen!
MUSIC
Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship? with Nana Grizol
10 p.m. Friday, AllWays Lounge
Gambit blog
Strange Bedfellows Series feat. Spickle, Giant Cloud, Metronome the City and White Colla Crimes
10 p.m. Saturday, One Eyed Jacks
Gambit feature
FILM
The Horse Boy
7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
The Breakfast Club
Midnight Friday-Saturday, Prytania Theatre
STAGE
Jewtopia
8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday, Le Chat Noir
Gambit pick
The A—hole Monologues
8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday, Hi-Ho Lounge
Gambit preview
EVENTS
Louisiana Museum Foundation Gala
6:30 p.m. Friday, The Cabildo
Gambit pick
Righteous Fur Nutria Design Challenge Fashion Show
8 p.m. Friday, AllWays Lounge
Gambit preview
ART
“Revival: Historical Processes in Contemporary Photography,” group show
Closes Friday, Homespace Gallery
“Aquiferious,” works by Margaret Ross Tolbert
Opening reception 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, LeMieux Gallery
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At 2:20 this afternoon, Troy Henry representative Angela Anthony threw the local political scene into a swivet when she sent out a simple email:
New Orleans Mayoral candidate Troy Henry has scheduled a press conference today to discuss the future of his candidacy. The press conference will be held at his campaign headquarters, located at 140 N. Carrollton Avenue, at 4:30 p.m.
Was Henry getting out? It seemed impossible, but the ominous words “future of his candidacy” was enough catnip to get all 4 TV stations on the spot immediately, as well as the T-P and Gambit. Once we were there, it seemed clear that Henry wasn’t going anywhere, but the rumors were a-flying: Henry was getting a major endorsement. Henry was being supported by the cast of The Wire. Or maybe it was Tremé. No one from Camp Henry was talking.
At 4:30 sharp, Henry took the podium and read a statement:
Today in the Times-Picayune newspaper, columnist James Gill wrote, “Sure, in a rational world, the color of hizzoner’s skin would be irrelevant. But we live in New Orleans.”
Those words should send shivers up the spine of every citizen in this community. Whether the columnist is right or wrong is irrelevant. What is more important is that we don’t let any reporter, any politician, or anyone deduce that a candidate is about to be anointed mayor without the benefit of the democratic process.
No doubt, Mr. Gill has all but prematurely crowned the next mayor as a white mayor. Of course, I strongly disagree with his assessment. I am in this campaign to win because this city needs a champion for change, a new direction….
The whole statement will surely be up on Henry’s Web site soon, but the question-and-answer session that followed was prickly, electric and more than a bit contentious. Clancy DuBos was also there and will surely have some analysis soon, but I got the raw video of the Q&A on my iPhone and uploaded it here (sorry, can’t figure out how to embed the damn thing).
Since Henry’s statement included the words “I am appealing to you — the media — to allow this process to be democratic,” presenting his conference without comment seems the best way to do so. Watch it and let us know what you think in the comments.
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How do you start some smack in the WWL-TV studio? Just ask them which Christmas film is the G.O.A.T. The question, it turns out, is WWL’s current Web query, and this morning, Eric and Sally-Ann — and meteorologist Laura Buchtel, several cameramen, a New Orleans Junior Leaguer and the O. Perry Walker choir — almost went to blows over the relative merits of It’s a Wonderful Life versus The Christmas Story. I’m afraid I’ve got your back here, Paulsen: Jimmy Stewart takes out that precocious little four-eyes every day of the week (and twice next Friday).
MUSIC
Judith Owen and Harry Shearer’s Holiday Sing-Along
8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, CAC
Gambit feature
Forgetters
7 p.m. Saturday, Nowe Miasto
Gambit preview
FILM
It’s a Wonderful Life
Noon Saturday-Sunday, Prytania Theatre
Vieux Carre Matinees
11:30 a.m. Saturday, Le Petit Theatre
STAGE
A Christmas Carol
7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Teatro Wego
Silver Knife Society
10 p.m. Saturday, Backyard Ballroom
EVENTS
Bywater Art Market
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Markey Park
Elysian Fleas Holiday Market
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Elysian Fields Avenue at Chartres Street
ART
“Blind Prom,” photographs by Sarah Wilson
New Orleans Photo Alliance
Gambit review
“Within Shadows,” photographs by Susan Burnstine
Canary Gallery
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This week, it was the fourth quarter, and somehow the Atlanta Falcons managed to force a 23-23 tie.
It was time to activate the SuperSaints power of the Ernie & Antoinette K-Doe Sofa Pillow:
…and bam!
Suddenly Randall Gay was creaming Eric Weems … Jonathan Vilma was making an interception … and the MOJO WAS BACK.
The pillow don’t eff around, people.
We offered an exclusive on its miraculous recuperative qualities to the first local TV station smart enough to realize what a scoop they had on their hands, and Scott Walker of WDSU-TV promptly placed dibs on it.
A Pinkerton truck and armed guards will be arranged this week to transport the Ernie & Antoinette K-Doe Sofa Pillow of Victory to the WDSU studios (if not the Superdome!), and we’ll keep you posted on when you can receive its miracle healing powers through your TV set.
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