As siblings barely a decade old, my daughters have a difficult time dealing with each other.
They are always competitive, often petty and usually looking for ways to show up the other through any means necessary.
After sending the warring Bremner kids off to school, I head into work to join the world of television news.
There, I find people who are always competitive, often petty and usually looking for ways to show up others through any means necessary.
Market research proves that phrases like “exclusive” and “as we first told you” or “seen here first” carry a waning influence with most viewers.
“Yea, yea” is the most common public reaction.
So why do stations still use these phrases?
Oh no, it’s not to send a message to the viewers, dear reader, but rather to send a message to the competition.
And what would that message be?
NA na NA NA na.
“We interrupt your daily soap to inform you that we are first on the scene of this incredible event.”
“Yea, but isn’t that the other two guys pulling up in the background two minutes later?”
“That matters little, common knave, for we are the FIRST on the scene!”
“Who cares, I want the best story!”
“Well, I, yes, well, PFFBBHHTTTTTTTT!!!”
It is within that background that I tell about what is hoped will be a noble social experiment.
On September 16th beginning with the afternoon newscasts, WSEE-TV, WICU-TV and the CW network will join forces for a telethon to support the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation.
The event will culminate in a pretty much first ever attempt to simulcast a one hour event from 7pm to 8pm on all three stations, which for Time Warner customers would be channels 3, 5, and 12.
You may want to watch to support groundbreaking research that uses tiny nano particles to find cancer cells which are then heated and killed with directed radio waves without any apparent side effects to the patient.
Then again, you may just want to watch to see how everyone is getting along.