Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik reflects on local stations’ coverage of the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl victory parade. Zurawik saw the good — CBS O&O WJZ and NBC affiliate WBAL “dominated coverage,” he writes — and the bad:
But it made my blood boil to see reporters using fans as props. Telling fans to give a cheer or start singing and whooping when the cameras are pointed at them is both stupid and insensitive, and there was plenty of it.
And having your reporters wear purple scarves or stand on corners and act like crowd cheerleaders, which is what I saw too much of from WMAR during the parade, isn’t enough. Really.
AdvertisementThe other thing that annoyed me, and it has been building for weeks, involves veteran reporters acting like they are buddies with the players, referring to Terrell Suggs, for example, as T-Sizzle and calling out to him on the parade route.
Zurawik noted WJZ’s Adam May and WBAL’s Deborah Weiner particularly stood out, writing, “There are reporters, and then there are reporters. Weiner and May were REPORTERS Tuesday.”