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WABC-TV Comes to its Senses

By Brian | September 7, 2007 | Share on Facebook

This morning, the news director at ABC’s New York affiliate, Kenny Plotnik told the New York Daily News that his station will not air the traditional reading of the victim’s names on the morning of September 11, 2007.

“We decided to provide continuous coverage on our Digital Channel and Web site so our audience could have a choice between their regular programming and the Sept. 11 ceremony. We hope to be respectful to the families and serve our audience. This is not about ratings, it’s about what’s right.”

“What’s right,” according to Mr. Plotnik, includes “Live with Regis and Kelly,” “Rachael Ray,” and “The View.” The fact that these shows have paid advertisers and the 9/11 memorial service would not, Mr. Plotnik is suggesting, has nothing to do with it. It would just be “wrong” to deny viewers their daily dose of Regis, Rachel & the girls for a silly thing like a national day of mourning.

Well, after this announcement (and before I could write a truly outraged blog posting), all hell broke loose. Or, as the beleaguered Mr. Plotnik puts it:

“I made some calls, I spoke to families, we got some emails. People were upset and confused. They were upset. It was upset and confusion. There wasn’t any anger.

Yeah, right. At any rate, to avoid further upsetting all of those non-angry, confused people, WABC-TV has decided to air the ceremony in full, just like every other local channel in New York.

Mr. Plotnik went on to explain that “the real issue, there is really a terrible misunderstanding with digital channels. There seems to be a situation where people don’t understand the concept of digital channels.” He went on to say, though, that there would be other opportunities to use the digital channel down the road, but the 9/11 ceremony was not the time to test it.

Good thinking, Mr. Plotnik. (Finally…)

Topics: News and/or Media | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “WABC-TV Comes to its Senses”

  1. Jeff Porten says at September 7th, 2007 at 3:59 pm :
    Okay, call me confused. When I read your blog title, I assumed that WABC was going finally stop doing live coverage of an event that, while important, isn’t exactly newsworthy.

    Can you tell me why you think this needs to pre-empt programming on multiple NYC channels? It seems to me that one channel is enough (and, in fact, is a perfect use for PBS), and that it’s highly rational for some stations to air alternative programming.

  2. Brian says at September 8th, 2007 at 1:49 am :
    I think they ought to pre-empt programming on every channel in every city, so everyone takes a couple hours and participates in what is basically the closest thing we have to a national religious service. I’m sure I’m not in the majority in this opinion, but I’m also sure I’m not the only one.

    As for newsworthy? 1 in 3 Americans can’t correctly identify the year the attacks took place. Also, there are kids who were too young then, so they’re just learning about it now (this one hits particularly close to home for me). It’s also the only time we talk about 9/11 with absolutely no political context whatsoever, which makes it newsworthy in itself…