KOCO TV comments--or rant

[old okie]

Yikes!!! What is with Jessica Schambach? I know she is trying to sound "folksy"--or maybe just "Okie"--but p-l-e-a-s-e! Her pronunciation is so poor that the impression that she must make on any visitors who happen to catch her presentation/reporting has to give all Oklahomans a bad rap. She is absolutely THE worst of the all of the local anchors. Yes, we Okies do drop our "g's" on words ending in "-ing," but a person trained in TV should be able to overcome that. She sounds so "hick"!

We don't dislike the lady; on the contrary, we just wish someone would take her aside and get her a little speech training. She has the potential to make a decent anchor--okay, she needs better makeup, a hair style, and attractive clothes [like Amy or Amanda on KWTV], but there is potential.

Are we the only ones who are bothered by her continual usage of such phrases as "he was shot dead" or "they were woken by the earthquake" or "they're gettin' a plan and are workin' on improving"? Yes, we are old-school about standards of speech and grammar, but........we often switch channels to miss her destruction of the language---and we really do like Channel Five. [And, no, we don't work for one of the other stations!]

Rant over!

[smooth]

Yikes!!! What is with Jessica Schambach? I know she is trying to sound "folksy"--or maybe just "Okie"--but p-l-e-a-s-e! Her pronunciation is so poor that the impression that she must make on any visitors who happen to catch her presentation/reporting has to give all Oklahomans a bad rap. She is absolutely THE worst of the all of the local anchors. Yes, we Okies do drop our "g's" on words ending in "-ing," but a person trained in TV should be able to overcome that. She sounds so "hick"!

We don't dislike the lady; on the contrary, we just wish someone would take her aside and get her a little speech training. She has the potential to make a decent anchor--okay, she needs better makeup, a hair style, and attractive clothes [like Amy or Amanda on KWTV], but there is potential.

Are we the only ones who are bothered by her continual usage of such phrases as "he was shot dead" or "they were woken by the earthquake" or "they're gettin' a plan and are workin' on improving"? Yes, we are old-school about standards of speech and grammar, but........we often switch channels to miss her destruction of the language---and we really do like Channel Five. [And, no, we don't work for one of the other stations!]

Rant over!

One problem is the Colleges and Universities do not require speech improvement anymore like they did up to the late 70's or 80's. Therefore, a large number of reporters and anchors sound like gutter mouth hicks. Not just her.

I really don't watch KOCO because they are liberals and KFOR and KWTV are conservatives, but I wanted to comment based on what I know about the communications programs. One other note. Amy McRee is showing age also. She needs an overhaul.

[Chance23]

One problem is the Colleges and Universities do not require speech improvement anymore like they did up to the late 70's or 80's. Therefore, a large number of reporters and anchors sound like gutter mouth hicks. Not just her.

I really don't watch KOCO because they are liberals and KFOR and KWTV are conservatives, but I wanted to comment based on what I know about the communications programs. One other note. Amy McRee is showing age also. She needs an overhaul.

They don't? You should have said that in my required public speaking course.

[smooth]

They don't? You should have said that in my required public speaking course.

Then yours must have been an exception. I happen to have a communications degree. I started it immediatly after High School and completed it later in life. When I completed it, I did a lot of research into programs. NOT ONE required speech improvement. Luckily, I had already taken it.

[drumsncode]

I'm glad someone else notices these things! She's been butchering English for quite a while now and sadly, she's not the only one. I heard the "woken up" line too, but there are many other offenses. (She probably didn't even write that line; it was probably some young product of the OKC school system, but don't get me started!) ;-)

Two stand out and really chap my prompter.

The first is the word "tour". To all you news people out there: "Tour" is not pronounced the same as "Tore". Look it up and study the dictionary entry. "Tour" is very close to "Lure", and it does not rhyme with "Pour", "Door", or anything like that.

The second is how I'm hearing some pronounce "Singer". You do not clamp down on the "G" at the end. In other words, you don't pronounce it like you would if Tony the Tiger was saying "Greeeaaaat!" It's not sing---GER, it's just "singer", all in one smooth word with a very gentle "G".

As for Amy McRee, I think she's gorgeous and one of the most vibrant, articulate anchors we'll ever have in Oklahoma. No complaints here about Amy!

[old okie]

One problem is the Colleges and Universities do not require speech improvement anymore like they did up to the late 70's or 80's. Therefore, a large number of reporters and anchors sound like gutter mouth hicks. Not just her.

We would certainly agree with you! I took one speech course at UCO in which the professor decreased our grades (per speech given) by one LETTER for EACH misprounced word!!! Believe me, I quickly learned the proper pronunciation of words!

[old okie]

I'm glad someone else notices these things! She's been butchering English for quite a while now and sadly, she's not the only one. I heard the "woken up" line too, but there are many other offenses. (She probably didn't even write that line; it was probably some young product of the OKC school system, but don't get me started!) ;-)

Two stand out and really chap my prompter.

The first is the word "tour". To all you news people out there: "Tour" is not pronounced the same as "Tore". Look it up and study the dictionary entry. "Tour" is very close to "Lure", and it does not rhyme with "Pour", "Door", or anything like that.

The second is how I'm hearing some pronounce "Singer". You do not clamp down on the "G" at the end. In other words, you don't pronounce it like you would if Tony the Tiger was saying "Greeeaaaat!" It's not sing---GER, it's just "singer", all in one smooth word with a very gentle "G".

As for Amy McRee, I think she's gorgeous and one of the most vibrant, articulate anchors we'll ever have in Oklahoma. No complaints here about Amy!

Yes, yes, and yes again!!! "Tour" being pronounced as "tore" is becoming universal; we've even heard it on national networks! Egad. Hadn't caught anyone saying "sing-GER," but that would chap us too.

As for exactly where the poor grammar originates, two thoughts come to mind. One is the person(s) doing the copy for the anchors to read; the readers may well be just "parroting" the bad usage from there. [Maybe the stations need a proofreader who knows something of "standard" usage to check over the stories that are pre-printed??] The second is that--even though some of the anchors may have had a course in speech--the "standards" at the collegiate level have also declined since "back in the day"! Don't get me started on "grade inflation" and "dumming down of courses"!

For the reporters who are in the field, I am most forgiving of bad grammar and/or mispronunciation because of the circumstances, but when sitting at the desk reading the teleprompter, no.

[stratosphere]

I really don't watch KOCO because they are liberals and KFOR and KWTV are conservatives

If i may ask, why does that matter?

[kimard]

Yikes!!! What is with Jessica Schambach? I know she is trying to sound "folksy"--or maybe just "Okie"--but p-l-e-a-s-e! Her pronunciation is so poor that the impression that she must make on any visitors who happen to catch her presentation/reporting has to give all Oklahomans a bad rap. She is absolutely THE worst of the all of the local anchors. Yes, we Okies do drop our "g's" on words ending in "-ing," but a person trained in TV should be able to overcome that. She sounds so "hick"!

We don't dislike the lady; on the contrary, we just wish someone would take her aside and get her a little speech training. She has the potential to make a decent anchor--okay, she needs better makeup, a hair style, and attractive clothes [like Amy or Amanda on KWTV], but there is potential.

Are we the only ones who are bothered by her continual usage of such phrases as "he was shot dead" or "they were woken by the earthquake" or "they're gettin' a plan and are workin' on improving"? Yes, we are old-school about standards of speech and grammar, but........we often switch channels to miss her destruction of the language---and we really do like Channel Five. [And, no, we don't work for one of the other stations!]

Rant over!

Paul Folger does the exact same thing! I really don't remember Jessica always pronouncing her words like she does now. I agree with the rest of you... I don't like hearing a news anchor say "ya know" "but ya can't" "don'tcha". Maybe we should get both of them a subscription to Hooked on Phonics?

And could someone please tell Anita Blanton to calm down? She's very dramatic at times!

[smooth]

If i may ask, why does that matter?

Because most liberals can't be trusted. With one exception, they are nothing but lying dirtbags that try to control people. They have no concept of the US Constitution!

[USG '60]

Never in my long life have I heard any local news that showed a political leaning. The don't do editorials. Oh wait, CH 25 (fox) used to do editorials on the news but I haven't looked at them in years for news. Liberal local news on 4,5 or 9..... Jeez, give me a break.

[drumsncode]

Never in my long life have I heard any local news that showed a political leaning. The don't do editorials. Oh wait, CH 25 (fox) used to do editorials on the news but I haven't looked at them in years for news. Liberal local news on 4,5 or 9..... Jeez, give me a break.

Oh it's very obvious, especially when you know the leanings of the anchors and the stations. They don't need to do editorials to slant the news. It's done all the time with the stories they select and how they present them.

It becomes more evident when you watch more than one station in an evening, to see the differences in what they choose to cover.

You should give FOX25 a week's worth of viewing. They cover more stuff than anyone. They are gutsier and they simply have more time (47 minutes) to get the stories done. They've uncovered a lot of corruption in local government over the past year, the stuff that other stations seem afraid to touch.

It is not at all like the shows they were airing circa 2003.

[buckt]

My two rants? Many of the local anchors call each other a shortened verison of their first name. For example, Kelly Ogle calling Gary England "Gar...". I don't care what they call each other off camera - but when the 'on the air' light is on....let's be professional...okay "Kel?"

Jonathan Conder - weather channel 4. He seldom will say, "hundred". If you listen he says, "hun-red". He refuses to use the 'd' in 'hundred'....makes me insane to listen....

Please - someone back me up on this -if you can????

[Chance23]

Then yours must have been an exception. I happen to have a communications degree. I started it immediatly after High School and completed it later in life. When I completed it, I did a lot of research into programs. NOT ONE required speech improvement. Luckily, I had already taken it.

I went to one of the major universities in this state. My classroom had students from all types of different majors. It was a required course. Maybe it wasn't required where you were looking in to, but I do know it was required where and when I graduated not that long ago.

Oh it's very obvious, especially when you know the leanings of the anchors and the stations. They don't need to do editorials to slant the news. It's done all the time with the stories they select and how they present them.

It becomes more evident when you watch more than one station in an evening, to see the differences in what they choose to cover.

You should give FOX25 a week's worth of viewing. They cover more stuff than anyone. They are gutsier and they simply have more time (47 minutes) to get the stories done. They've uncovered a lot of corruption in local government over the past year, the stuff that other stations seem afraid to touch.

It is not at all like the shows they were airing circa 2003.

I watch all four on a regular basis, Fox occasionally covers some corruption stuff the others don't (well, namely with the DPS race issue), but for the most part doesn't do anything else more than anyone. In fact, they often will have less information on major stories because they're doing a piece on puppy farms and some such that doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I liked their work on the DPS race issues, but for the most part I see less from them than others on just about anything else.

KOCO is more likely to get out to the fires and stuff others don't want to go to. They love shots of cars embedded in buildings or fire engines in front of a house, even if there's nothing really interesting about it. They also have a tendency to exaggerate more than the others, from what I see.

KFOR and KWTV are about even, except Gary England seems to have a bit of a god complex and KFOR stopped updating their website in any real way.

I rarely notice any slant on any of them from most of their stories. I think it's more obvious that we interpret slants where we otherwise wouldn't based on our own political leanings. I've had discussions with people on both sides of the aisle over the exact same stories and they'll come up with completely different interpretations on where that source leans politically. We see what we want to see and interpret things how we want to interpret them.

[Bunty]

Because most liberals can't be trusted. With one exception, they are nothing but lying dirtbags that try to control people. They have no concept of the US Constitution!

Seldom folks, have I ever heard such pitiful, all out absurdity as expressed above in this otherwise fine forum. Please, sir, by all means, let go of your closed tight mind that is so isolated from reality and get a life if that is at all possible. Thank goodness the others, such as chance 23, had a considerably more rational basis on how to judge OKC TV news.

[TaoMaas]

I think it's more obvious that we interpret slants where we otherwise wouldn't based on our own political leanings. I've had discussions with people on both sides of the aisle over the exact same stories and they'll come up with completely different interpretations on where that source leans politically. We see what we want to see and interpret things how we want to interpret them.

I couldn't agree more. News people do their best to keep their personal opinions out of their reporting. Those of us who offer opinions on their reporting usually make no effort whatsoever to restrain our bias.

[duckman]

Because most liberals can't be trusted. With one exception, they are nothing but lying dirtbags that try to control people. They have no concept of the US Constitution!

Are you a real person?

[stratosphere]

Because most liberals can't be trusted. With one exception, they are nothing but lying dirtbags that try to control people. They have no concept of the US Constitution!

Sir, please do not take this the wrong way, but i suspect that you have a certain political bias (and possibly religious, but forgive me if i am being presumptuous) that is prevalant throughout your life. The only thing i can offer is, try not to take politics that seriously in day to day life. We are all just people trying to get along in this world, liberal or conservative, it really means nothing in the bigger picture. When was the last time you went to a hospital for a procedure? Are you sure that everyone working at that hospital, who holds your life in their hands, is of the acceptable political party? What about the cars we drive, or the mechanics who work on them? Im pretty sure the guy who designed my furniture does not have a bumper sticker on the back of his car that says "i vote by the book", but he sure does make some nice furniture!

Do we remember the 1980's, all of those televangelists who swore up and down that "this lifestyle" and "that lifestyle" was a "sin" and certain people or sins were an abomination to God? And how many of those televangelists got rich off of their viewership, only to make the headlines at some point because they were knee deep in a sex scandal or prostitution ring? I don't know what im trying to say here really, other than we all need each other in this world. If you refuse to watch a certain news channel because you feel that the anchors or station management is not of your political persuasion, then that is certainly your right. But if one watches only the news (local, or national) that caters to their own belief system, then i guess they'll tell you what you want to hear. You could be missing something though.....

[MikeOKC]

I bet I haven't watched 15 minutes of local TV news in the last 2 years. From what I have seen (admittedly not much), there's little journalism and a lot of self-hype promotional crap.

[mugofbeer]

I bet I haven't watched 15 minutes of local TV news in the last 2 years. From what I have seen (admittedly not much), there's little journalism and a lot of self-hype promotional crap.

Do you at least read the paper? Otherwise, how do you profess to be informed on any local issues? I have a bro-in-law - he and his wife are the same way. Don't watch local news, don't read the DOK. I can't understand.

[gmwise]

I honestly can not stand Kelly Ogle or Gary England.
I would give ole Kel 50$ to keep his damn 2 cents till it runs out....
Gary England....the one time he called something right, and now he is god to kwtv.
Being on a lackluster movie (Twister), seems to be a ego booster.
I seen Kel give so much a personal slat to stories, its bs.
Of course the ole gray mare Linda Coughalung (yes I know), gives such a BS reading..
But honestly, Ed in the noon hour on 9, seems to be likeable, and yes he slants things.

25, rocks for going after local corruption, and other investigative journalism.
Something DOK, and other stations seem to be scared of.

[bornhere]

Y'know, talking about the political slant of local TV news is kind of like talking about the influence of Bach and Vivaldi on Nickelback. I don't know how you can be 'liberal' or 'conservative' about a brush fire at SE29 and Triple X Road.

[drumsncode]

Y'know, talking about the political slant of local TV news is kind of like talking about the influence of Bach and Vivaldi on Nickelback. I don't know how you can be 'liberal' or 'conservative' about a brush fire at SE29 and Triple X Road.

There's a definite slant when they do political stories, especially those involving the President. KOCO kisses the ground Obama walks on, while KWTV does not, and it shows in the stories they choose to air and how they present them.

And hey, everyone knows that Mozart was the defining influence on Nickelback; what are you, some kind of liberal trying to slant the facts towards Bach? ;-)

[gmwise]

There's a definite slant when they do political stories, especially those involving the President. KOCO kisses the ground Obama walks on, while KWTV does not, and it shows in the stories they choose to air and how they present them.

And hey, everyone knows that Mozart was the defining influence on Nickelback; what are you, some kind of liberal trying to slant the facts towards Bach? ;-)

lol