NewsBreakers

[Guest guest]

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21695/

 

NewsBreakers

 

By Rory O'Connor, MediaChannel.org. Posted April 6, 2005.

 

 

Whether a new chapter in media criticism or just classless, low-rent,

no-talent clowns, the NewsBreakers are serious about the need to

reform our broken media system.

 

Who are those masked men... in invisible suits ... walking into live

shots ... reading the Bible and smashing eggs on their head?

 

When news breaks, they bust it ...

 

They interrupt your regularly scheduled program ...

 

.... to fight " truth decay. "

 

They're the NewsBreakers and they say " As citizens in a participatory

democracy, we can no longer idly standby and let our government offer

the airwaves, our common property, to the highest bidder. "

 

It all began last January in Rochester, New York. A group of masked

men burst into the local headlines when they disrupted the live news

broadcasts of two local television stations, WROC and WHEC.

 

Taken into police custody, they were were accused of assault, but

later released. In a press statement, NewsBreakers said they are a

nonviolent media watchdog group that had " freed two live broadcasts "

and " temporarily reclaimed the airwaves in the name of the American

people. " Their aim: to protest what they termed " the wholesale failure

of Federal Communications Commission licensees to honor their

obligation to the public. "

 

" Today's event marks a new chapter in media criticism, " proclaimed

Buck Owens, NewsBreakers 'senior political correspondent.' " We are

putting television news on notice: We're out here, we're watching and

we ain't happy with what we see. "

 

A self-described " nonpartisan, nonviolent media watchdog group

dedicated to the improvement of journalism, " NewsBreakers comments on

and critiques television news, mostly by relying on parody and

" non-traditional media interventions " to protest core problems like

" overzealous " FCC regulations and corporate ownership of media

outlets. Their hope is " to get people talking about the issue of TV

news quality. "

 

Owens is happy to explain the organization's goals. " We're just trying

to raise a pretty simple question, " he says. " Are you happy with the

job that news -- TV news in particular -- is doing? "

 

Since the initial Rochester action, the NewsBreakers have begun to go

national. In February the " Grim Reaper " -- complete with black robe

and sickle -- busted a live shot at a Sinclair Broadcasting station in

Columbus, Ohio. NewsBreakers say they have a " special distaste " for

Sinclair, which operates both the ABC and Fox affiliate stations in

Columbus (the stations share programming while operating under the

motto " The Power of Television Times Two. " )

 

" We thought the Grim Reaper was a pretty direct commentary on the

nature of local television news, " Buck Owens says. " It blows me away

that people would tolerate one company owning both outlets. "

 

Later that same month they also hit the Gannett-owned KPNX in Phoenix.

Gannett, which owns more than 100 newspapers and 20 television

stations, runs both KPNX and the Arizona Republic, the state's largest

daily. After spending " most of the day transfixed by the station's

coverage of the banal " -- which included stories about cute walnuts,

controversial candy, a model train, naughty waiters, and a live

interview with one of the Queer Eye guys -- Owens 'busted' a live shot

report on a 'breaking' murder story.

 

Since then, they have expanded into New York -- the nation's largest

media market -- with an " Eggman " bust of New York 1, and another at

WABC, where a Bible-reading Buck Owens repeatedly disrupted Jeff

Rossen's standup about the New York Daily News' " Scratch and Match " snafu.

 

" Let's see what happens to the news business when they feel attacked, "

says NewsBreaker J.D. Rozz. " We're setting up a 'lose-lose' situation

for them -- either they can try to ignore us at their peril, while we

smash eggs onto our heads behind them -- or they can challenge us, as

we've challenged them. "

 

" What we're doing is very low-brow -- obviously, " admits Buck Owens.

" After I smashed the eggs of my head, my dad sent an e-mail saying

only 'Get help -- and get it quick!' But we find lots of people want

to join us! "

 

But seriously -- if the word can be applied to such zany protesting

pranksters -- the Newsbreakers seem to be tapping into some twisted

piece of the Zeitgeist, judging from the reactions they have been

getting. Their phony job postings for " Visual News Interpreters, " for

example, have already elicited several resumes from job-hungry

would-be reporters ( " I am a highly flexible, motivated and disciplined

individual with an ability to adapt successfully to new and

challenging situations. " ) who apparently didn't read too closely. And

the In Box for Questions is filled with comments

ranging from " What a cool approach to media criticism " to " I'm not

sure what your objective is but I'd like to applaud you for beating

them at their own game " to naysayers who write " Acts like this are

classless. You are low-rent, no-talent clowns! " "

 

Behind the absurdist stance, the NewsBreakers betray the oddly serious

mien of true believers. " Television news defines reality for most

people, " J.D. and Buck told me last week during a rare unmasked

interview. " It confers heft and legitimacy to the stories that make

air. But what we've found is that the only stories they want to do are

the ones they already know! So we try to reframe the news for viewers

and make them deal with something indefinable. Egg smashing is really

just another way to smash viewers' consciousness.

 

" We're carnival barkers, mostly, " admits senior correspondent Owens.

" But even when playing, we're very serious about the need to reform

our broken media system. "

 

Of late, the NewsBreakers are beginning a dialogue with people within

the industry as well, with reactions (both pro and con) to their

sophomoric antics popping up on discussion boards like medialine.com

and broll.net. " We're calling on media professionals to debate, at the

same time as we are urging viewers to think and to reflect, " says Owens.

 

" But hey -- this whole thing took off in just three months -- a lot

faster than we ever anticipated, " Owens concludes. " We don't claim to

have all the answers -- but we sure have a lot of questions. Maybe

stimulating dialogue will actually lead to change. Look, our most

important point is that we actually CARE about the news, and think

it's important to people. We're not really anarchists -- we just want

better-quality news! "

 

Rory O'Connor's blog, " Media Is a Plural, " can be found at

www.roryoconnor.org.

 

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