Auggie Doggie
01-28-2002, 03:46 PM
This is what the blurb from Rugrats Online (http://www.rugratonline.com) says:
Public Service, or Big Ratings, At The Expense Of Others?
On 12/1/2001, the Santa Experience and Chanukah episodes of Rugrats were broadcasted to a wider audience on CBS. However, viewers of KHOU ch.11 in Houston, Texas, only saw bits and pieces of the specials. Reason? That Saturday was an election day to see who would be the next mayor of Houston, and on that night, KHOU pre-empted portions of the specials for special election news. Normally, I would say, "Rugrats are Rugrats. There are alot of things that are more important, such as the election. The specials will be seen over and over again on Nick." But in this case, KHOU's coverage of the Houston mayoral election was riduculous. They block the first 15 minutes of each special for election returns and related news, then join Rugrats in progress, then break into programming again to give the same news for another 15 minutes, then rejoin Rugrats, etc.
The person who sent me this news, a mother of a Rugrats fan, was furious. She promised her child that he would watch the specials on CBS -- show would even tape them. But her child got angry after noticing that the specials are pre-empted for the election. And she got furious because of what KHOU is doing. Yes, she could've taped them off of Nick instead. Yes, she could've bought or rented the videos. But she wanted to watch and tape the specials off of CBS instead, but KHOU wouldn't let her. She and her child were "customers" of KHOU, which is a "business". And this "business" has let down at least 2 of their "customers". For their special Rugrats needs, they chose to do business with KHOU, instead of Nick or the local video store. Would she do business again with KHOU? Who knows. But, as the old adage goes, "The Customer Is Always Right".
If this was a federal of state election, when we elect a lot of people into office, of if there were special issues involved, then of course, it would gain more weight in importance than Rugrats. Even if several mayors or commisssioners are up for grabs in the Houston market, then those too, would be important. But this is an election for one mayor, in one city -- that's all. The mayoral race in Houston doesn't have much weight in suburbs such as Pasadena, Humble, Baytown, Alvin or League City; or in outlying places like Galveston, Bay City or Conroe. In my opinion, what KHOU should've done was just run a ticker on the screen, showing the results, then break into programming when a winner is declared and he or she is ready to speak.
That would've been the best way and please everyone, but no, KHOU thinks that what's good for Houston is good for most of southeastern Texas. They rather get their ratings from the future mayor of Houston, rather than some stinky babies celebrating the holiday. KHOU would like something to show in future promos for their evening newscasts, saying that they're tops in election coverage.
KHOU, like most TV stations in the US, care more about ratings and money, rather than the people that keep them in business in the first place -- the viewers. And I feel that on that night, it was not the mayoral race that was more important, but rather Christmas and Chanukah with the Rugrats.
-Written by Steve Mindykowski, Webmaster of The Unofficial Rugrats Online (http://www.rugratonline.com)
Public Service, or Big Ratings, At The Expense Of Others?
On 12/1/2001, the Santa Experience and Chanukah episodes of Rugrats were broadcasted to a wider audience on CBS. However, viewers of KHOU ch.11 in Houston, Texas, only saw bits and pieces of the specials. Reason? That Saturday was an election day to see who would be the next mayor of Houston, and on that night, KHOU pre-empted portions of the specials for special election news. Normally, I would say, "Rugrats are Rugrats. There are alot of things that are more important, such as the election. The specials will be seen over and over again on Nick." But in this case, KHOU's coverage of the Houston mayoral election was riduculous. They block the first 15 minutes of each special for election returns and related news, then join Rugrats in progress, then break into programming again to give the same news for another 15 minutes, then rejoin Rugrats, etc.
The person who sent me this news, a mother of a Rugrats fan, was furious. She promised her child that he would watch the specials on CBS -- show would even tape them. But her child got angry after noticing that the specials are pre-empted for the election. And she got furious because of what KHOU is doing. Yes, she could've taped them off of Nick instead. Yes, she could've bought or rented the videos. But she wanted to watch and tape the specials off of CBS instead, but KHOU wouldn't let her. She and her child were "customers" of KHOU, which is a "business". And this "business" has let down at least 2 of their "customers". For their special Rugrats needs, they chose to do business with KHOU, instead of Nick or the local video store. Would she do business again with KHOU? Who knows. But, as the old adage goes, "The Customer Is Always Right".
If this was a federal of state election, when we elect a lot of people into office, of if there were special issues involved, then of course, it would gain more weight in importance than Rugrats. Even if several mayors or commisssioners are up for grabs in the Houston market, then those too, would be important. But this is an election for one mayor, in one city -- that's all. The mayoral race in Houston doesn't have much weight in suburbs such as Pasadena, Humble, Baytown, Alvin or League City; or in outlying places like Galveston, Bay City or Conroe. In my opinion, what KHOU should've done was just run a ticker on the screen, showing the results, then break into programming when a winner is declared and he or she is ready to speak.
That would've been the best way and please everyone, but no, KHOU thinks that what's good for Houston is good for most of southeastern Texas. They rather get their ratings from the future mayor of Houston, rather than some stinky babies celebrating the holiday. KHOU would like something to show in future promos for their evening newscasts, saying that they're tops in election coverage.
KHOU, like most TV stations in the US, care more about ratings and money, rather than the people that keep them in business in the first place -- the viewers. And I feel that on that night, it was not the mayoral race that was more important, but rather Christmas and Chanukah with the Rugrats.
-Written by Steve Mindykowski, Webmaster of The Unofficial Rugrats Online (http://www.rugratonline.com)