KSLA Learns Lesson, Changes Program Interruption Policy

Received the following e-mail from the station manager:

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the way KSLA News 12 handled the weather interruptions during the LSU-Auburn game.

We heard you loud and clear.

Since Saturday, we have closely examined what happened and reevaluated our emergency program interruption policy.

Effective Wednesday, October 27 we now have a new policy in place. The goal of the policy is to warn those in the path of the storm, and at the same time, serve those viewers not directly affected by the emergency. The new policy will keep program interruptions to a minimum.

During Tornado Warnings, our Meteorologists will interrupt programming to quickly alert those in the path of the storm. Within one minute, we will either return to full programming of the game or use an improved split screen technique so the audience can still watch the action on the field while our Meteorologists continue to give important information. We will get back to full programming as soon as we can.This is different from our former policy where we would stay on with our weather interruptions throughout the entire Tornado Warning…which could last for several minutes and even hours.

I apologize for the way we mishandled the LSU broadcast. We will do better.

James Smith
General Manager
KSLA News 12

Nice job admitting a mistake and correcting it. Now I feel much better about the Alabama game. Well, the coverage, anyway.

What If Glover Smokes Pot?

That’s Bryan Wooley’s charge.

Glover, of course, denies it. The “evidence” is an accusation in a divorce proceeding made by the wife of a third party. In other words, a friend of Glover’s – an attorney who does business with the city – and that friend’s wife are in the middle of a divorce. In a set of interrogatories (short written questions), the wife asks if the friend ever smoked pot with Glover. The answer is sealed, and thus unknown and the source of much rumor-mongering.

In a just world, I would not care at all what the answer is. That’s a very different attitude than the average Shreveporter, though. The mere fact that the Mayor tokes would send most people over the edge, screaming “OMG, Drugs! The DARE officer told me in second grade that people who do drugs microwave their babies! Whose baby is Glover microwaving! AHHHHHH.” Or something similarly rational. All I would say is “So the Mayor gets high, BFD.” It has no impact on his family, him, his job performance, me or anyone else in Shreveport. It’s no different from having a few too many drinks now and then. Let the man relax.

But this isn’t a just world. It’s a world in which the government sends people who enjoy marijuana to jail. Glover, as Mayor, has a big role to play in that process. Which means, if he smoked pot, he would be doing something for which his city’s police are arresting other people. Yet he hasn’t done anything to change it. If he smokes pot, he must know how unjust that is. That he has done nothing to change it is why, if this turns out to be true, I would be extremely upset with the Mayor.