PERSPECTIVE
By Paul Hatfield (Posted first at villagetovillageblog.com)
W hen there is a brush fire or a mudslide you can count on the media, microphones, cameras and the Mayor to converge on the scene. There are regular updates with breaking developments throughout the crisis. We watch the Mayor model a variety of rain slickers, hard hats and rubber boots.
There is another crisis occurring which may prove to be far more devastating than any, with long-term implications for health, safety and just plain old core services. It is the city’s budget debacle.
But do we see coverage breaking in during our favorite shows, or news announcers promoting “film at eleven?”
Instead, we hear the sound of crickets. The background chirping that lulls us to sleep.
I attended the last Neighborhood Congress just a couple of months ago. Among other things, it was a rollout for the budget process. The Mayor spoke, but you wouldn’t have known there was a serious budget crisis. He gushed on and on about how crime was down, but not a word about the financial hole the city was in.
Where is the media when we need them?
Why aren’t reporters shoving microphones in front Villaraigosa asking him what he is doing about the budget? Not that I would expect a straight answer, but at least let him know that he’s not going to receive a free pass.
At this past Sunday’s Emergency Budget Meeting hosted by the LA Neighborhood Coouncils Coalition, someone mentioned that if you took a random poll of pedestrians no one would express any awareness of the budget deficit. It would make the Jay Walking segment on Leno sound like Meet the Press.
The sad truth is that most people are living in blissful ignorance. They don’t read the papers or even go beyond the entertainment news on TV or the internet. How would they respond if they knew the extent of the crisis and the possible repercussions? No one knows – or at least no one will unless there is an unparalleled media outreach blitz.
Perhaps the most important development that came from LANCC’s Emergency Budget Meeting was the formation of a media committee. It was made even better when Kevin James of KRLA [[[LINK] (who was present throughout the entire meeting) volunteered to participate.
Talking amongst ourselves does not constitute outreach. Even when the press is present, as they were at the NC Congress, the coverage is normally scanty and shallow.
The media committee will face an unprecedented challenge to awaken the local mainstream news sources to the story. Unconventional methods of communication will have to be attempted.
Back in the mid 1970s, in the year leading up to America’s Bicentennial, there was a daily feature on one of the networks called the “Bicentennial Minute.” [LINK] It provided interesting lesser known facts about the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence. It was widely viewed and even won an Emmy. More importantly, it educated people.
Maybe what we need in Los Angeles is the “Budget Byte.” It should be broadcast on all the local stations, right before or after popular shows, during news broadcasts. Sound bytes could be played on all the radio programs, from top-40 to classical.
Each segment would be both informative and provocative, with emphasis on the latter because people need to get excited.
There are plenty of creative people in this town. The LANCC media committee can use your help.
(Paul Hatfield is a CPA and serves as Treasurer for the Neighborhood Council Valley Village. Read more Paul Hatfield at Villagetovillageblog.com . He can be reached at
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CityWatch
Vol 8 Issue 4
Pub: Jan 15, 2010
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