HALF-MILLION VIEWERS TREATED TO
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POSTED JULY 27, 1999--On Friday, July 23rd, an unidentified supporter of the Cursor Web site walked onto LIVE remotes of the KSTP-5 news at 6 p.m. and the KARE-11 news at 10 p.m., brandishing signs promoting the Twin Cities’ media watchdog. The perpetrator, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he wanted to make a statement about the silly and gratuitous use of LIVE reports by local TV stations, challenge the sanctity of those reports, and in the process, give his favorite Web site some free publicity.

That evening, both the late JFK Jr. and Kathleen Soliah were once again the subjects of LIVE coverage, as content-mining on these two over-reported stories continued unabated. The JFK Jr. coverage, on KSTP’s 6 p.m. newscast--broadcast LIVE from Sunset Memorial Tower in St.Anthony--provided the first opportunity for the Cursor supporter to become part of the story. Viewers saw him flash the Cursor Web site address behind the reporter and then discreetly make his exit, careful to be less disruptive of the proceedings than the television crews were.
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KARE-11’s coverage of Kathleen Soliah’s arrival at the HHH Terminal, broadcast LIVE at 10 p.m.(even though she wasn’t arriving until 11 p.m.!), was the occasion for his second walk-on of the evening--a deft promotion of Cursor’s media sycophant columnist, Budd Rugg. "I know that Budd would never do anything so bold to attract the attention of the media celebrities he worships," said the Cursor supporter who calls himself Rugg’s biggest fan, "but I wanted to do something for Budd, because he idolizes these Twin Cities television stars and they don’t seem to give two shits about him. Now, some of these people whose attention Budd so desperately craves will at least know he exists."

Viewers familiar with Cursor were overjoyed to see the logo of their favorite Web site flash on the screen. "I couldn't believe my eyes," said one surprised fan. "I started screaming at my husband, ‘Cursor’s on the news, Cursor’s on the news!’" The curiosity of hundreds-of-thousands of other Minnesotans was also piqued. "When I realized what was going on," said an excited viewer, "I thought to myself, ‘now this really IS must-see TV.' It was as if the inmates were taking over the asylum. And when we’re talking about something like TV news, that’s a GOOD thing."
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An employee of one of the stations that wasn’t hit, and who didn’t want his name used--fearing reprisal from LIVE-obsessed station managers--said, "Half the time I sit in that TV truck on LIVE broadcasts and think, ‘what’s the point?’ So what if itıs LIVE, can’t the time and money be better spent doing some real reporting rather than this cosmetic BS? If I was a viewer, I would much rather see a well-crafted story than these absurd LIVE simulations of real news. I know it sounds ridiculous to wax nostalgic about the good old days of TV news, but I often wonder ‘where’s it all gonna end?’"

The supporter, while doing what he considered a good publicity turn for Cursor, said that he was excited to finally make an appearance on the local news. "I’ve been watching this stuff for years, but I never realized how easy it was to actually become part of the broadcast. I think more people should try it, it’s really kind of fun." He vowed to continue the guerrilla promotion of his favorite Web site. "After all," he said, "if Cursor is going to dedicate itself to patrolling the Twin Cities’ airwaves, the least I can do is lend a hand in getting the word out."

Station executives, not used to viewers taking advantage of the public space behind LIVE stand-ups to advance their own causes, were reportedly considering ways to combat the new threat to their remote broadcasts.