Idiot Local TV Report Bags on the "Street Outlaws"

[38P]

http://www.news9.com/story/25929844/illegal-street-racing-show-shuts-down-highway-with-police-help

This is quite possibly the worst piece of television news reporting I've seen in a long time.

The Municipal Motor Vehicle Racing Act, 11 O.S. sec. 22-163, allows municipalities such as Union City to issue racing permits, control access to racing events, and shut down the highway for them. http://www.oscn.net/applications/osc...?CiteID=462549

The detour on US 81 in Union City (at S.W. 59th at U.S. 81 just north of town) was very well-marked, well-lit, and completely safe. It was no more dangerous or inconvenient than any nighttime ODOT road repair project. It did not materially restrict truck traffic on U.S. 81.

The so-called "oily substance" is not in any way a hazard. It is a traction compound that actually improves tire adhesion. The suggestion that there is some sort of "cleanup" necessary is patently ridiculous and baseless.

While the Union City Police Department and the private security hired by Pilgrim Studios may have been unfriendly and overly aggressive in restricting access, there was nothing remotely "illegal" about what occurred.

The comments by the spokesperson for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol were completely ridiculous and contrary to the Municipal Motor Vehicle Racing Act. Various municipalities periodically shut down highways for all sorts of festivals, parades, and other purposes, including races, car shows, and burnout contests. The "Street Outlaws" have shot scenes on closed highways almost from inception.

I have other comments and information regarding the incident, but an agent of Pilgrim has threatened that Pilgrim will sue me if I post them on any forum.

[Ron Ward]

My favorite quote from the article:

"There for a while it was every week for a couple weeks," said Jenny Shieber.

Hmmm..... every week for a couple of weeks.... (pardon me whilst I cipher)... That makes two weeks in a row!

Wow.... must be that "common core" math....

[Barry Donovan]

there is a means to notify public, maybe that is was its about.
chamber of commerce etc is a place to get some info on a media type event for a town.
on the other hand, if tyring to make a non-audience video file...

tricky subject I guess.

[Casper]

The news becomes the outlaws and the outlaws becomes non-outlaws... that's a switch

[38P]

There is plenty of irony here.

Part of it is that Pilgrim may have created much of their own bad publicity through their open and excessive hostility to outside observers . . . Agonizingly-slow taping of shows for hour-upon-hour out in plain view and in front of scores of "insiders" (there's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that doesn't show up on camera, BTW), . . . but smacking down a TV photojournalist . . . and pretty much anyone who is not part of the Outlaws' relatively massive entourage . . . .

Running an "illegal" street race with a lawful permit and the help of small-town cops in a tiny place that has had . . . at times . . . some notoriety for strict traffic enforcement (not calling it a "speed trap," but . . . .)

[RockJustRock]

Many people lose sight of what reality entertainment or "actuality TV" as Tru calls it really is. The idea is NOT to just film an actual event happening. The idea is to PORTRAY what WOULD be happening IF the cameras weren't there. Thus EVERYTHING in Street Outlaws is technically faked, scripted, rehearsed WHATEVER. The only tie with reality is that those involved feel it is what would have been happening if there wasn't a TV show about it. I guess that is why the Drag Week stuff sticks in my craw. No TV show the OKC guys would have still been building the cars, racing them and making outlandish claims, but NO WAY would they have f*cked around with the Drag Week crew. This is proven out by how they got their butt kicked when they tried Drag Week before the TV Show. Any inside poop on what will go on this year on Drag Week?

P.S. THAT is why OKC always wins. If they lost they wouldn't talk about it IRL so it doesn't go into the show.

[Casper]

Which leads us to the age old question....

Is Flip really dead?

[Loren]

http://www.news9.com/story/25929844/...th-police-help

This is quite possibly the worst piece of television news reporting I've seen in a long time.

Yep that was pretty awful. "Street Racing" news pieces are a fertile ground for getting people riled up and we always have the problem of reporters/crews who get used to the special treatment many folks give them becoming deluded that they somehow personally deserve it.

Pilgrim will sue me if I post them on any forum.

...and I guess the same goes for them.

[38P]

Thus EVERYTHING in Street Outlaws is technically faked, scripted, rehearsed WHATEVER.

Without getting sued (hopefully) I think I can share this: If the show is scripted (which I don't know), they've got one of the lousiest writing teams known to man.

There is certainly no apparent evidence of any conventional shooting script, IMO, because the first and second units seem to making it up as it goes along . . . They often seem to be in "scramble mode" trying to figure out what to shoot next and reacting to what happens . . . and they appear to shoot exponentially more footage than they would ever need ("Alfred Hitchcock" the Pilgrim folks apparently aren't) . . . It's very inefficient, IMO.

That being said, I suspect that not everything is shot in strict sequence. For example, not mentioning any specific occurrence, I'm not sure why any racer would be purging nitrous for the camera an hour or more before lining up to race. But the show appears to be shot a lot more in sequence than a typical scripted show would be.

The reactions of the racers' entourages when they're off-camera also seem wholly consistent with real, unscripted reactions to wins and losses. And the racers appear to be running all out (which may not be apparent to viewers due to the pitiful, time-expanding editing of the show).

Do they know ahead of time who is going to race whom and the order of the pairings? My guess is yes. Is actual money changing hands on the bets? I'm little skeptical of that but I don't know. Are the races real? They appear to be.

But is the show a real-time documentary on illegal street racing? Not on your life.

So the truth would seem to lie somewhere in the middle between totally real and totally scripted. The situation is obviously set up. The "set" is clearly not clandestine. The race meetings aren't nearly as covert as a real illegal street race would need to be. But what is going to happen does not appear to be predetermined. And it's certainly possible some of the "drama" is more a product of how the show is eventually edited than how it is shot.

An "insider," however, may have a more complete point-of-view on it.

Happy Independence Day!

[SuperBuickGuy]

http://www.news9.com/story/25929844/...th-police-help

This is quite possibly the worst piece of television news reporting I've seen in a long time.

What's the criteria you used to determine that it was the worst? There isn't a day that I don't read something in the "news" that really continues my question about there being anything smarter than a brick employed by any news media.

We had reality TV
now
we have reality journalism... oh, and they love being called that

[Casper]

I've been watching American Greed lately. If Kwame Kilpatrick is innocent someone should probably free his ass.

[RockJustRock]

The incursion of show business into the story line ruins reality TV. American Chopper lost me when it became almost all promotional bikes for big corporations. Hell I prefer Amish Mafia as far as story line purity, although it is decomposing too. I love Storage Wars even though it's playing with "reality" is SO well documented. Planted items and all it sticks to what COULD happen and is in near-denial it is a TV show in production.

[Deaf Bob]

The illegal street racing I see happens out of town.. The guys know traffic is being stopped 1/2 mile past the "finish line" those traffic stoppers are quite good at what they do.. They just roll up, get started, then they are gone.. I'm told they meet miles away to exchange $$. There is never fans watching.. The kid can hear them, I can see lights if at night.. When the cops do come to check it out, the racers are long gone..... Only fools get caught.. The penalty is quite severe..

[38P]

What's the criteria you used to determine that it was the worst?

Very subjective. But I've got to say that on the rare occasions when I have first-hand knowledge of a story (usually involving a court proceeding), I often come away with a similar reaction.

I've worked for a daily paper, and in television production . . . so I know how difficult the job can be . . . and how intellectually vacuous some of the "talent", editors, producers, and directors are. On the other hand, one of my oldest and best friends is a daily newspaper editor . . . one of the few I've seen that prides himself on getting the details right and presenting all sides of a controversy.

Watch the old movie "Broadcast News" (1987). It's fiction, but it's frightening how accurate some of its main points are . . . .

[RockJustRock]

Oh hell, it's a new season, might as well fire up the whole discussion. Two interesting links:

http://www.thelostogle.com/2013/06/1...treet-outlaws/ (don't skip the comments which led me to....)


http://www.youtube.com/user/bigrob3232/videos (check out the really old stuff like 2008)