Chaptzem Blog!      

Viewers often say local TV doesn't cover real news.

After watching WCBS/Ch. 2's two-part sweeps "exclusive" last week about members of the Hasidic Jewish community who cheat on their wives and Hasidic couples who swing, well, it's hard to argue the viewers are wrong.

Before the first piece aired, Ch. 2 anchor Kristine Johnson told viewers that the station was revealing "a side of that community that is rarely seen; some are straying far from their beliefs, breaking their marital vows with other community members."

People cheat on their spouses?

Shocking!

What's more shocking, though, is that Ch. 2 spent three months - a quarter of a year - uncovering this so-called scandal at a time when TV news budgets, including payrolls, are being slashed.

"There are some married Hasidic men and woman who sneak away from their ultrareligious lives," reporter Dave Carlin intoned. "They use the Internet to break their vows and break Jewish law."

Carlin delivered every word as if he was auditioning for "CSI," and in a manner suggesting that what he was saying carried life-changing significance.

Yeah, like the brain cells people lost watching.

Carlin talked to one man, who, with his face blurred, admitted to cheating on his wife. And he talked to a woman who discussed what it was like to be in an arranged marriage - and to ultimately leave.

The piece was called "Sacred Vows, Secret Affairs."

It should have been called "More Sweeps Crap."

Reporting on issues involving the Hasidic community is a valid exercise, no doubt. The insular nature of the community makes it largely unknown to most people, and there is some intrigue.

But please, have a real reason for doing it. Give viewers a valid insight into people who make up a part of this city.

Don't make it, as this clearly was, TV titillation during the home stretch of a sweeps (a ratings period, it should be noted, that was mostly marked this time around by extra stories of snake-oil beauty treatments and health updates).

"You know, Dave," Johnson said after the first of two pieces aired, "people at home are probably saying to themselves, affairs happen in all communities."

Sure, there probably were people making that observation - those who weren't swearing at their TVs at that point.

"We're not trying to point a finger or call out any one group or community," Carlin said. "But as we looked into this over three months, the stories themselves, the emotion coming out from these individuals is so compelling."

That, folks, is pure baloney.

No wonder viewers lose faith.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/12/02/2008-12-02_ch_2_hasidic_news_adultery.html