TV Q&A: Did KDKA-TV’s Mary Ours change shifts?
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Q:I haven’t seen Mary Ours in a while. Is she still working at KDKA-TV?
— Jim, Derry
Q: Why is Mary Ours on “Talk Pittsburgh” with Heather Abraham now?
— Lyle via email
Q: Who at KDKA thinks we want to watch Mary Ours shoot hoops, Irish dance and golf? It’s an insult to our intelligence as viewers. After working hard all day, I want to catch up on the news and get the weather. It’s embarrassing for a Pittsburgh news channel.
— Jen, McCandless
Rob: Ours moved off weekends around the launch of “Talk Pittsburgh” in March, although in the earliest “Talk Pittsburgh” episodes it was Kristin Emery who appeared alongside Abraham on the show. That may have been a function of vacation schedules.
Ours now works noon some days, then “Talk Pittsburgh” followed by 4, 5 and 6 p.m. usually with live weather reporting. My guess would be that because weather is what viewers always say is most important to them in a newscast when TV stations do audience research, that’s likely why KDKA is trying the additional, more featurey weather reports with Ours.
Related:
• Beaver Falls native, Point Park alum to join KDKA as meteorologist
Q: At 5:03 a.m. Nov. 29 the lead story and “breaking news” on a local newscast was about Mark Cuban selling a majority stake in the Mavericks and the fact that he is leaving “Shark Tank.”
Is there something wrong with me? I don’t get it. Can anyone explain to me why this is “breaking news”? I fear I have lost all my marbles!
— Linda, via email
Rob: Linda’s marbles are firmly intact. It’s TV stations that have broken the meaning of “breaking news.”
In this case, the news about Cuban leaving “Shark Tank” came out around 7:30 a.m. Nov. 28 (I reported it in a column that posted at 1:20 p.m. Nov. 28), so that’s definitely not “breaking news” almost 24 hours later.
News of Cuban selling a majority share of the Mavericks happened late Nov. 28, so that one could be more justifiable if you stretch the meaning of “breaking news” from terrorist attack, plane crash, weather event, mass shooting to include a guy who grew up in the Pittsburgh area selling his stake in an NBA team. But why would any sensible person pervert the meaning of “breaking news” that way? The Cuban news is a business story with a local tie that is, of course, worth reporting, but it is decidedly not “breaking news.”
Q: What is going on with Jennifer Jason Leigh’s accent in “Fargo” season five? Most of the other characters have a Minnesota accent and she … does not.
— Justin, Squirrel Hill
Rob: In my review, I described Leigh’s accent as “sounding like a trans-Atlantic cartoon villain who wandered in from ‘Casablanca.’ ” But over time, her accent grew on me as I found her imperious, privileged character more entertaining, especially as the story and relationships twisted in unexpected directions.
I did ask “Fargo” writer Noah Hawley about the accent choice in an interview last month. Hawley said he talked to Leigh about William F. Buckley Jr. prior to filming.
“For me, the conceit is that all the major characters in the show (this season) are different kinds of Republicans,” Hawley said. “If Jon Hamm’s character is the radical alt-right Republican, then Jennifer represents that old-school, millionaire-billionaire Republicanism best embodied by William F. Buckley. He was a hyper-intelligent man with a real withering disdain for people who did not subscribe to his philosophies. … I didn’t talk to her like, ‘You should do William F. Buckley,’ so I was a little surprised when she showed up on the first day (with that accent). It’s such a strong affectation. And we worked together to find a grounded place for it. And I think it does separate her. We talked about that idea that she’s (from) outside Chicago somewhere but to be taken seriously in a boys’ club, she had to become regal.”