Matt Kempner: 'Media Reporting Is a Weird Beat'
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's media business reporter observes that many media stories have "lots of speculation from people who are never named."

I Want Media, 05/31/02

Matt Kempner, business reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has covered the media beat for the newspaper since early 2000. Kempner also files reports for the CNN "Insider" page on the paper's Web site, a resource that rounds up news and data of interest to the employees, investors and viewers of Atlanta-based cable news channel CNN. Kempner spoke with I Want Media about his favorite CNN scoops, why the paper devoted extra resources this year to covering AOL Time Warner's annual meeting and reveals that Ted Turner "is sharper than he lets on."

I Want Media: The "Insider" business pages on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Web site, which focus on major local companies like Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines, are a great resource. What's their mission?

Matt Kempner: [Our editors] realized that stories about certain businesses -- like CNN, Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines -- attracted lots of hits on the newspaper's Web site. They decided to create Web pages where we can give more information, faster, to people with an intense interest in those businesses. They went live earlier this year.

IWM: You report for the AJC's "Insider" page covering CNN. What is the goal of CNN "Insider"?

Kempner: All of the "Insider" pages are supposed to focus on the kinds of things that people talk about around the water cooler. On the CNN page we put in breaking news, tidbits, who's-moving-where items about CNN, AOL Time Warner, competing media conglomerates and rival networks like Fox News Channel. Some of it is our own stuff. Some of it is us telling people what other newspapers, magazines and Web sites are saying. We're still trying to get the right tone and mix of stories for the page.

IWM: What kind of response have you received from CNN about CNN "Insider"?

Kempner: Pretty mixed. Some lower-level employees and former executives generally seem to like having a place where they can check in. I sometimes hear from Fox News viewers who don't like CNN but like to keep up with what the network is doing.

IWM: What's your favorite scoop you've had about CNN?

Kempner: The job cutting CNN did last year was probably one of the biggest stories about CNN for Atlanta residents. I like to think that we gave our readers the first accurate numbers about how many people would be put out of work.

And, this wasn't a scoop, but shortly after Jamie Kellner became boss at Turner Broadcasting we pushed him to predict exactly what he expected to happen in the battle for viewers between CNN and Fox News Channel. His quote -- predicting CNN's supremacy -- got posted in big letters in the Fox newsroom. Of course, we later wrote about how wrong he was.

IWM: The AJC provided exceptional coverage of the AOL Time Warner annual meeting May 16, posting updates throughout the day to a dedicated page on the newspaper's site. Why was it important for the AJC to provide this service?

Kempner: It was an experiment to see what we could do, how we could do it and whether online visitors would be interested in it. We thought it would be a particularly interesting annual meeting to update on the Web, given AOL's stock turmoil, the company's online problems and [CEO] Gerald Levin's departure.

IWM: With the management changes going on now at AOL Time Warner, have you heard any talk about what will be the new role of CNN founder Ted Turner?

Kempner: I suspect that he would like to get a better understanding of that himself.

IWM: Have you ever interviewed Ted Turner? What's he like?

Kempner: I have interviewed him. When I've spoken to him he has generally been good natured. Except when he gets tired of being asked the same question five times. When he talks publicly, I inevitably see people shaking their heads, like they are witnessing a crazy uncle and waiting for his next flub or tasteless comment. But it's clear Turner is sharper than he lets on.

IWM: How is your approach different from other media reporters?

Kempner: Media reporting is a weird beat. I didn't come from the features/style side of the business. I came from the business/local news side. I'm not a media critic or a columnist. There are lots of media stories with lots of speculation from people who are never named. It seems like there often are big waves of stories about "might" instead of "will." I don't particularly like covering the catty, gossipy stuff.

IWM: CNN, like other TV news channels, spent a lot of airtime covering the discovery of Chandra Levy's body. Do you think TV news returning to its pre-9/11 days of less-than-hard news coverage?

Kempner: Yes. And I'm not sure that many Americans are particularly surprised.

IWM: Some observers suggest that 24-hour cable news networks like CNN are contributing to a decline in the relevancy of the broadcast evening news. Would you agree?

Kempner: Sure. But that's just one factor. People can get world and national news on their local newscasts. They can go to cable if there's big breaking news, the Internet when they are at work and the radio when they are in a car.

Add to that the fact that the evening newscasts air when lots of people either aren't home or are not particularly excited to sit down for a sober reflection of mostly not-so-nice things happening in the world. I suspect that people can accept that kind of viewing more easily later in the day, when their dinner is more thoroughly digested.



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