TV Q&A: Why does local TV news cover water main breaks?

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: TV news reporters used to be called ambulance chasers, just like lawyers. Now it seems WPXI-TV reporters are chasing water main breaks, even ones on small side streets or roads that has little effect on traffic! On Aug. 21 their reporters actually arrived before the water company! Can’t they work to find things more newsworthy than water main breaks?

— Rob, Greensburg

Rob: It’s easy to cover water main breaks and car accidents and crime stories. In-depth reporting takes more time and resources and with so many hours of the broadcast day devoted to news, stations are always looking for what is quick and easy.

Now, water main breaks are news to some but often it’s a relatively small portion of the audience that it impacts, so Rob’s frustration as a viewer is understandable.

Q: I would like to have all Pittsburgh news channels give me the whole story at one time instead of five or 10 seconds of the same story every half-hour.

— Kenny, Springdale

Rob: And I’d like a million bucks. Neither of those things is likely to happen.

If a TV station offers details on a story in drips and drabs it’s either because they are getting new information and adding that as they get it or it’s a calculated move to keep viewers tuned in from one portion of the newscast to the next.

Q: A couple of weeks ago I saw an EAS roofing commercial that ended with some guy farting and it was immediately followed by a curly-haired blonde girl asking “Need gas?” on a Giant Eagle or GetGo commercial. Doesn’t anybody screen this stuff before it goes on the air?

— Tim, Franklin Park

Rob: Whether anyone does or does not, there’s nothing in FCC code against fart jokes. They may not be to everyone’s liking but they are not forbidden on TV.

Q: Does any streaming service here in the U.S. carry “The Repair Shop?” I have been looking for it since Discovery+ dropped it.

— Greg, Indiana, Pa.

Rob: Not that I can find. Per JustWatch.com, new episodes of the show are not currently available in the U.S. Older episodes can be found on YouTube.

Q: Any idea why it’s impossible to opt out of receiving the RSNs on FuboTV and their associated fees? I’d love to give FuboTV a try, but I’m not going to pay the extra $11 a month for the RSNs which I’ll never watch.

— Rick, Wexford

Rob: While many streaming services today offer a la carte options, some opt for a more traditional cable bundle business model where all subscribers subsidize expensive sports channels, including ESPN and regional sports networks.

DISH Network took the opposite approach, dropping RSNs including Pittsburgh SportsNet, which many Pittsburgh viewers objected to.

Q: The FIOS TV channel guide has not shown the new “Chiller Theater” in its listing for PCNC. The only way to record and watch it later is to set the DVR to record the newscasts listed inaccurately in 30-minute increments. This is not only misleading but is not at all the way one should be able to record and watch a 90-minute program. Can you please find out why FIOS is not listing Chiller Theater as a single program but as news repeats from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.?

— Joe, Pittsburgh

Rob: I checked with WPXI-TV and they are indeed sending the correct listings information out to the listings services. But it seems the listings service that Verizon FiOS TV uses keeps getting the listings wrong. Verizon representative Caroline Brooks never responded to Joe’s question.

A Channel 11 representative points out viewers can also see “Chiller Theater” online at wpxi.com/chillertheater.