[editor]

Morning traffic reporter Darby Douglas has been fired from KHOU television. He'd been doing the morning news there for nearly 13 years.

For those of you who were fans, or even just occasional viewers, how Darby was on TV is exactly how he is in real life -- nice, genuine, and unlikely to hurt a fly. Just a really nice guy.

[kylejack]

I did not care for him, but I am surprised to hear that he's the same in person as on TV. I got a bad vibe for some reason.

[sheeats]

Damn, they already took him off the staff page at KHOU's website:

http://www.khou.com/...u/newsteam.html

That's cold.

[Jeebus]

Was he laid-off or fired? Has he been replaced?

[kylejack]

They haven't deleted his profile page yet for some reason:

Quote

Darby Douglas joined the KHOU morning news team in August of 1996 after spending ten years in the radio industry as an on-air talent and traffic anchor for KLOL, KLDE, and KCOH, to name a few. Douglas is a native Houstonian, which comes in handy when doing traffic for a living, and a graduate of Stratford High School. Douglas attended the University of Houston, but now that he is "Married with Children," he plans on making sure that his two daughters finish their education.
Douglas has been reporting traffic for over ten years now and is "happy to be proficient at something!" Although Douglas is an avid golfer and fan of Tiger Woods, his favorite past time is spending time with his wife and kids.

http://www.khou.com/...m/ddouglas.html

This post has been edited by kylejack: Friday, February 27, 2009 at 4:14 PM

[FilioScotia]

Jeebus, on Friday, February 27th, 2009 @ 5:12pm, said:

Was he laid-off or fired? Has he been replaced?

I'm guessing he was laid off. Just a few weeks ago, Belo Corp announced that it would be laying off 14 percent of its national workforce. Here's a link to that announcement on KHOU's website:

http://www.khou.com/...s_.2a37683.html

They've either decided to do without traffic, or they've figured out a way to do it cheaper.

I really hate to see this, because Darby is one of the really nice guys in the local media biz.

And if he's part of a 14 percent RIF, it's very probable that he's not the only one at KHOU to get the axe.

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Friday, February 27, 2009 at 7:15 PM

[editor]

Jeebus, on Friday, February 27th, 2009 @ 4:12pm, said:

Was he laid-off or fired? Has he been replaced?

The e-mail he sent me read, "fired."

These days the terms are used interchangeably, especially by companies as politically correct as TV stations.

[FilioScotia]

editor, on Friday, February 27th, 2009 @ 6:12pm, said:

The e-mail he sent me read, "fired." These days the terms are used interchangeably, especially by companies as politically correct as TV stations.

Whatever you want to call it, when your employer terminates your employment, no matter what the reason, they've fired you.

Whether it's "We don't need your services anymore", or "We don't want your services anymore", or, "We can't afford your services anymore", you're still out the door. Fired. I hope he got a good severance package.

As one who's been through that a couple of times, I know for a fact that no matter how much severance he got, right now Darby is sick to his stomach wondering where he's going to find a job in this collapsing economy, and worrying about how he's going to support his family. That's how decent guys like him react to being fired.

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Friday, February 27, 2009 at 5:22 PM

[GovernorAggie]

I heard him recently doing the traffic on the radio, though. 97.5 maybe?

[Jeebus]

I equate fired to disciplinary termination versus laid-off as budgetary termination. I was hoping that his firing was of the "laid-off" nature.

[FilioScotia]

Jeebus, on Friday, February 27th, 2009 @ 6:06pm, said:

I equate fired to disciplinary termination versus laid-off as budgetary termination. I was hoping that his firing was of the "laid-off" nature.

Fired or laid off -- the result is the same. He's out on the street looking for a job.

[Trae]

Darby is like me now. Looking for a job.

[citykid09]

Trae, on Friday, February 27th, 2009 @ 6:24pm, said:

Darby is like me now. Looking for a job.

me too Trae.

[Jeebus]

FilioScotia, on Friday, February 27th, 2009 @ 6:17pm, said:

Fired or laid off -- the result is the same. He's out on the street looking for a job.

I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT IF THE GUY GOT FIRED FOR BEING A POOR EMPLOYEE OR IF HE GOT LAID OFF BECAUSE THE STATION COULD NOT AFFORD TO KEEP HIM.


I KNOW THEY ALL ULTIMATELY MEAN THE SAME THING.

[FilioScotia]

Jeebus, on Friday, February 27th, 2009 @ 10:32pm, said:

I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT IF THE GUY GOT FIRED FOR BEING A POOR EMPLOYEE OR IF HE GOT LAID OFF BECAUSE THE STATION COULD NOT AFFORD TO KEEP HIM. I KNOW THEY ALL ULTIMATELY MEAN THE SAME THING.

I know what you mean.

It's almost certainly a lay-off. Belo did give notice on January 30th that 14 percent of the company's national workforce would be cut, and that every one of its TV stations and newspapers would be affected.

Darby is just the only one we know about, but I'm sure others behind the cameras and in various departments were also laid off.

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 10:50 PM

[Jeebus]

FilioScotia, on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 @ 6:15am, said:

It's almost certainly a lay-off. Belo did give notice on January 30th that 14 percent of the company's national workforce would be cut, and that every one of its TV station and newspapers would be affected.

Thank You. Sorry for yelling.

[FilioScotia]

Jeebus, on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 @ 11:22am, said:

Thank You. Sorry for yelling.

Not a problem. I share your sorrow and frustration over seeing bad things happen to good people.

This is what happens when a company's profits go down. They have to cut costs and that means layoffs.

Every single one of us who has a job should be thankful and hang onto it with all our might.

[editor]

Some clarification -- Darby isn't unemployed. Not exactly. He's still an employee of Metro Traffic, which KHOU contracts with for its traffic service.

KHOU just decided it didn't want Darby anymore. Instead, it's looking for a female traffic reporter to bring in more young male viewers.

[kylejack]

Heh, one of the other stations has a cute brunette doing morning traffic.

[Jeebus]

editor, on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 @ 2:02am, said:

Some clarification -- Darby isn't unemployed. Not exactly. He's still an employee of Metro Traffic, which KHOU contracts with for its traffic service.

KHOU just decided it didn't want Darby anymore. Instead, it's looking for a female traffic reporter to bring in more young male viewers.

Thanks for the clarification. Sadly, it makes financial sense for the news station to do that. Look at the attention Jennifer Reyna brings on for KPRC.

[FilioScotia]

Jeebus, on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 @ 11:49am, said:

Thanks for the clarification. Sadly, it makes financial sense for the news station to do that. Look at the attention Jennifer Reyna brings on for KPRC.

I join Jeebus in thanking you for the clarification. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had completely forgotten that Darby and other TV traffic reporters are contract employees from Metro Networks.

And it's not just for traffic. TV stations also have video photographers under contract from Metro. Almost all the radio stations around town get their newscasters and traffic reporters from Metro.

It's good to know that Darby isn't on the street after all. Metro will find a slot for him somewhere.

[FIREhat]

There are only two reasos KPRC gets anyone watch in the morning: Lauren Freeman and Jennifer Reyna. KHOU has a good news program but not much flash; let's hope they don't sell out completely and turn into Channel 2.2.

[rsb320]

kylejack, on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 @ 9:42am, said:

Heh, one of the other stations has a cute brunette doing morning traffic.

Yes, but I can't stand her. She seems mildly retarded.

[Jeebus]

That's what the MUTE button is for.

[rsb320]

Jeebus, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 @ 8:10am, said:

That's what the MUTE button is for.

But I'm watching to get the Traffic Report. "We've got slows on the belt" - WTH?

It's like the weather men stating that we've got "high humidities today". Don't they mean high humidity levels? Stop trying to make up a new language.

[FilioScotia]

rsb320, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 @ 11:24am, said:

But I'm watching to get the Traffic Report. "We've got slows on the belt" - WTH? It's like the weather men stating that we've got "high humidities today". Don't they mean high humidity levels? Stop trying to make up a new language.

Get used to it. It's a waste of time, energy and frustration to even try to get others to speak the way you want them to speak.

Besides, are you saying that you didn't understand the meaning of "We've got slows on the belt" and "high humidities today"?

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 1:37 PM

[Native Montrosian]

11 was fun in the mornings when Debra Duncan was still there. She had a way of saying "David Paul" and "Darby Douglas" that made it sound like they were kids in Really Big Trouble meriting use of first and middle names.

The competition for cuter traffic chick reminds me of that "Married With Children" episode with Kelly getting a job as the weather girl.

[rsb320]

FilioScotia, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 @ 12:35pm, said:

Get used to it. It's a waste of time, energy and frustration to even try to get others to speak the way you want them to speak.

Besides, are you saying that you didn't understand the meaning of "We've got slows on the belt" and "high humidities today"?

Yes, I can understand slang, but I don't think news professionals should be speaking it, Dawg. Call me old fashioned, but I think proper English has been slaughtered enough.

Of course, it's nothing I'm going to lose sleep over. I just roll my eyes and change the channels.

[kylejack]

rsb320, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 @ 3:20pm, said:

Yes, I can understand slang, but I don't think news professionals should be speaking it, Dawg. Call me old fashioned, but I think proper English has been slaughtered enough.

Of course, it's nothing I'm going to lose sleep over. I just roll my eyes and change the channels.

Merriam-Webster lists humidities as a proper plural for humidity, so what do you mean by proper English? If humidity is a noun, and it is, what is wrong with using the plural form to refer to humidity readings taken at numerous places around the area?

http://www.merriam-w...ionary/humidity

You should be hyphenating old-fashioned.

This post has been edited by kylejack: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 3:26 PM

[rsb320]

kylejack, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 @ 2:25pm, said:

Merriam-Webster lists humidities as a proper plural for humidity, so what do you mean by proper English? If humidity is a noun, and it is, what is wrong with using the plural form to refer to humidity readings taken at numerous places around the area?

http://www.merriam-w...ionary/humidity

You should be hyphenating old-fashioned.

Well, gawwwlaay! I guess I should research before going-on-a-rant.

Anyway, I've taken this off topic. Back to Darby.

[editor]

kylejack, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 @ 3:25pm, said:

Merriam-Webster lists humidities as a proper plural for humidity, so what do you mean by proper English?

For what it's worth, "internets" is also correct. The RFC documents upon which the internet was built frequently refer to "the internets."

But because the term sounded new and unusual to ignorant children, "the internets" became a "meme" representing ignorance when President Bush said it.

Speaking of "meme"...



My point is -- you can't fight linguistic ignorance. You can only do the right thing with your own spoken and written English.

[rsb320]

Are you calling me ignorants?

[hbcu]

ugh.....the blonde girl traffic type wins again.....laura reynolds does nothing for me on 610...glad I work against traffic

[SecondTour]

Cup size & hair color beat intelligence & ability - again. Sad.

[sifuwong]

FilioScotia, on Friday, February 27th, 2009 @ 7:17pm, said:

Fired or laid off -- the result is the same. He's out on the street looking for a job.

True, but for unemployment benefits at TEC, you want to tell them you were laid off, not fired..

[FilioScotia]

deleted by poster - see next posting

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 5:02 PM

[FilioScotia]

sifuwong, on Monday, March 30th, 2009 @ 9:00pm, said:

True, but for unemployment benefits at TEC, you want to tell them you were laid off, not fired..

As someone who also misunderstood this story from the beginning, I think some clarification is in order.

Darby was never an employee of KHOU.

He works for Metro Traffic, which KHOU contracts for traffic reporting.

KHOU decided it wanted a new face doing traffic, so Metro sent over someone new.

Darby is still very much employed by Metro. I'm not sure WHERE he is now, but he's not unemployed.

My apologies for contributing to the misunderstanding of Darby's relationship with KHOU.

[editor]

Update

Darby Douglas has been fired from Metro Networks. He worked there for 18 years and is now out of a job entirely.

We have lots of media people on HAIF. If anyone knows of an opening that might work for him, let me know and I'll pass it on.

[Janie]

editor, on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 @ 9:56am, said:

Update

Darby Douglas has been fired from Metro Networks. He worked there for 18 years and is now out of a job entirely.

We have lots of media people on HAIF. If anyone knows of an opening that might work for him, let me know and I'll pass it on.

I think KHOU is beginning to stink! Darby did a fine job with the traffic and I don't think you had any grounds to fire him which you did regardless of how you buttered it up to look like your were not at fault.
I've watched C 11 for 35 years but a few more stunts and it will be removed from my good list.
Janie M Palmrtree

[JLWM8609]

Uh, Janie, it's not wise to post your mailing address on a public internet forum. There's plenty of weirdos out there. I'm pretty sure "editor" will clean it up.

[editor]

JLWM8609, on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 @ 2:24am, said:

Uh, Janie, it's not wise to post your mailing address on a public internet forum. There's plenty of weirdos out there. I'm pretty sure "editor" will clean it up.

She knows how to use emoticons, but can't tell the difference between HAIF and KHOU. The internet is full of all sorts of people.

[EMME]

rsb320, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 @ 3:20pm, said:

Yes, I can understand slang, but I don't think news professionals should be speaking it, Dawg. Call me old fashioned, but I think proper English has been slaughtered enough.

I agree with you on that. Lately, channel eleven anchors have been calling each other by cutesy names: Calling Courtney - Court, etc. I find it quite annoying. I found it annoying when they started calling George R. Brown the GRB. I do find it to be unprofessional.

[JLWM8609]

EMME, on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 @ 9:06am, said:

I agree with you on that. Lately, channel eleven anchors have been calling each other by cutesy names: Calling Courtney - Court, etc. I find it quite annoying. I found it annoying when they started calling George R. Brown the GRB. I do find it to be unprofessional.

I forget which channel I was watching, but they were doing a cover story on Dr. Edith Irby Jones a few weeks ago. In 1952, Dr. Jones became the first black to graduate from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and she's received many different accolades since then. She was also one of the first blacks to move into Riverside. Now, she's in her 80s and still practicing. However, the reporter kept on calling her "Edith" instead of "Dr. Jones." I thought calling her "Edith" was unprofessional as I was brought up to not call elders by their first name unless they ask you to, and to address a professional such as a M.D. by their title.

This post has been edited by JLWM8609: Friday, May 8, 2009 at 2:28 AM

[FilioScotia]

EMME, on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 @ 9:06am, said:

I agree with you on that. Lately, channel eleven anchors have been calling each other by cutesy names: Calling Courtney - Court, etc. I find it quite annoying. I found it annoying when they started calling George R. Brown the GRB. I do find it to be unprofessional.

Ch 11 is hardly the only media outlet in town that refers to the George R. Brown as the GRB. Everybody in town does it and it's been going on ever since the place was built.

And being a member of the broadcast media, I can tell you we use it because it's handy shorthand for the full name, and it's shorter and easier than saying the full name every time you refer to it.

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Friday, May 8, 2009 at 8:43 AM

[EMME]

FilioScotia, on Friday, May 8th, 2009 @ 8:42am, said:

Ch 11 is hardly the only media outlet in town that refers to the George R. Brown as the GRB. Everybody in town does it and it's been going on ever since the place was built.

And being a member of the broadcast media, I can tell you we use it because it's handy shorthand for the full name, and it's shorter and easier than saying the full name every time you refer to it.

Being a member of your audience, we find it annoying.

[kylejack]

EMME, on Friday, May 8th, 2009 @ 9:04am, said:

Being a member of your audience, we find it annoying.

Why?

Can we call it I-10 instead of Interstate 10?

[FilioScotia]

EMME, on Friday, May 8th, 2009 @ 9:04am, said:

Being a member of your audience, we find it annoying.

Get over it. Or find a news source that meets with your approval.

Good luck with that. No one is going to change the way they do things just to suit you, or stop doing something just because you "find it annoying."

You may also be interested in knowing that most media members regard emails and communications like yours as one of the most annoying things about being in the news media.

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Friday, May 8, 2009 at 4:34 PM

[CHSNIDER]

FilioScotia, on Friday, May 8th, 2009 @ 3:30pm, said:

Get over it. Or find a news source that meets with your approval.

Good luck with that. No one is going to change the way they do things just to suit you, or stop doing something just because you "find it annoying."

You may also be interested in knowing that most media members regard emails and communications like yours as one of the most annoying things about being in the news media.

GRB instead of the full name of the place is one thing, but I think that these individuals expressing criticism are noticing a pattern in our news media - first names to people news-reporter shave just met, and are talking to for whatever reason, deserve the respect of Mr. and Mrs. I have even heard "where they're at," "this is where he's at" in the reports. On a different angle of critique or observation, this is not competitive for those same individuals possibly shooting for bigger markets, or national markets in their career. I don't see the debate. These have been valid observations.

[EMME]

FilioScotia, on Friday, May 8th, 2009 @ 4:30pm, said:

Get over it. Or find a news source that meets with your approval.

Good luck with that. No one is going to change the way they do things just to suit you, or stop doing something just because you "find it annoying."

You may also be interested in knowing that most media members regard emails and communications like yours as one of the most annoying things about being in the news media.

I am just saying that I find it annoying. I am sorry if that hurts your feelings. Just some simple honest feedback. Take it or leave it, but I see no reason for you to attack me. And by the way, I am not posting to a media website. That there are members of the media here, that is just a coincidence. And further, I fully support the media. I am not generally a complainer of the media, I am occasionally a complainer of the management of the media, but not the reporters and journalists themselves.

[FilioScotia]

EMME, on Friday, May 8th, 2009 @ 11:04pm, said:

I am just saying that I find it annoying. I am sorry if that hurts your feelings. Just some simple honest feedback. Take it or leave it, but I see no reason for you to attack me. And by the way, I am not posting to a media website. That there are members of the media here, that is just a coincidence. And further, I fully support the media. I am not generally a complainer of the media, I am occasionally a complainer of the management of the media, but not the reporters and journalists themselves.

It doesn't hurt my feelings and I'm not attacking you. I'm reminding you that YOU are the one with the power in this equation. I'm saying there's a universe of news and information sources out there. A UNIVERSE...with today's Internet and cable access to hundreds of TV stations streaming their news, thousands of radio stations doing the same thing, and an uncountable number of online editions of newspapers around the world. Welcome to the brave new world of news and information.

If a local TV news anchor does something that annoys you, switch to another station. And let the manager of the annoying station know why you left. If enough people do that, he/she might actually do something about it, but don't hold your breath.

Now, having said that, I agree that local TV news is the pits. With only a few exceptions, watching local TV news is a terrible and painful way to waste thirty minutes. I've come to the conclusion that people who apply for jobs in TV news are given an IQ test, and the station hires from the bottom of the list.

I've covered countless local stories over four decades as a radio reporter, and I can't count the number of times I've been embarrassed at the outright brazen stupidity of the TV reporters. Long ago I reached the conclusion that as a species, TV reporters are the dumbest people on this planet. There are exceptions of course, but they stand out because they ARE the exceptions.

And I also agree that TV news has fallen into some extremely annoying habits in recent years, but calling that convention center the GRB isn't one of them.

For example, calling other anchors and reporters by nicknames instead of their real first names. KTRK's Cynthia Cisneros is a fine reporter, and one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. She's not one of the dummies. I love her dearly, but it annoys the hell out of me when an anchor calls her Cindy on the air. If that's what they want to call her, I think she should change her on-air name to Cindy. Same thing with that newby on KHOU, Allison Triarse. Attention anchors: PLEASE stop calling her "Allie".

There are numerous other examples of this trend on view any day or night up and down the TV dial, but it's a small thing compared to another TV news habit that's developed in recent years. The practice of referring to murder victims by their first name. That's not just annoying. It's a bad way to report news, because it implies there's some kind of personal relationship between the victim and the TV station. I think local TV reporters picked up this habit from the national TV networks' incessant non-stop NATIONAL coverage of every LOCAL kidnaping and murder case that comes along.

Well, almost every case. Have you noticed that the networks go into wall-to-wall coverage mode ONLY in cases in which the victim is a beautiful young WHITE woman? I'm waiting to see non-stop coverage of the kidnaping or murder of a beautiful young black woman, but I'm not holding my breath.

I could write a large book about what's wrong with TV news, but nobody inside and outside of TV news would pay any attention, so it would just be a waste of time and energy.

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 7:57 AM