Posted by Tom Collins on January 16, 2013 at 18:09:10:
Different things excite different people, uh, differently.
Even so the level of venom directed at WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) morning show meteorologist by a disgruntled pet owner is a bit disconcerting.
Steele, whose dog Spunky was once famously part of his shtick, shows pet pictures sent in by viewers during his part of the broadcast.
The intent of such audience participation is to create a sense of camaraderie and community among viewers.
But when that backfires the unintended consequence can be a sense of entitlement, as the Facebook exchange below demonstrates.
Below her comments are those of anchors Susan Kim and Vince Vitrano. Steele, according to Vitrano's post, called in sick today.
I eliminated the woman's name, and those of others who are not public figures.
There is a photo of her dog on her Facebook page. The photo above is of Spunky.
The exchange quickly escalated into a Twitter kerfuffle as others commented.
Very pissed...I received an email from Scott Scott Steele Fan Page from todays tmj4 for our Jordan to be on Pet Photos this morning and as of yet nothing and now told he would not be on....oh so pissed....Thank You todays tmj4 for nothing!!!! — with Vince Vitrano and Susan Kim.
Susan Kim Wow, Tami. Sorry to hear this. We are not in charge of pet pics. Scott picks those out. He will be back tomorrow. Thanks for your feedback!
Vince Vitrano Sorry you've taken this tone with it. Scott Steele Fan Page called out unexpectedly last night and is not here today. He handles the pet pics. Hopefully you can find some sympathy for his situation, instead of complaining your dog isn't on TV. He'll get to it.
Dog owner: Okay just a lil disappointed but Thank You for informing me ..
Commenter: Wow lol
Commenter: Seriously!
Dog owner: Well I have the right to speak my feedback !! Sorry if u all don't understand my feelings! !
Commenter: I understand your disappointment! It's been 100 miles of bad road... On the bright side, your pooch is alive and well!! My friend Jennie ran her cat over & now it only has 3 legs... For shame.
Commenter: Get over it! The guy is sick. Your dog will be on tv another day!
Commenter: While I can understand your disappointment, did you stop to consider that maybe Scott had some unexpected personal life issue to attend to? I do not believe in my heart of hearts that Scott does not say what he means and my first thought would be; oh I hope everything is okay with him and nothing bad happened. Just a thought to ponder.
Commenter: Ah, yes, the beauty of people on FB.
Dog owner: I am done talking about this and YES I do hope that all is okay with Scott!! I just wish that the station would inform pet photo reciepents at the start of the news that's all...oh well maybe next time!!
|| so says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via jsonline.com today || On TV/Radio