Misquoting Grant

Since the beginning of the Keep the Light Shining campaign one thing that I have tried very hard to do was avoid anything that was not verifiable or positive in nature. I never wanted, nor do I want this campaign to take on a negative tone.

Unfortunately, on Friday May 1st, the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, KDKA ran a feature containing several Guiding Light actors who participated in a find raiser for the Young Women's Cancer Foundation but apparently never bothered to proof its own work.

KDKA places a written synopsis of the video they ran on the air almost immediately following the broadcast. However someone at KDKA apparently failed to proof the write up before publishing it on the web site. In the video Robert Newman spoke of the possibility of Guiding Light continuing on a cable network such as Lifetime. If you watch the video it is apparent that Robert is grabbing examples of cable stations. However in the article it states that Grant Aleksander made those statements. Since then several other soap related sites have published the incorrect information, because they apparently did not go back and watch the video version of the interview.

In the interview we hear the reporter, not Grant Aleksander make the statement that Grant returned knowing the show would be dropped, yet if you listen to what Grant says following the voice over you get the feeling the reporter is putting words in Grant's mouth. Until I hear Grant utter those words, I am taking it with a grain of salt.

I am a life long KDKA viewer, and the way KDKA handled this piece from the beginning has been a great disappointment. They waited for almost a week after the event to air this segment, which was plenty of time to get it right. First, the reporter called Grant Aleksander Phillip in the video, and they didn't take the time to correct the error. That coupled with the shoddy job of transcribing it on their own web site is extremely disappointing. Equally disappointing is the number of people out there who didn't take the time to watch the video that is posted with the transcription to check for accuracy. Instead, all of those people have only done one thing: perpetuate rumors and misinformation.

What we know: Rumors had been circulating about GL future long before Grant Aleksander decided to return. When he returned he knew there was a possibility the show would be canceled. (If that helped him make his decision to return, more power to him.).

We also know: That we all knew the contract with CBS was up for renewal and that the ratings were at an all time low. And we know, and I have gotten this from several set side sources, that Ellen Wheeler and PGP are working hard to find GL a new home.

And we know that....accuracy is obviously unimportant in today's media. Shame on you KDKA, Bill Burns must be shaking his head at the way news is covered by today's media!