Local El Paso TV Station Ending Newscasts - Business, Redundancy & FitFam El Paso. (3 of 3) - The FitFam Effect
My Come to Jesus Moment About a Popular El Paso Based Instagram Account, Which I Believe Is The Most Honest Portrayal of News in This Market (Really!)
Thank you for reading the first two parts of this column. It means a lot to me to have something that people are reading…people of consequence at that. I have seen an uptick in the number of media types who have subscribed. While I don’t necessarily think you are “my fans” so to speak, and you probably disagree with a lot that I have to say, I am thankful to have you reading, because regardless of agreeing or disagreeing, you are still here, and that’s half the battle in effective communication.
If you haven’t, read Part 1, where I talk about the cold, unloving business part of Sinclair getting rid of KDBC (CBS 4) newscasts in the borderland. It’s long but interesting.
Local El Paso TV Station Ending Newscasts - Business, Redundancy, and FitFam El Paso. (1 of 3)
This one is long and best read on the Substack site or on the app. Email may cut off some of it.
Then Part 2 was me talking about how redundant a lot of the newscasts were, and despite folks in the media complaining that stories would NOT be getting told with this channel gone, I showed you that weekend editions of the newscasts, while great, are exactly the same most of the time, so I don’t think anything of note will be missed.
Read that when you get the time.. It’s a long one as well.
I do want to start off by letting you all know that main anchor of KDBC, John Purvis, who was at KFOX for two decades before, and has been in the media business for longer than I have been alive, announced this week he is “Retiring” from KDBC. I use quotation marks, because I don’t know if he is really retiring or he is saying that to make sure he gets a severance that comes with a non-compete clause, or he is going to see if retirement is something he really wants.
Say what you will, but in a market where people come and go unless your name is Estela Freakin’ Casas, Purvis’ longevity is a testament to his trustworthiness, work ethic, and frankly, when you get a little older, you want that person who has seen everything. John Purvis has covered everything there is to cover on the news.
I appreciate his work ethic and the tone he has while he reads the news. It’s a style that is unlike anyone else.
While I can sit here and write about people’s livelihoods like nothing, one long-tenured career is supposedly ending in 3 days. I implore you to watch his Roswell story that just aired on 7-30-2024.
It’s a damn crime this video only has 19 views on Youtube…One of the many problems of Sinclair News Properties.
Good luck, Mr. Purvis!
But let’s talk about why you are all here….FitFam! Yes, I have wanted to talk about it for a long time, and I am glad I waited as long as I did, because honestly, I get a little older, and I think a lot more…tons more thinking happens when you get older, saggier, and less relevant. Hahaha. Gone are the days of steroid-induced James who wanted female attention, Vegas trips and as many drinks as possible.
Nope. I am 41, I am bald (mostly by choice), and I am coming at middle-age with an idea that I want to be a writer. Well, I always have been a writer, but I am an even better one than in my 20s. So I think this piece about a very popular account for so many people in this community should be really good and really fair!
Being a writer usually means you are a thinker as well, and that I am in spades. I overthink everything. I probably overthought this whole KDBC thing to death. I probably made it mean more than it really was.
I had a lot of things to say about it, but wasn’t sure that I was going to write about it. I kind of cover the media locally here, not that I really want to, because believe me there’s nothing worse than someone who thinks they can do your job better. But I joined a social media group of people in the news industry to teach me all the nooks and crannies about it to understand folks a little bit better in order to critique fairly.
I don’t come at this to be mean. I don’t want to be, but I will be a little bit here towards the El Paso media for their reactions to this news that KDBC was going away.
Their anger towards the Instagram account known as TheRealFitFamElPaso when the news was talked about on there made me compelled to talk about it, and in turn, made me compelled to think about my relationship with FitFam.
(Note, I am going to refer to TheRealFitFamElPaso as FitfamElPaso or Fitfam many times throughout this column. They are one and the same)
The name FitFamElPaso is so weird to be the hitching post for El Pasoans to be informed, but there is weirder shit going on in this world. A lot of followers, close to 500,000 of them in total, I can imagine that 80% of them will never be called #FitFam in a post, because fitness isn’t their game lol.
And that’s ok. I used to lift, and now I don’t. Some people just don’t do it.
But I can tell you for the longest time, I was not a fan of the account. I know some people who are ardent followers of them will immediately think to tune me out, but hear me out for a second.
The comments…man, while funny as hell in every way that you shouldn’t laugh at something or someone, become overwhelming at times. Like eating too much pizza or too much tres leches cake. They are hurtful, they are mean, they can be a little “mature audiences.”
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and their voice, but that doesn’t mean people need to listen to you or it. I chose not to listen for a long time. For one, it was mostly El Paso-centric, and I don’t go that way often. Secondly, at 41, I am an old damn soul and I watch the local news, so FitFam isn’t my first stop for news. It just isn’t. That doesn’t mean I am not a consumer of their content, because I am. I will laugh at the comments and/or be offended by them at times. That’s freakin’ life though.
To be fair, FitFam, I have watched TV news since I was 5…1988. It’s hard to change, but that doesn’t mean I don’t include you in my life. You are a part of it.
But even though, I am a casual viewer of FitFam, I am going to tell you why this announcement by Sinclair regarding KDBC told me one thing: FitFam is the UNQUESTIONED leader in news in El Paso. What?!?!?!? Yes, it is true.
So a couple weeks ago, we all got the news about Sinclair ending newscasts for KDBC CBS 4. I had read about it, talked about it with many people and kind of pondered writing about it.
Then I saw the FitFam post.
(Courtesy of FitFam)
“A sign of the times” is how the post starts out.
It’s true. It really is. They aren’t saying things out of bounds with that.
The post ends with “You can read the full story at the link in ‘at’elpasomatters’ bio.” That’s important…more on that line in a bit.
They shared 10 photos, most of it was the article that was written by El Paso Matters. Now some journalists may not want their stuff shared like that, because at the end of the day, engagement with stories matters in this world of click-thru advertisements on your webpage. The 10th photo was interesting. It was of an Instagram account making a comment. The account has no photo:
“None (sic) watches the news anymore, people watch everything on cell phones.”
Bad grammar and all, the commenter makes a valid point.
FACT:
I donate plasma 2x a week for a little extra money, and to keep my ass humble. I understand the value of a dollar, believe me. 1 hour for $80? I’ll take it.
But the fact I am talking about is not a lot of people watch the news anymore. In the 5 years I have been donating plasma, I have tried to start conversations with other donors and the phlebotomists about current events. Things you would imagine most people should know, even if they didn’t know everything. Nope. They said they never watch TV News and don’t even look at news headlines on social media. They are in that bubble we all hear about.
It’s crazy to me, because for the longest time, I was obsessed with the NM State scandals on the basketball team, as they are my favorite event to attend in this city.
Nope, I never had an organic conversation about the biggest scandal in NM State history, a scandal that is still topical today with criminal cases and civil lawsuits pending. Never heard of it.
FitFamElPaso did post about it as it was happening and a couple times since then, as it is news, and of course the El Paso centric comments, which house a lot of UTEP fans teed off on NM State, not to mention even the non-sports fans looking to get their shots in.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like seeing it, but I’ll be damned if some of them weren’t clever and/or funny. That’s the great part of social media is that it has helped me laugh at times when I felt the most serious. There are some funny ass people there.
But the people I mention who didn’t know the story, likely saw it on FitFam but maybe they didn’t engage with it like some other stories that they would. Just like real news. Local news stations air stories that they know will generate conversation. That’s why you see crime and politics and things where people can take a side on.
They are no different than this IG account.
Friends… How Many of us have Them?
Now, if you are a journalist, and you see a station get rid of newscasts, of course, you are seeing it the way I saw bank branches for my company close down: Shit, that’s one less spot for me to work at. It’s scary. When a restaurant you like closes down, you think of… “Oh shit, Mary, our waitress is going to be out of a job! What will Lupe the chef do now?” (If you think that is stereotyping, my stepdad is Lupe and he met my mom while he was a chef at my family’s restaurant.)
You grow attached to these people. You feel for people that you interact every day or at least you respect because you understand them a little more because you are a journalist yourself.
There are two people who are anchors/reporters in El Paso that I really like and respect a lot. Rosemary Montanez of KVIA and Karla Draksler of KTSM. Both are NM State grads. My wife and I saw Rosemary on News 22 every single day she was on, which is the student-run station at NM State. I love watching it, because you can see early on who has it and who doesn’t.
I have all day for both journalists, and no matter where their news journey takes them, I will follow, because I am an ardent viewer of local news, even news that’s not in my market. Ask my wife, I watch DFW local news, Phoenix, and Yuma, AZ when I am bored. I don’t know why. I just do.
But both of them made comments regarding the Sinclair KDBC news that to me were very self-serving, totally seeing things through a prism of being a journalist and being judged by viewers and by your bosses in the newsroom. In fact, it really upset me.
Here was Rosemary’s post, which was also shared on a website discussing this story of KDBC:
I have no doubt it was genuine. I think it is 100% genuine. You can see how hard she worked as a reporter, that funny enough, now that she is at the morning show as an anchor, you don’t see the thing that separated her from the rest. Her live shots were always smooth and punctual, unlike a lot of other people in this market and her station, which is a fair critique.
The message she wrote was a little “rally the troops” (in the industry) type thing… a “we got your back” type of post. She references competition, but then she also references that people paid to tell YOU stories were losing their jobs potentially.
But here’s where I kind of push back:
The very nature of the market that El Paso/Las Cruces is in, which is the number 89 market DMA according to the most recent rankings in 2023-24 is that most people leave. Most people ditch their job in order for a better one. 16 years of living here, I have seen no fewer than 30-40 people anchor the newscasts that I watch, which is unlike Albuquerque in the 1980s and 1990s when Dianne Anderson, Dick Knipfing, Tom Joles, anchored for decades and grew old with you.
People come and go because they are hungry, ambitious, eager to make the national stage, or at the very least a very prominent local market like Chicago, DC, L.A. or New York (More on that later)
That’s perfectly fine. You want people like that who are eager to be bigger, because that means they are hungrier, their shit will be better and yes, they will make sure to look good and work hard so when it is time to upload their reel to Youtube or send it to a bigger station in a higher market, they can get hired, make more money and continue living their dream.
It’s mildly hypocritical to say that there are so many people “trying to find their next job” or “looking for their next paycheck.” That’s the industry for the most part…looking for the next stop. If you don’t want to move around a lot, maybe TV news isn’t for you, because you got to go where opportunity is, and so so many people over the years have rightfully moved on from low-paying El Paso.
If there were people at KDBC who were blindsided by this move, well then I hate to say it, they were not adequately cognizant of the industry that is cutthroat, that is constantly evolving and devolving and frankly did themselves a disservice by not thinking this could happen.
On-air talent moves around so easily, and yes those are the people the average viewer sees as “THE TV STATION” not the behind the scenes people who will likely lose their job at KDBC this week.
It sucks so bad for them, my heart hurts…but as Rosemary can attest to, there are so many people who come and go from a market in search of more money, more responsibility, to be closer to home (as departed KVIA anchor Sam Harasimowicz said in his goodbye last month) and other reasons.
She has to have that belief that what she chose is the best path for her. We all have to think that way. Your goals aren’t their goals though. If she wants to be an anchor here 40 years, than cool. She’s one of the best, but in a world where anchors come and go willy-nilly in search of a higher profile, I can’t take what she said seriously when everyone around her in the newsroom has a reel that they take care of in hopes of landing the next job at the next place.
This isn’t like my grandma or my dad telling me to work for the bank or post office for 40 years and then retire. That was the dream for people then. People are more open to moving around for the best fit in a lot of industries.
Those types of social media posts are meant purely for likes and engagement, and even in the comments, you have people asking where Erik Elken, who left KVIA last year went and why he left?
“They change employees” is what the guy says in the comments, when of course, eager young journalists see El Paso as a stepping stone to the next big job…which again, I am not against. Go make your money and your mark!
One guy in her comments pointed that out:
This guy, who is likely genuine and religious all in one thanks her for her “loyalty” to El Paso, as in, “THANK YOU FOR NOT DITCHING US LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES!”
Rosemary is going places if she wants to. What do you think that David De La Rosa will think then? He got the first part right, she seems so dedicated to her career, but if she really truly is, she will rightfully move on to a bigger job somewhere else, which this man will then see as a slight.
It’s all so confusing.
Again, I support her post, although it is a tad hypocritical when the people in the industry move on every two years to different markets.
Now, Karla Draksler, who had a post which spurred on a lot of writing about this. She posted on TheRealFitFamElPaso’s IG Account and also shared a post on her social media pages regarding the news and particularly the FitFam comments:
I used to be so defensive of my job at Bank of America when I worked there, because I was genuine at what I did. I really was. I could give a fuck what the corporate part of that company did, I could only worry about my dingy-ass office and the poor person across from me.
I made shitty money but I felt like I made a difference.
Karla Draksler no doubt feels she makes a difference. I am probably the biggest fan of her work from someone that doesn’t know her, because if you know her origin story of coming from Croatia, landing here in our area, getting a degree at NMSU and just finding her way from morning weather person to anchor in a short amount of time, it’s admirable. She has more gumption and drive than most Americans here age, and yes, that is a statement on the state of work ethic in this country.
I love the stuff she has done with their morning show. I am not a morning show person, but has put bands and musical acts on there, show me things to do in El Paso, and show me taped pieces that are unlike anything out there, and I will devour that stuff.
Again, no doubt, I am one of her biggest fans.
So when I saw that post, which is obviously coming from a place of frustration as there are so many people in FitFam’s comments telling her that her industry is not needed, because they have an IG page they get all their news from, a free one at that, she got a little testy.
While I understand, her comment in the FitFam comments is a disservice to her and her station, because no matter what any yahoo says about your work, and I can attest to this shit from banking, corporate will ALWAYS think, “Well, those are potential customers.” Those are potential viewers and you are telling them their opinion is shitty.
But the screenshot is of a post of HERS which she put on FitFam’s IG page talking about how (my word) stupid people are for saying that people don’t need news stations any more because of Fitfam, and pointing out in an indirect way that FitFam basically stole ElPasoMatters’ thunder by posting the screenshots of their story on their page to get views.
Umm.. Ok?
There are so many things wrong with this statement she put, I don’t know where to start.
First off… are you familiar with “AGGREGATOR” websites? No, not my Substack AGGREGATOR but websites that share news with you in one spot from many sources? Well, if you have an iPhone, you have Apple News which is an aggregator site.
Look at my front page:
It’s a mishmash on news organizations on one page. FitFam to me is similar. They curate a product to their hundreds of thousands of followers in order for those people to consumer something that they know will generate eyeballs, generate interest.
If the public is informed by FitFam, isn’t is all a “win” for getting news to the people, even if it is disseminated a little bit differently there? If you feel that one single account and its commenters are marginalizing your industry, and in turn your place of work, than what are YOU going to do about it to get people back?
News is a business, and FitFam has sponsors on their page, name sponsors of businesses you have heard of…hell, businesses that advertise on local news stations as well. Why? Because that’s where the people are!
I will NOT say that the city of El Paso doesn’t need more news outlets. Hell, that’s what I have been saying for years, but Karla’s comment is basically saying FitFam is not a news outlet or a news source and that people NEED local news stations. While I am fiercely defending local news stations, what I told you above is that everyone in my bubble doesn’t watch the news except my wife and I. I hate it but that’s a fact.
…BUT THEY KNOW FitFamElPaso!
If FitFamElPaso is not a news source, then….
Why did FitFamElPaso play a role in their most celebrated story, regarding the death of Daniel Diaz? FitFamElPaso gave the people working on the story, Karla Draksler, Andra Litton, Aaron Montes, and Ruben Espinoza a lead about something they should look for, which is a video that ironically FitFamElPaso did not have. FitFamElPaso assisted the reporters in a way that made that story that much more fruitful, eventually leading to their Emmy.
Link to that story, which got help from FitFam here
So why do you want to burn a source by alluding to how much more important your news station is than them by posting that? I felt that was bad form.
Ok, FitFamElPaso didn’t have the means or the stroke to file that open records request. Maybe they didn’t know how to, I don’t know, but their intel allowed them to convey that information to the great journalists to research it a little more. While I don’t think FitFamElPaso deserves an Emmy like they got, there’s no doubt their help led to that story popping more.
Plus, when you are upset when people don’t watch local news “because they get all they need from FitFam,” why is it that FitFamElPaso is sourced on many stories from KTSM that make their air?
Quote from the web story:
”We got the video via FitFam. We reached out to Socorro ISD for comment.”
Would this be a story without the video? Probably not, so FitFamElPaso having this video was responsible for this being a top story on KTSM in May. Yes, KTSM sources them in saying how they got the video, but again, Draksler’s comment alludes to FitFamElPaso somehow not being as worthy as a local news outlet.
I beg to differ. Although seeing fighting tweens is not my cup of tea, that story is all because of FitFam because no 11-year old was going to send it straight to the KTSM fucking tip line. That’s for sure.
Plus the notion of “going viral” being a top story is funny, because had it not gone viral on FitFamElPaso, chances are it WOULDN’T be a story on KTSM, who in turn wanted it to go viral for them as well.
It didn’t on Facebook. Not at all. Why? Because everyone already shared it from FitFam’s page.
A story from KTSM about a house party? Yeah, it was from video pulled off of FitFam!
The lady who jumped into the monkey cage? Originated from a FitFam post, not through actual reporting from the local news station.
That crazy lady posing as her daughter at school?
From FitFam
Story about a street vendor being harassed? Originated from FitFam
So, I get a little defensive for FitFamElPaso, though they don’t need me to be that way, because when a journalist says in so many words that she’s upset because people say they get their news stories from FitFam…
Well, so do you news stations…So do you. Fact of the matter is because these videos that “go viral” as they say wouldn’t go viral if they were sent straight to the news desk, because then you would have a news director, a staff meeting, and producers deciding what to air and run with and what not to. What FitFamElPaso does is show you that people consume and crave that content, whether I like it personally or not, which then gives you the idea for the story.
It’s infuriating, because you are then belittling FitFamElPaso and not showing them the deference as a MAJOR source of a lot of stories that make your air, based on the page’s popularity and ability to source all these crazy videos we see in our area.
They deserve executive producer credit if anything, and for someone like me who reveres local TV media, I am stunned I have come to that conclusion from where I was on them a couple years ago.
I mentioned that KTSM always mentions when stories “go viral,” which of course is all the more reason to share the story, because you can help add to the virality discourse and maybe make that work for you as well.
However, and not to sound like a 41-year old fucking man that I am, but the lede of “going viral” in every story, it strikes me like a bunch of twenty-somethings that equate popularity with newsworthiness. Not necessarily.
Are a bunch of teenagers beating the shit out of each other and teachers newsworthy? Eh, to me, I saw that 30 years ago in middle school, and I’ve lived it. I’m good without seeing it. But I don’t think it shouldn’t be there. However, if something gets 50,000 likes, and the average news station gets less than 10,000 viewers, why would they not want to share FitFamElPaso’s curated content?
That’s the hypocrisy part.
To FitFamElPaso’s credit, they DO cite news stations when they do use a piece of their content in a post.
Examples:
Citation is important in book reports, and in reporting news. They do that. Their content is buoyed by the news stations, just like the news stations are helped by FitFamElPaso’s immense sources and following on social media.
Karla Draksler using the word “Infuriating” is absolutely the wrong word for her post regarding FitFamElPaso being the source for a lot of people to consume news. Maybe it is because she has friends at KDBC that are losing their jobs. If so, I understand, but I would use “disheartening.”
That’s a better word, because yes, it is people telling you that your profession doesn’t matter. I heard that shit all the time in banking, and my bank proved it by getting rid of all of us in my branch in 2018. It sucks to feel marginalized, but people younger than the very young Karla Draksler just don’t watch the news like I do, like I DID when I was in my 20s, and they likely never will.
Oh, and to get back to how FitFam shared the story, they TAGGED elpasomatters in their post which meant 500k people saw the tag, COULD have clicked on it to go to EP Matters’ story, right?
So for Bob Moore of EP Matters to affirm Draksler’s point of “We need media, not FitFam” (I am paraphrasing) while FitFam did everything to cite who wrote it, put a tag on there, and very well could have impacted their views significantly is a little disingenuous for Moore and Draksler.
FitFam paid the courtesy in the post to EP Matters. I mean, do you NOT want your stuff out there and highlighted to 500,000 people? Ok, I guess. (rolls eyes)
Liz Dueweke, KFOX Evening Anchor posted a comment on the FitFamElPaso post which alluded to the people in the comments saying that local news is irrelevant, which said something like, “WOW, DON’T READ THE COMMENTS.” She promptly deleted that post, which is why I don’t have it, and honestly, her comment on Sinclair’s decision to end CBS 4 newscasts and the fallout from that could be considered a social media policy violation in some businesses.
Again, I empathize, but because your job is important to you doesn’t mean it is important to others.
The funny thing? FitFamElPaso likely believes in a strong media as well. Why? Because they are more than just an account. They are a local media company as well.
I don’t know who runs it, and I don’t care. That’s their business.
I don’t know how much money they make, and I don’t care. That’s their business.
I am a content creator too, I need to make my money just as bad.
National Perspective from Former Local Newsies In El Paso
The two most interesting comments in the FitFamElPaso post were from former KVIA Anchor JC Navarette who is now in Chicago working for one of the bigger O&O stations in the country, the NBC Affiliate WMAQ:
“Just can’t help but feel for all the colleagues that are now faced with making a tough decision of what to do next. They told impactful stories, with value. Local journalism matters, it always will. The pivotal key is you have to adapt to where consumers are, that’s your phone now. Sadly so many newsrooms will likely find themselves in the same situation down the line if they don’t restructure quickly”
Another former KVIA-er, Mauricio Casillas, who works for NBC Washington also had a comment.
"Most local journalists are not paid living wages at these stations. It’s painful to see this happen. These journalists work so hard and cover difficult things. The issue of monetizing news is one that no one’s seemed to figure out. Just sad that this is happening."
Do you know how damn smart those two men are?
Out of this world smart!
JC’s comment about adapting to the phone is so spot on. If there was a FitFamElPaso TV show, it would fail miserably on a local station. Why? Because their demographics wouldn’t watch TV late weekend nights when a show like that would air. They are successful BECAUSE they curate their content for IG, for social media, and they know how to successfully do that. Most news stations…Don’t.
Look at the view counts on Youtube the recent videos for KDBC, which is who were are talking about:
61 total views on all the videos they posted yesterday. 61!!!! That’s not connecting.
As of 8:21pm on 8-2-2024, this is the most recent post for FitFam as I write this part
1 hour ago… 8,514 likes already! Are you kidding me?
Fight is over, man!
They know how to get traction, and local news never adapted. Though they all have apps now, it’s too little too late, and I can tell you that I hate the KVIA and KTSM apps with a passion. Never have I seen such a waste of push notification karma than with them.
I don’t need you to tell me Bob Barker died. I don’t expect that from local news. Do news that targets your audience better.
Mauricio’s point of those jobs in local El Paso media being low paying is right on the money as well. He mentions how hard it is to monetize news. I agree. It’s hard.
FitFamElPaso has sponsored posts, has 500k strong to monetize themselves in so many other ways that local news sites can’t possibly do. Would you see someone in a KTSM T-Shirt? Nah, But I could see FitFam selling shirts, beer koozies, thongs, and so much more, because they can, and it takes away absolutely zero from their message.
Finally, let’s talk one more time about the comments on FitFamElPaso.
Look, I will tell you something I told my wife many years ago, and many female co-workers over the years when we would laugh at the chisme arrest stories in our local Las Cruces paper and subsequent Facebook post from the paper.
“I don’t ever want to get arrested, because people are fucking mean online”
I picked one random story from the Las Cruces Sun-News Facebook Page:
Now what if this writer was the manager of Chuck E Cheese’s and I was embezzling cash and stealing pizza ingredients?
What would the Facebook/FitFam comments look like under my mugshot?
“That pendejo looks like Chuck E. Cheese with those big-ass ears!”
“I can get WiFi with ears like that!”
“Damn, that vato’s got a big fucking head!”
I heard it all for most of my life, and laugh off most of it, but imagine seeing shit like that 1000 times? That must be hard… then again, I would say, “Don’t commit crimes if you don’t want to hear it.”
KFOX’s disclaimer on their page regarding shit like this:
Laughing regarding an upcoming murder trial.
Then of course the Olympic Boxer who has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue for weeks now.
News Orgs. can’t bring the holier than thou stuff if they don’t follow their own guidelines.
Does FitFam block people? Probably, and I bet they do it more than legacy media, which is good, because they DO care more about a free flowing discussion than even local media.
Again, I don’t mind the negative comments, because guess what? That’s life…there are always going to be fucking jokers, idiots, people looking for a laugh and people making it about themselves (like I am with this column lol)
But don’t pretend you are better than FitFam when you are worse at policing when it goes too far, at least by your parameters.
Finally, much like society, FitFam has the chisme stuff, just like I get from my mom back home in Socorro, NM. FitFam has the things for a quick laugh, just like your best friend, your funny tio, or your significant other that thinks like you.
But then, just like those people, FitFam has a heart too. Some of the posts from the last couple days:
I didn’t see any of that on the local news. That was all FitFam, and I am glad they do those things too. FitFam is that family member that brings the drama, but also the humor, love, and heartwarming stories. They keep 500k plugged in to what is going on in their world, those people who don’t watch the news, as the ratings for local news shows. (KVIA gets 20k per newscast or so)
They get content which ends up on the news first, which makes them an important part of telling stories in this area.
While some may not like it in the news industry, it is the truth, and FitFam can be as large as they want to be, because they earned that communities respect by being one of them. It’s a new day for news.
As an old day closes. John Purvis left his post on August 2nd, saying his farewell with a SemiSonic song from the 90s and highlighting the darkest day in history. He was a good storyteller too. KDBC and El Paso will miss him as he transitions to retirement, and KDBC finds a way to re-tell the news, which despite newscasts “ending,” so far they found a way. I will talk about that soon.