Web Exclusive: An Exclusive Look at TV Exclusives

exclusive - a piece of news, or the reporting of a piece of news, obtained by a newspaper or other news organization, along with the privilege of using it first.

I’m a little frustrated this morning with dictionary.com, because their above definition of the word exclusive gives the TV networks some cover - just barely enough cover - to label last week’s multiple interviews with Barack Obama as exclusives.

Of course, that definition may give the nets the kind of cover that is produced by a thong.

By my count Senator Obama talked with CBS twice, ABC twice, NBC twice along with CNN and Fox News in interviews each could call exclusives. I guess that means that organization was the only one to talk with the certain Democratic nominee that day.

And what’s with CBS, ABC and NBC each getting two exclusive interviews? Who had the better exclusive interview: Logan or Couric, Moran or Gibson, Williams or Brokaw?

What makes an exclusive? Here’s a true story.

I was an intern at a TV station in the 1980s and one of the big events of the summer was a weekend of drag racing championships. TV station A shot the top fuel dragsters taking off from the starting line, but Station B (where I interned) shot the race from a high camera position and showed the entire dash from start to finish.

So Station B dubbed it exclusive video of the race. The Sports Director from Station A called his opposite number at Station B and was upset they were calling their video exclusive. Station B’s Sports Director responded since they showed the entire race (all six seconds of it) and not just the start, their video was exclusive.

I can’t make that up.

Of course the exclusive interviews that were conducted last week with Senator Obama didn’t have the feel of a hard-working get as some like to use the term in the news business. I think getting a politician to sit down and talk isn’t an amazing feat.

Talking is what politicians do best.

So I’ll list a handful of interview subjects below and take our quiz to see if one should tout an interview with them to be an exclusive:

1. Christian Bale (if he talks about his recent arrest)

2. Tony Stewart (after a bad finish of a Sprint Cup race)

3. The Lizard Man

4. Paris Hilton

Quiz Answers: 1-Exclusive, 2-Exclusive, but watch his temper, 3-Big scoop, but value lost on those who weren’t in South Carolina in the 1980’s, 4-Why would you talk to her?