Sources tell Seton Hill University’s Dennis Jerz that online write-ups of TV news stories seldom miss the chance to self-promote.

Sources tell Jerz that two of the first three paragraphs in the text version of this Miami CBS TV news story put the name of the TV reporter before any actual news allegedly spoken by some nameless source.

Jerz, whose smiling headshot and mini-biography does not appear between the headline of the story and the lead, said he has little patience for the way the TV news media coddles its audience and promotes itself.

Jerz, who has taught new media journalism at Seton Hill since 2003, is not interested in training you to respond to the tone of his voice and the expression on his face.

Neither will he force you to watch a 30-second commercial before his award-winning weblog shows you the 3-minute story you might have expected to view here.

“For crying out loud, the headline of this story from the Miami CBS affiliate begins with ‘CBS4,’ which tells us that the writer’s job is to promote CBS4, rather than inform the public,” said Jerz, whose Twitter handle is @DennisJerz, which is irrelevant to this story, but is the kind of gratuitous self-promotional thing that TV news sites mention frequently in order to emphasize their on-air talent.

CBS4 Source Reveals Details Behind Chaos After Miami Club Shooting « CBS Miami

Surveillance video taken near The Spot shows the chaos that ensued after gunfire erupted in the Miami club early Sunday morning, injuring more than a dozen people.

Sources are telling CBS4’s Jim Defede that this shooting spree stemmed from a conflict between two young people at one of the high schools.

Sources told Defede that one person involved in the argument pulled out a gun and shot the other. He is in critical but stable condition and sources said he is from Norland High School.