WTAE's Twitter account throws shade at WPXI

Fridays, particularly before a holiday weekend, are often dubbed “take out the trash day” for when a company wants to make moves that could be poorly received in hopes that most people aren’t paying attention.

Someone running WTAE-TV’s social media account opted for a different kind of trashing on Twitter Friday, quote tweeting a WPXI tweet about crews removing a tree that fell into a house a few days ago with the comment, “A two-day old story is NOT breaking news.”

A two-day old story is NOT breaking news. https://t.co/LD86P18sh6 https://t.co/7ziZQUxqTW

— WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (@WTAE) May 28, 2021

Judging by the comments that followed, WTAE’s sniping seemed to backfire.

As @dkershey1 noted, “Where does it say breaking news?”

Indeed, the WPXI tweet does not claim the story to be “breaking news.” Further, WPXI does not present the tree falling into the house as the news element which seems to be the crux of the WTAE criticism; the WPXI report is a follow-up that “one side of Route 30 is closed so (the tree) can be cleared away” presumably impacting traffic. (WPXI did lead its 5:30 p.m. news with the story and labeled it “breaking news” on air, but there’s no way for folks scrolling on Twitter and not watching local news to know that — they thought WTAE’s tweet was just a reference to WPXI’s tweet.)

Even if WPXI’s tweet had claimed the story was “breaking news” every station in town overuses that tired descriptor in hopes that viewers who are not paying close attention will have a Pavlovian response, stop what they’re doing and pay closer attention. (My all-time favorite “breaking news” was a KDKA-TV report years ago about a cow getting out of its enclosure that KDKA wasted the resources of a helicopter on, tracking the wayward cow.)

While many of the responses were of shock to see one Pittsburgh TV station’s social media account throwing shade at a rival Pittsburgh station’s social media account, others offered a more pointed reaction.

“Bush league move, WTAE,” wrote @VanillaJesus1. “Glass houses and all that.”

“Who hurt you, @WTAE?” wrote @talented_bright.

“How about less ‘dunking’ on people and orgs and just report the news?” wrote @AlexGaskey.

And perhaps the most painful, “I guess yinz gotta do something to get engagement and viewers,” wrote @wittycomment69. “You know, being a consistent third in the ratings.”

WTAE indeed came in third place in multiple time periods in a key demo used to set advertising rates in the recently concluded May sweeps period.

By Saturday morning, the tweet had been deleted.