diff --git a/media/utils/TimeCheck.cpp b/media/utils/TimeCheck.cpp
index 4a3e470..59d74de 100644
--- a/media/utils/TimeCheck.cpp
+++ b/media/utils/TimeCheck.cpp
@@ -100,7 +100,6 @@
 bool TimeCheck::TimeCheckThread::threadLoop()
 {
     status_t status = TIMED_OUT;
-    const char *tag;
     {
         AutoMutex _l(mMutex);
 
@@ -109,6 +108,7 @@
         }
 
         nsecs_t endTimeNs = INT64_MAX;
+        const char *tag = "<unspecified>";
         // KeyedVector mMonitorRequests is ordered so take first entry as next timeout
         if (mMonitorRequests.size() != 0) {
             endTimeNs = mMonitorRequests.keyAt(0);