Story/Summary Length Type
#1 Elderly woman struck and killed 45 seconds News--Local
by ambulance leaving the scene
of an emergency
#2 Drowning at Lake Josephine 20 seconds News--Local/community
#3 18 year old shot in St. Paul-- 120 seconds News--Local/metro
appears to be gang related. Story
also included interview with
former gang member who is
currently working with local
youth to encourage them to
quit gangs
#4 Protests in Iran and Barack 90 seconds News--International
Obama's warning for the Iranian
government
#5 Intruder in Moorhead shot 35 seconds News--Local/Greater by resident of apartment Minnesota
#6 Summer Camps closed by 30 seconds News/Human Interest
MDA because of H1N1
#7 Adopt a Highway Volunteers-- 120 seconds Human Interest/Health
Group of friends gave their
friend "Tall Boy" two miles of
highway for his 50th birthday.
They will be responsible for its
upkeep for two years.
#8 "Hero Central" Kare11 food drive 15 seconds Community
Tease stories after break:
Refugees
Special Olympics
Grandma's Marathon
Weather
First Commercial Break
#9 Rock the Garden concert 15 seconds News/Community
#10 World Refugee Day 15 seconds News/Community
#11 Special Olympics Summer 45 seconds News/Human Interest
Games this weekend
#12 Grandma's Marathon 20 seconds News/Community/Sports
***Banter between anchor and meteorologist about Grandma's and the weather map (about 20 seconds)
#13 Weather 180 seconds Weather
Tease: Sports
Second Commercial Break
#14--Sports 300 seconds Sports
Box Scores (with music in background) 30 seconds
Golf--US Open 90 seconds
Twins 115 seconds
Football Camps for HS kids 35 seconds
Tease: Record at the Mall of America
Third Commercial Break
#15 Yo-Yo record at the Mall of America 25 seconds Human Interest
My Thoughts
In keeping with the suggestion that this need not be long, I'll try to be brief (but as an English teacher, I find that's sometimes easier said than done). So, here are some general observations:
--I'm always struck by amount of time spent on weather in local news broadcasts. Judging by time alone, you'd think we were all farmers or that we lived in tents.
--I really noticed some of the things Beach mentioned in the reading for this week about anchors making eye contact, verbal and visual cues, witty (?) banter, etc. It's clear, and this shouldn't be surprising to any critical viewer, that the news is definitely produced as an entertainment broadcast. From the music played during the sports scores to the meteorologist's reference to having been kayaking earlier suggests that the producers want viewers to feel involved in the broadcasts and to feel that it is an experience that is more/better than what a person could get by reading the paper or looking at news online.
--I always find it shameful how little time is spent on international news
--I was surprised to see that there were only 15 stories covered (if you count weather and sports each as a single story) and disappointed, though sadly not surprised, at the number of stories I would classify as "soft news". It's hard for me to discern whether this is what viewers actually want or if is what producers think viewers want. The reading this week claimed that polls show viewers want more community news. I felt this broadcast was heavy on local and community news, which is not what I am looking for when I watch the news.
A final thought: I'm not a big fan of local news. I generally avoid watching it, largely because of the things covered in this week's reading. I find the broadcasts to be heavy on style (or at least attempts at style) and light on substance. I'm sure this bias causes me to look for the things that irritate me when I do watch the local news. In planning to do this assignment, I spent some time looking at the Kare11 website (the same channel whose broadcast I watched). I found some of the same elements as one would see in a broadcast ("breaking news" or "exclusive report") but finding my news online seems so much more democratic. I like that I am not relying as much (certainly some, of course) on producers making the decisions for me about which stories I will see and which I won't However, I do recognize that a broadcast "forces" me to view stories that I would not select on my own, and there is some benefit to this. I wonder what the happy medium will be in years to come, if there is a way to give people the freedom to choose what they think is news but to also try to inject some variety so that we are not all existing in echo chambers and only looking at the news we want and ignoring the rest.
Not very successful in keeping this brief.....
Amy, nice post. You mention noticing the anchors exhibiting behaviors that Beach talks about in our book; mugging to the camera and so on. In my analysis, I similarly talk about a story focusing on the dangers of golfing in a lightening storm... no shit... where the anchors spout cheesy golf-related sayings such as "When it comes to lightening, you never get a hole in one," or whatever ridiculous crap.
ReplyDeleteMy question is this; do anchors perceive themselves as a form of "celebrity," and therefore focus more on building and maintaining this image than reporting on the news? If so, how might this effect the broadcast? How might this effect management?
Just some thoughts. Hang in there, almost done!
Nice work.
Amy...
ReplyDeleteI agree, nice post! I also noticed in my analysis how little time was spent devoted to international news. I think it's interesting to see what is really considered news, and how broadcasts can affect our viewing of the world. I mean we're going through the worst recession since the depression, and a war in Iraq, and Fox 9 spent time talking about the president swatting flies and a woman in CA who found a bear in her backyard. I mean, really? Who cares?! And that's not even to mention the amount of time spent on non-US related issues.
You really got me thinking about how a news broadcast positions its audience. If we are to go to another source like msnbc.com or pick up a newspaper, we would likely get a more comprehensive view of the news. So why aren't reporters spending more time telling the facts and less time worrying about ratings? Aren't the two related? Shouldn't they be?