Ah, yes! I just saw the first of many "breaking news" stories that are headed our way in the coming weeks. This one was a condo fire in downtown Seattle. No one was hurt, as far as the report went, but it was really only news because there were flashing lights in the dark. Good video.
When I worked on the assignment desk of a local television station's news department, I remember conducting beat checks, calls to various police and fire agencies to see if there is anything newsworthy (i.e. any flames visible, etc.). But during my tenure, an edict came down from the news director that "thou shalt have a live shot in every newscast."
Why include a live shot in every newscast? Because it creates the illusion that the station is covering "breaking news." In reality, the poor nightside reporter is standing in the dark outside a darkened building, saying: "Two hours earlier something was happening here."
That's one of the reasons why a lot of live shots are weather related. Something is always happening with the weather: rain, snow, heat. And the weather forecast is the most watched segment in any local newcast. That's why it won't air until later than fifteen minutes into the newscast. Because if the viewer makes it into the second quarter hour, even if just for the three-minute forecast, the station gets credit for the entire half hour.
At least that's how it used to be in the stone age of television nearly 20 years ago. Nowadays, the ratings services are much more sophisticated and measure viewership in smaller increments. It was a sensation when Nielsen introduced the "People Meter" which could track which members of the household were watching at any given time. Streaming video online made that somewhat irrelevant, at least for certain demographic groups.
Next time: more to look forward to in the coming television ratings sweeps.
For ten years we've had a running joke in our home about good old Jim Foreman at King5. Poor bastard always gets sent out into the cold at night -- in the worst of conditions to cover banal stories -- and yet he always seems to make it sound like what he's covering is critical to my family's safety.
ReplyDelete"Yes, Jane, that's correct; two ducks went below the surface of Lake Union over an hour ago in this snow storm and only one appears to have surfaced. You're advised to avoid water until..."
It should be taken into consideration that most news organizations play to the lowest common denominator among us. I guess if you also consider that Jerry Springer is still on the air, this should not be surprising. The highest rated personalities on the air waves today (Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Keith Oberman) are living proof of this theory.