--and driven by consultants Radioman KC's BLOG
Before cable TV, the local ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates in each city shared a 3-way monopoly on viewers. At 6 and 10 (or 11 in the east), there was nothing else to watch except the news and each of the three stations had about a third of the audience. The so-called 'news leader' usually claimed first place by only a few thousand viewers. Since we have so many more choices on cable, stations work much harder to attract and keep us. But not with more news. Just more promotion of their anchors and their ratings month 'investigations.' Stations have reduced staffs and cut salaries to keep profits up for stockholders in the last few years. In many markets now, there are four news stations, with the addition of Fox. Even so, some wonder if four is too many to survive. Consultants changed TV's look to attract you Viewers are loyal to familiar and attractive anchors and news sets, consultants said. They coach the anchors to be friendly. The consultants would show video of anchors, studio news desks, and even news stories to small groups of viewers to get feedback. By studying these focus groups carefully, the consultants could accurately assess which anchors and studio designs were the most appealing. Stations bought expensive news sets which highlighted their anchors. They were lit differently, anchor chairs were raised higher and moved closer together to promote the illusion of togetherness and make anchors appear larger than life. Consultants changed the news content too. The consultants told nervous news directors what kinds of stories people would not tune out. Stories viewers would sit through 3 minutes of commercials to see. News directors bought it all, because their competitors had hired consultants too. They all said the same things, so all TV news started looking the same. Not just in YOUR city, but in ALL cities! TV Newsgathering? GONE! At one time stations were organized like newspapers. Reporters were specialists in government, crime, environment, medical and they worked their beats.For awhile, all the stations were doing "consumer" and "medical" news because the research said viewers liked it. But that proved too expensive because it took both a reporter and photographer to gather and write those news stories. They actually competed with newspapers to break important stories. Good journalism just didn't attract viewers. BLOOD! YUM YUM! If it bleeds, it leads -- especially if it's BREAKING News! While a student of CBS 40s veteran Edward R Murrow might want to lead a newscast with the most "important" story of the day, the consultants urge local stations lead their newscasts with the most SENSATIONAL!. Grab viewers before they changed the channel. Hence comes the Tv newsroom mantra, "if it bleeds, it leads."
Crime rules!- crime against the innocent even better. If there's a sexual angle, it will be told as explicitly as the TV people dare, pretending their disgust on each successive newscast. So if they can do stories on rapes or sex offenders, they will---especially during rating sweeps when the Nielsen ratings service is tallying which stations viewers that diary viewers are watching. And since people are fascinated with fire, photographers shoot virtually every fire that happens and news producers would run all they could get at the top of the show. They'd throw out the day's stories and throw their whole staff at a big fire for "team coverage"--any fire which still had big flames when the news crews got to the scene. That it might be an abandoned old warehouse doesn't matter. Viewers are drawn to spectacle and that makes yellow flames the lead story. Breaking News is virtually any story that's happening right now-- important or not. The urgency of breaking news brings out live trucks and and the sense of drama. Events unfolding right now take precedence over anything that happened earlier, no matter which is more important. This has nothing to do with news judgment. It has to do with leaving viewers with the impression that the station is on top of things! Ewww! Talking heads are out! Stations quit covering city councils, school board meetings, and business news. What is unpopular with viewers, the consultants revealed, are talking heads. So mayors get less face time and ambulance paramedics get more. The only exception to the meeting coverage taboo is when they get an advanced tip that somebody plans to create a scene. Then the cameras will be there waiting for the spectacle. Controversy is always big--but only if there's emotion--crying, yelling, anger, any passion. Political stories, even tax stories affecting everyone, may be important but they're ignored by TV. Wise politicians and local activists learn quickly that if they want face time, they must tip the media and be passionate, "You're being ripped off by this tax scheme!" they'll declare, after assuring out of the corner of their eye that the cameras are focused and trained on them. Those who do it well will be called often--by reporters looking for good talking head. It's worse than you think, if you depend on television to find out what's going on. TV people unabashedly say some stories are 'television' stories and some are 'newspaper' stories. What that means is that television will ignore stories without appealing video. And its very hard to illustrate a tax story even if it's vastly more important to you than a liquor store holdup with flashing red police lights. Maybe you shouldn't cancel the paper! GASP! Play to viewer emotions Cute animals and cute kids are the most popular topics for feature stories which are actually rarely broadcast anymore. For a long while, TV people inundated us with sympathetic stories about the homeless and poor until national polls showed the public was less sympathetic. Crime and disaster stories are always lead stories--and made to look big even if they aren't. They're emotionally presented to focus on the outraged or grieving victims. Reporters want to capture emotions so badly, they completely forget any notion of allowing privacy or personal dignity to grieving victims or their families. "How do you feel?" The photographer zooms in closer so you can see every tear as the reporter tries to stir them up, emotionally. One strange phenomenon is that many victims will play along with the camera's voracious appetite for emotional intrusion. Even when in deep personal grief, many will give what are most certainly difficult interviews for the cameras--as if they were actors obliged to personally replay what they have seen other victims play. That last part is not news. It's not a quote from a source scribbled in a reporter's notebook. Nobody said it except the copywriter following the consultant rule to "build emotion." Is it defensible? Well yes, technically. Any crime can happen in any neighborhood, even though it is unlikely that it will happen in most viewers' neighborhoods. Loaded questions. If there isn't emotion, reporters keep asking questions until they get some. In a large city, it's not hard to find some people to go on the tellie who agree with most any loaded question. One formula to play on fear will be to send a photographer out to ask young women a leading question, "are you afraid after this brutal murder?" They'll keep asking women until they get a several agreeing responses from people on the street willing to go along with the question in order to get a few seconds of fame. The station will then build a story making viewers think they've discovered widespread fear in the community."Residents are fearful tonight..." titillates the anchorman as he introduces the manufactured news story. And then later, someone will conduct a survey to find widespread concerns about crime, when in fact, crime rates are trending downward. Click here to comment on this essay on Rman's blog comment page |
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Bend over, Say AH!Hello, I'm big health care. You don't need reform. You just need ME!  Click to open Michael Moore's PDF file on Health Care Statistics  And then call the office of Pat Roberts' (R-KS) and THANK him for accepting our bribes, er Campaign Contributions and voting for laws favoring us, the Drug Companies! Our commercials on Kansas TV stations is payback for your vote. But understand, it's not a BRIBE payback, it's just a token of our awesome appreciation. We're buying commercials mentioning you favorably, using the profits we earned from overcharging Kansas people for their drugs! No, its not quid pro quo, that would be like bribing a government official and we wouldn't ever do anything that's illegal! GOP Founding Trickster Donald SegrettiFather of Republican Party dirty tricks (RATFUCKING)
 Donald Segretti, disbarred California lawyer who staged political dirty tricks on behalf of Richard Nixon, through CREEP (The Committee to Reelect the President, 1972) He's today's GOP strategists' Patron Saint.      thosetees.com (Jugs not included) Hasn't anyone told the Republicans yet, they LOST the election last November? We ALREADY took our country back!!Bad McDonalds! Bad! |
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TV News is ratings driven |
