CHANGING LOCAL NEWS

June 2000
		Should local TV news return to a simple, hard news approach? WBBM anchor Carol Marin and NewsLab Executive Director Deborah Potter take your questions.

Forum introduction Is commentary becoming more prevalent in local news? Can this "no frills" concept work elsewhere? Is television news losing out to the Internet? Has the pace of on-camera interviews increased? Why can't local news programs report the news without gimmicks?     Online Special Changing Local News Browse the NewsHour's coverage of the media     WBBM-TV -- Chicago American Journalism Review Online Journalism Review Columbia Journalism Review Freedom Forum

The 10 o'clock news on WBBM in Chicago does something novel in the realm of local television -- it focuses on the news. The program is anchored by Carol Marin, who gained national attention for leaving another Chicago station when it announced it was hiring talk show host Jerry Springer as an occasional commentator. The newscast features toned-down graphics, shortened weather and sports segments and a focus on "hard news" stories and live interviews. There are no commercial tie-ins, anchor chit-chat or fuzzy animal stories. Celebrity interviews are out, too. What's left, Marin said, is a newscast that captures Chicago's news-savvy nature. "Not only do [Chicagoans] want to know what's going on in the community, but news was a way to keep political score," Marin told NewsHour media correspondent Terence Smith. "In Chicago, politics is a contact sport, and the news is very important for that. News was a place in Chicago, historically, for great commentary, for fine journalists. And whether it's print or television, there has been a body of respect over the years for what the news means." What should local news look like? Should newscasts move away from more commercial stories and celebrity news? Will a "hard news" approach draw local viewers? WBBM anchor Carol Marin and NewsLab Executive Director Deborah Potter take your questions.