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

Mike Shanin of Kansas City, KS asks: Do Ms. Marin's newscasts on WBBM include what might be considered commentary and analysis? Is there any indication that analysis/commentary pieces are becoming more prevalent throughout local news broadcasts? If so, why?   Carol Marin responds: We do include commentary and analysis. An example: this week we did a story on the summer launch of voyeuristic TV, CBS and "Survivor" [a new CBS program], Fox and the lives of high school kids, etc. We spoke to critics, looked at how the trend developed in Europe but then also had John Callaway on the set for his commentary on what this program says or doesn't say about us as a society. I don't know that commentary/analysis is necessarily a trend in local television these days but I do know there are some fine stations around the country that do it.   Deborah Potter responds: You could argue that [WBBM's] entire approach is more analytical, since they provide more time for stories than most newscasts, allowing for more background and context. That's different from commentary, however, which generally includes opinion. And my sense is that most stations now shy away from opinion and commentary in their newscasts. I see no evidence of a revival. Thirty years ago, many stations aired regular editorials and offered time for competing points of view. But when newscasts became profit centers, time became money and I think that spelled the end for commentaries, especially those that might require the provision of free equal time.