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

Andrew Schwartz of St. Louis, MO asks: The piece identified, by name, the tactics my local stations have been practicing that I find so annoying: happy talk, cross plugs, teasers, fire and police stories, animal stories... Another practice I find annoying is what I call the "squint and shake" method that a newscaster will employ to show emotional involvement with a particular story. Why are newspeople resorting to these kinds of tactics? Why can't they just give us the news?   Carol Marin responds: A friend of mine in the news business calls that "squint and shake" the "the consultant-driven gestalt bob & weave syndrome". Some do it..but I know a fair number of newspeople who don't. In some markets there's just more emphasis on folksy performance and funny chitchat. That ends up working for some viewers but sends others running for the hills. Still, every one of us who works in television tries to make a connection with the people who watch in one way or another. It's just that some of us are more irritating than others. When you come right down to it, television is a very revealing medium and people who try to fool the camera, try to be something they are not, can't maintain the facade forever. Viewers are smart and figure us out pretty fast. For my part, I agree with you. I hate forced and silly banter. And it's something we have worked to eliminate for this newscast.   Deborah Potter responds: The tactics you mention-including anchor involvement-are all designed to draw an audience, and they are widely promoted by paid consultants who insist that they work. In some cases, that may actually be true. For every viewer who complains about an anchor showing emotion, another will complain about an anchor who appears heartless by showing none. In my view, what's at issue is that much of what we see just isn't real. Anchors are coached on how to perform and how to interact with each other, on everything from tone of voice to body language. Perhaps the only solution is for more viewers to turn off these phony performances and complain about them, loudly.