E-Book Overview
Local television newscasts around the country look alike and are filled with crime, accidents, and disasters. Interviews with more than 2,000 TV journalists around the country demonstrate that news looks this way because of the ingrained belief that 'eye-ball grabbers' are the only way to build an audience. This book contradicts the conventional wisdom using empirical evidence drawn from a five-year content analysis of local news in more than 154 stations in 50 markets around the country. The book shows that 'how' a story is reported is more important for building ratings than what the story is about. Local TV does not have to 'bleed to lead'. Instead local journalists can succeed by putting in the effort to get good stories, finding and balancing sources, seeking out experts, and making stories relevant to the local audience.
E-Book Content
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WE I NTERRUP T THIS NEWSCAST Local television newscasts around the country look alike and are filled with crime, accidents, and disasters. Interviews with more than 2,000 TV journalists around the country demonstrate that news looks this way because of the ingrained belief that ‘‘eyeball grabbers’’ are the only way to build an audience. This book contradicts the conventional wisdom using empirical evidence drawn from a five-year content analysis of local news in more than 154 stations in 50 markets around the country. Correlating the content of local news with ratings success shows that news stories on a wide variety of substantive topics draw viewers and that audiences reward good journalism with high ratings. The book shows that ‘‘how’’ a story is reported is more important for building ratings than what the story is about. Local TV does not have to ‘‘bleed to lead.’’ Instead, local journalists can succeed by putting in the effort to get good stories, finding and balancing sources, seeking out experts, and making stories relevant to the local audience. Tom Rosenstiel designed the Project for Excellence in Journalism and directs its activities. He also serves as vice chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists. A journalist for more than 20 years, he is a former media critic for the Los Angeles Times and chief congressional correspondent for Newsweek magazine. Among his books, he is coauthor, with Bill Kovach, of The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect (2001). Marion R. Just is Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College. She is a coauthor of Crosstalk: Citizens, Candidates and the Media in a Presidential Campaign (1996); Common Knowledge: News and the Construction of Political Meaning (1992); and The Election of 1996 (1997). Todd L. Belt is currently Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo. He has published articles in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Campaigns & Elections. He also coauthored the book Getting Involved: A Guide to Student Citizenship (2000). Atiba Pertilla is currently a MacCracken Fellow in the Department of History at New York University, pursuing a doctoral degree in U.S. history. As a research associate at the Project for Excellence in Journalism, he has published articles in the Columbia Journalism Review and Electronic Media (now Television Week). Walter C. Dean is a 35-year broadcast news veteran who is a senior associate at the Project for Excellence in Journalism and director of broadcast training for the Committee of Concerned Journalists. Dante Chinni is a senior researcher for the Project for Excellence in Journalism and a columnist for the Christian Science Monitor. He is a regular contributor to the Washington Post Magazine and has written for The Economist, the New York Times Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Salon, and ESPN the Magazine, among others.
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