We Interrupt This Newscast: How to Improve Local News and Win Ratings, Too
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Annotated, 2/9/2010
EAN 9780521691543, ISBN10: 0521691540
Paperback, 244 pages, 23.4 x 15.6 x 1.4 cm
Language: English
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.
Acknowledgments
1. A prologue
what this book is for Dante Chinni and Tom Rosenstiel
2. The knowledge base Tom Rosenstiel and Marion Just
3. 'I-Teams' and 'Eye Candy'
the reality of local TV news Wally Dean and Atiba Pertilla
4. The myths that dominate local TV news
the X-structure and the fallacy of the hook and hold method of TV news Wally Dean, Atiba Pertilla and Todd Belt
5. The magic formula
how to make TV that viewers will watch Todd Belt and Marion Just
6. Steps to better coverage Todd Belt and Marion Just
7. Putting it all into action
techniques for changing newsroom cultures Wally Dean
8. The road ahead
the future of local TV news Tom Rosenstiel and Dante Chinni
Appendix A. Design team members
Appendix B. Quality grading criteria and value codes
Appendix C. Content analysis intercoder reliability analyses
Appendix D. Sample of local TV news stations
Appendix E. 2005 follow-up study
Notes
References
Index.