Post #5B

Viewing Log for WCCO 6:00 P.M. News on Monday, June 15, 2009

Approximate Time and Content

(15 seconds) Teasers: Teasers of top three stories as presented by Amelia Santaniello and Frank Vascellaro.

(3 minutes) Top story (crime/murder): Heather Solberg, mom of two, is killed by a hit-and-run driver suspected of using alcohol. Santaniello reports the story using emotionally charged language such as “horrific” to describe the accident. An interview is conducted with Solberg’s brother and children. Caroline Lowe (?) and Santaniello, both female anchors, close the story with an emotional exchange about the tragedy of this story.

(30 seconds) Local news story (health/death): Vascellaro reports that a five-year-old child in Minnesota dies from the H1N1 Virus. A screen flashes with current local and national statistics regarding H1N1 related deaths.

(2 minutes) Local news story (policy/politics): Santaniello transitions from the last story to this one, and Vascellaro takes over by introducing a “reality check” story on Pawlenty’s decisions about the deficit and taxes. A clip of Pawlenty speaking is shown followed by a “need to know” bullet list of statistics. Pat Kessler, reporter, uses phrases such as, “[t]he state is reaching into your pocket,” and, “monster deficit” to provide viewers with his “reality check” news segment.

(30 seconds) Local news (unusual crime): Vascellaro reports that a woman is charged with violating copyright laws when she shared music online. A clip of the woman outside of a courthouse is shown; Vascellaro is talking over the clip.

(1 minute) National news (policy/politics): Santaniello facilitates the transition between segments, and Vascellaro takes over reporting on Obama’s healthcare plans. A clip of Obama speaking is shown followed by a clip of a hospital room. Viewer’s opinions are flashed on the screen during the “inside the box” segment that allows viewer’s to voice their opinions of news stories. One male and one female viewer’s comments from different sides of the issue are displayed.

(1 minute) Local news (community issue): Vascellaro reports on road construction. Amy Klobuchar is shown speaking about the issue.

(1½ minutes) Local news (philanthropic story): Vascellaro and Santaniello engage in “happy talk” banter with Mark Rosen about a charity golf tournament. Rosen is on site, and he reports on a successful day with many gracious and generous participants. The newscasters joke about Rosen’s score.

(1 minute) Weather: Chris Shaffer, outside, reports the local weather. Radar screens and maps are flashed on the screen as Shaffer explains that he will say more about the weather later (teaser).

(15 seconds) Teaser (sports and weather): This is done quickly by both anchors before the first 3 minute commercial break.

(3 minutes) Local story (community issue): Santaniello introduces the story, and Bill Hudson, reporter, takes over reporting live from a local lake about the Eurasian Water Milfoil problem that is more severe this year than last. Reasons for the increase in milfoil growth are given such as less rain, more sunlight, and lower water levels. The machine used to remove the milfoil is shown as the manager of the company explains why this year’s problem with the weeds is worse than others. A boater is interviewed, and a list of statistics is put on the screen.

(2 ½ minutes) Weather: Shaffer, now inside, reports the weather using “live radar” and statistics about average rainfall. He concludes with a segment called “on the spot” in which a couple getting married on Friday has sent in a picture of themselves and asked about the predicted weather for their wedding.

(15 seconds) Teaser (sports): This is done before the 3 minute commercial break which includes two ads for news stories on the ten o’clock news.

(4/5 minutes) Local sports: Mike Max reports on potential new coaches for various local teams. He reports that Favre is going to talk later tonight about his intentions to join the Vikings. He also reports on an organization called Perfect Game National that holds games and tryouts for high school baseball players. High school students are interviewed and shown playing ball. Max concludes by plugging his own radio show that he hopes viewers will tune into later this evening.

(15 seconds) Ad: A highlight of tonight’s local programming (T.V. shows) is displayed on the screen.

(15 seconds) Ads: These feature various new anchors and reporters advertizing multiple news stories that will air on the ten o’clock news.

(30 seconds) Local story (community issue): Santaniello reports that many Minneapolis students have jobs this summer. Brief and vague information is provided about some working kids as a video of them is on the screen. She wishes them well and says, “Good luck kids.”

(15 seconds) Weather: Shaffer reports the general seven day forecast with a graphic of all seven days and the predicted temperatures is on the screen.

(15 seconds) Closing: Vascellaro very quickly asks Max, (“Maxie”) if he can say anything else about Favre’s potential announcement tonight. Maxie says no. Santaniello quickly interjects, “Thanks for joining us!” as time runs out.

Analysis
My overall impression of this ½ hour news segment was that not much of value to the general audience was presented. By this I simply mean that I’m not changed or more informed about a specific topic as a result of watching the news. In fact, many of the news stories were about events that have not yet happened. For example, Max reports that Brett Favre probably will say something worthwhile in an interview on another station tonight. That is not a news story. As a result of not having much to say, it is clear that an attempt was made to make these stories highly entertaining and engaging. Many times throughout the broadcast, bulleted lists appeared to summarize information or display facts. “Happy talk” was used to make the anchors seem friendly and accessible. Finally, all anchors used direct eye contact when presenting facts to engage the audience. All of these strategies, mentioned by Beach p. 94, were designed to capture the attention of the audience, and paired with the quick stories and smooth transitions, made the ½ hour appear more meaningful than perhaps it was.

I also paid careful attention to the roles each anchor played during the broadcast. Santaniello and Lowe, females, reported together the top news story with lots of emotion about the untimely death of a mother. Presumably, female reporters told this story because they were able to elicit an emotional response from the viewers, increasing viewer engagement. I also noticed that Santaniello’s role during the broadcast was, on many occasions, to wrap up a story, introduce the next one, and pass it off to Vascellaro who would report the substance of the story. In other words, Santaniello was responsible for the housekeeping duties while Vascellaro was responsible for presenting facts. Finally, Santaniello was the only one to thank the viewers for watching, since Vascellaro was too busy asking Max about Brett Favre. Again, this fact calls into question the assumed gender roles of the anchors.