Just before the holidays, late-night comedian Conan O’Brien poked a little fun at local TV newscasts. In doing so, he illustrated some serious issues about the compromises journalists make in understaffed newsrooms.
O’Brien strung together clips of two dozen local news anchors reading an identical story – a consumer report about the supposed trend of holiday “self gifting.” The newscasts were broadcast in different cities – from Boise to Ft. Wayne to Dothan, Ala., but each of the anchors introduced the story with the exact same words: “It’s okay; you can admit it if you bought an item or two or ten for yourself.”
The truth is less conspiratorial. Each story O’Brien featured was supplied by a syndication service that distributes scripts, video clips, and fully-produced news packages to local stations. The self gifting story came from CNN Newsource, which claims 800 affiliates. (CNN is part of Time Warner, which also owns the TBS cable channel that airs “Conan.”)
You’re almost certainly watching syndicated content when your local newscast shows video of national or international stories. Stations also rely on Newsource for sports highlights, business and consumer reports, entertainment news, and stories CNN categorizes as “Caught on Camera,” “Animals,” “Kickers,” and “Easy to Tease.”
8 comments:
WBOC has been doing this for YEARS. I have been telling my friends about this for a long time. It is so hard to watch their newscasts. And yes Delmarvalife is completely doing this! In fact I think those interviews they do with celebrities were done with other people asking the questions.
As I have said, we don't have news, we have government propaganda. Its not tinfoil hattery, its real, driven by news directors that have been groomed for liberalism and tele prompter readers that have been groomed for lack of IQ. These people couldn't ask a complex question or a followup unless its fed to them with a spoon
Blow up your TV, throw away your papers.
This clearly explains the fact that Paul Butler and a few of the rest of the "team" stumbles so badly when he is reading an already written script. You would think, they would have enough ambition to read the text before delivering it on television. They make themselves look so stupid.
On the week-ends, Brittany Cooper can't speak clearly. She constantly is mumbling and you can't understand what she is saying. At least Mike acts like he is awake and can deliver the weather without all the guess work that Dan the weatherman does.
They all look like deer caught in the headlights. This is not a professional "act" no matter how badly their management wants you to believe it.
Thanks Joe for bringing this to light to all the sheeple that watch WBOC. It is a total shame that WBOC makes this effort to pull the wool over people’s eyes. I have to admit that they are pretty good at the “art of deception” too.
Here is what to look for… on Delmarvalife when Jimmy or what’s her name appear to be looking at a television set and “conducting” an interview with someone, what you are really seeing is the Delmarvalife personality reading a script from a teleprompter as the “canned – syndicated” video plays. When the interviewee pauses – READ YOUR SCRIPT – and waits for the next pause. The “canned – syndicated” video was produced somewhere else days, weeks or months before WBOC airs it. And there was no connection with WBOC other then WBOC paying for the “canned – syndicated” video to use.
One can also, with a slightly trained eye, identify if WBOC shot the video – because the current videographers don’t know how to properly “light” the video scene, or are too lazy to do so if they know how to do it.
Speaking of WBOC on air personalities, when ever Lisa “what’s her name” comes on; I click the “recall” button on the remote to watch anything else until I think she is not speaking. I also learned the name of the weekend morning anchor by reading your comments. Brittany “Anemic” Cooper is so bad that I haven’t watched the weekend morning news show for some time now. The only reason I know she is still there is that I accidentally see her while waiting for the CBS morning shows, and yes, I keep the TV muted until she’s off the air.
They spend all of that money on this high tech building just to give you syndicated fluff stories. The anchors are so boring too. I like Paul Butler and his voice, but he is not lively enough to be a main anchor. I also think Corrina has earned the night time spot. They do way too many newscasts and no breaking news hardly. It's horrible
I wanted to smash my TV after all the snow stories they did. Literally every "local" story they've been doing the past couple weeks has been about snow. Breaking news! People are shoveling snow! Breaking news! Roads are bad. I will say, they have some very good talent, and some not so good talent. There's too much of a disparity. Steve Hammond, love him or hate him, is a pro. Corina is great. I enjoy Jimmy very much. Bill Mich is quite good as well. But the good ones never stay long. They must wise up and get fed up with WBOCs antics.
Did you know Corrina was the little girl on the Addams Family?
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