On November 9, 2010 I watched the 10 o'clock on Channel 11. A few things that I discovered while watching were 1) People poor excuse for news, but was prepared for that, 2) it was actually quite relaxing. I am not sure why exactly. It could be that almost all of the stories were about areas that I knew and involved people who I knew by reputation or who I could relate to. Plus, since all of the stories were basically fluff (and short), it didn't require a whole lot of thinking on my part to follow along, and 3) all of the anchors just seemed so darn friendly.
This is the breakdown of last night's news:
15 seconds - "Good evening" introduction
2 min 7 sec. - News: Farmer runs over a wandering black bear with his combine. Family going to eat the bear. (Video footage and interviews)
2 min 15 sec. - News: Governor candidates comment on recount process (Video footage)
15 sec. - Reporter comments on recount process
25 sec. - High speed rail line debate
10 sec. - Woman hit by car on Summit Ave.
10 sec. - House fire in Belle Plain
15 sec. - Mankato State student sexually assaulted
15 sec. - 13 year old sexually assaults 12 year old on school bus
10 sec. - Update on deer hunting registration
20 sec. - University of Denver hockey player recovering from spine injury sustained during a game. (Video footage)
20 sec. - Fire on Carnival Cruise leaves passengers stranded. Coast Guard brings them food. (Video footage)
15 sec. - "Mystery Missile" trail spotted in the sky (Video footage)
3 min. - Commercials
4 min. - Top Story: Minnesota food shelves see increase in people needing food. (Video footage and interviews)
20 sec. - Plug for tomorrow night's top story: In the present economy should you reach into your 401K to pay bills?
4 min. - Weather
3 min. - Commercials
5 min. - SPORTS: Joe Mauer awarded Golden Glove (Video footage)
Timberwolves losing to Laker by 2 points with 8 minutes left in the first half (Video footage)
St. Thomas Tommies 10-0 so far this season. (Video footage and interviews)
Randy Shaver names Viking's Chris Kluwe "Player of the week." (Video footage)
3 min. - Commercials
30 sec. - Final story: Huge pumpkin grown in New York. Carved sections given to chefs who will make dishes out of it which will then be donated. (Video footage)
Many of the stories that were covered involved exciting footage, like athletes doing stuff, a Carnival Cruise just wading in the ocean, or a huge pumpking being carved with an electric saw. Some of the stories contained no footage, including the more tragic stories. I guess there isn't a whole lot of footage that you can give to the more tragic stories without showing something, well, tragic.
When the anchors reported on tragic stories, they ended the story with sorrowful tone of voice and often lowered their heads while saying the last few words.
During the Weather, the anchor walked outside to their well-lit patio to report. It was strange, but I thought to myself, "Hey, she is experiencing the same weather that I am," which felt kind of unifying.
When the anchors said "Goodnight," the camera panned out to show the entire studio while the anchors were still chatting with each other. Relaxing music closed out the program and I couldn't help but feel like the anchors actually liked each other and that they really loved their jobs. It was a pleasant feeling.
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