Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- We Interrupt This Newscast
- 1 A Prologue: What This Book Is For
- 2 The Knowledge Base
- 3 “I-Teams” and “Eye Candy”: The Reality of Local TV News
- 4 The Myths That Dominate Local TV News: The X-Structure and the Fallacy of the Hook-and-Hold Method of TV News
- 5 The Magic Formula: How to Make TV That Viewers Will Watch
- 6 Steps to Better Coverage
- 7 Putting It All into Action: Techniques for Changing Newsroom Cultures
- 8 The Road Ahead: The Future of Local TV News
- 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
4 - The Myths That Dominate Local TV News: The X-Structure and the Fallacy of the Hook-and-Hold Method of TV News
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- We Interrupt This Newscast
- 1 A Prologue: What This Book Is For
- 2 The Knowledge Base
- 3 “I-Teams” and “Eye Candy”: The Reality of Local TV News
- 4 The Myths That Dominate Local TV News: The X-Structure and the Fallacy of the Hook-and-Hold Method of TV News
- 5 The Magic Formula: How to Make TV That Viewers Will Watch
- 6 Steps to Better Coverage
- 7 Putting It All into Action: Techniques for Changing Newsroom Cultures
- 8 The Road Ahead: The Future of Local TV News
- 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
Summary
A series of myths dominates the world of local TV news. These myths are among the most influential forces in local TV. They are a set of long-held beliefs so ingrained that nearly every station operates by them unquestioningly. They explain why local TV is so similar from city to city, and why the “hook-and-hold” mentality and the X-Structure permeate local TV news. And they are manifestly, and provably, false.
Myth No. 1: It is more important not to lose audience than to attract one.
Myth No. 2: A newscast should emphasize stories that shock or amaze.
Myth No. 3: Immediacy is the most important value in local TV news.
Myth No. 4: Flashing police lights, yellow tape, and other “hot” visuals are “eyeball magnets.”
Myth No. 5: TV is an emotional medium in which pictures are more important than words (or ideas).
Myth No. 6: Every lead story must have a live shot from the scene.
Myth No. 7: Viewers are voyeuristic and like to be titillated.
Myth No. 8: Viewers care only about local news.
Myth No. 9: Some stories are more important as promotion than as news.
Myth No. 10: Viewers won't watch long stories about issues.
In our five-year study of local TV news, we statistically catalogued the impact these myths have on the medium, as outlined in the previous chapter. In this chapter we will look at these 10 myths more closely – where they come from, how endemic they are – and take them apart.
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- Chapter
- Information
- We Interrupt This NewscastHow to Improve Local News and Win Ratings, Too, pp. 51 - 93Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007
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