News Pet Peeves
I was going to write an article entitled: The Top Ten Things About Local News That Drive Me Crazy. But then I decided to email a few people in the television news business and ask them for a few of their pet peeves. It didn't take long to get people ranting!
Here are some of the pet peeves I received along with a few of mine thrown in.
Crime. Crime. More crime.
Telling viewers what they already know.
Cute clever writing that confuses the viewer.
Teasing for 10 o'clock stories you covered and covered and covered at 5 and 6.
Soundbites that add nothing.
Lack of natsound.
Wallpaper video.
File tape that makes no sense.
Lame teases: "Will he live or will he die? We'll tell you." So tell me already.
Stories that begin with "as we first told you..."
Using "good news" or "bad news" as the lead to a story.
Weather tosses that steal the forecast.
Copy about national stories without recognizing the local tie.
Using the term press conference.
Photos that aren't boxed or specific....like a three person photo where the viewer has to guess which one is being referenced.
Calling your area something like "Bible Belt" "Tar Heel State." "Commonwealth" "former state capital" "Arklatex" where the viewers don't care or don't use it.
Boring in-studio guests/newsmakers.
Traffic reports on the 1's, 3's, 5's, 7's, 10's, etc., especially when there is no traffic.
Ditto with weather reports every 5-10 minutes., especially when there's no change in the weather.
Morning newscasts with vo after vo after vo of yesterday's news.
"Breaking News" graphics and sound effects, especially when the news is of little consequence.
So, what are your pet peeves? Email me at ddrew@602communications.com I'll keep your name out of it, so if there are things that drive you nuts, let me know about them!
Doug Drew is a morning news specialist with 602 Communications.
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