Is it just me or is there an overall trend to dumb down news content? I was told recently not to include percentage numbers or too many numbers within a story such as the price of gasoline...high and low within a certain area. EH? Is news being dumbed down to elementary school level because some people in management believe their audience is that stupid? Granted, phone numbers and website addresses are a no no but other numbers are need for many stories. Anyone have any thoughts or am I alone in experiencing this??? I also posted this on the Orlando site and the News/Talk site.
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Dumbing down of news content
- Thread starter WRLK
- Start date
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SarasotaJim
Guest
Take it from a guy who used to write for CBS, NBC and the CBC, numbers can be a problem for radio. A listener just can't keep a mental handle on all that can be thrown at them. It's easier with TV because you can throw up a graphic and leave it there long enough for a viewer to digest.
One of the most-heard stories right now is the collapse of the president's approval numbers and the percentage of people who trust him to tell the truth. It's OK to say he's now at 37 percent approval, a record low and down x points since [whenever] but anything more complicated than that makes it hard for a listener to keep track of and, by extension, makes the story useless for imparting much more information that a headline would.
One of the most-heard stories right now is the collapse of the president's approval numbers and the percentage of people who trust him to tell the truth. It's OK to say he's now at 37 percent approval, a record low and down x points since [whenever] but anything more complicated than that makes it hard for a listener to keep track of and, by extension, makes the story useless for imparting much more information that a headline would.
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ok walters
Guest
I tend to agree on this one. Numbers in print seem to be okay as you can reread it for clarity, but radio doesn't have that luxury. As far as "dumbing down" goes, a fifth or six grade level is about all the TV news uses so....
I get so sick of radio commercials that repeat a phone number up to five times in a row!
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SarasotaJim
Guest
Get real. If an advertiser wants a phone response from radio, that's the only...ONLY...way to obtain it.
2 or 3 times? OK... Up to 7 times? Way overkill. Besides, most people can't stop and write down a phone number while they are driving.
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I know we're talking local radio, but I have to say... we recently got a TV in the house and I started watching the news in the morning for the first time in awhile. Good Morning in America is doing something they call "Pop News" all they do is talk about celebrities and play videos from youtube. This seems to be the new standard for news broadcasting. Even on the radio, it seems like there is an overwhelming emphasis on celebrity gossip and pop culture crap. I totally understand that this is being done because it gets ratings, but I firmly believe this is a conditioned response. Between the dumbing down of schools and the dumbing down of the media, Americans have become absolutely retarded. I honestly don't know how things are ever going to get better from here.
As for giving numbers and figures on the radio, I don't know what ya'll are talking about. I listen to AM radio because I want facts and information. I can process this kind of stuff just fine as long as the announcer enunciates clearly. Also, I feel like you *almost* can't give a telephone number out too much. When I'm cutting a commercial, unless the advertiser specifies otherwise, I always give the phone number at least twice... if I have time to kill I'll give it up to 4 or 5 times. The most important thing you can do on spot if you want to get responses is repeatedly give their name and their number... say it with confidence like it's the most natural thing you could ever say (think the way Phil Hendrie used to rattle off 1-800-449-8686). I'll never be able to forget that number....
As for giving numbers and figures on the radio, I don't know what ya'll are talking about. I listen to AM radio because I want facts and information. I can process this kind of stuff just fine as long as the announcer enunciates clearly. Also, I feel like you *almost* can't give a telephone number out too much. When I'm cutting a commercial, unless the advertiser specifies otherwise, I always give the phone number at least twice... if I have time to kill I'll give it up to 4 or 5 times. The most important thing you can do on spot if you want to get responses is repeatedly give their name and their number... say it with confidence like it's the most natural thing you could ever say (think the way Phil Hendrie used to rattle off 1-800-449-8686). I'll never be able to forget that number....
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SarasotaJim
Guest
The repeats are aimed at the listener who actually wants to place a call. They have to keep repeating the number in their head until they can get to their phone. It's that simple. The product being advertised didn't interest you and you obviously didn't want to call. You'll understand the very moment you hear a commercial you wish to respond to.
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SarasotaJim
Guest
There is such a thing as information and there is such a thing as information overload. Let someone spew out the high and low temperatures for every day in a month and you won't remember crappola at the end of it. You'll limit the numbers if you want to have your report be understood.
I don't know if it's the dumbing down of the news or commercialization of the news, but at least on the local news, it seems as though there might only be 5 minutes (if that) of real news; the rest seem to be entertainment features and mini-infomercials for different restaurants and businesses and a good bit of promotion for programs aired on the particular station you happen to be watching. Sometimes I almost to have to make sure I am watching what is called a newscast and haven't accidentally stumbled upon Entertainment Tonight.
drt
drt
News content has been progressively trimmed down and dumbed down since the de-regulation of the 1980s and 90s. Radio news used to be a "loss leader," losing money but bringing prestige and listeners to a station. It was also part of the unwritten requirements for retaining one's license. But as owners have been freed from any real obligation of public good, and News has been replaced by "Entertainment Tonight"-esque celebrity gossip and sharply visceral Hate Radio (a HUGE money-maker), actual radio journalism is nearly extinct. The medium has changed, and the media world has changed. Very few of the remaining folks writing radio news even have any idea how to write decent copy, and are crippled by having no resources to actually cover important local news. The art form is moribund. CBS Radio Network news is probably the last bastion.
I don't know if it lost money. Lot of sponsors love to be associated with news. However, most of them don't advertise on the radio any more. The real story about news isn't radio or de-regulation, but the explosion of news everywhere else, and the desire on the part of the audience to only hear the news they agree with or want to hear.
If you want to hear radio news the way it was meant to be done, the place is NPR. They spend lots of money, hire serious writers, and they have a growing audience.
"Head On" apply directly to the forehead, "Head On" apply directly to the forehead, "Head On" apply directly to the forehead, "Head On" apply directly to the forehead,
What a horrible spot but it was effective at its goal. So effective they no longer advertise.
What a horrible spot but it was effective at its goal. So effective they no longer advertise.
You're right- I forgot about NPR (imagine that!). They do tell real News "stories" with well-crafted words & sound, but at a non-commercial length. I once attended the only Radio Newswriting seminar ever given by the Poynter Institute: there were 4 of us commercial News types, and 14 NPR people. Their stories were all 7-10 minutes long... mine were 35-40 seconds, with THREE soundbites. It was like epic novel versus haiku, LOL. We were jealous of their time; they were jealous of our immediacy. This was 20 years ago, of course.
You mean like Downtown Dave?
You have no idea how effective that commercial is...
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