National News on Major Local Stories vs. Local News.

[kevinsealy]

When it comes to a major news story breaking in a city, there's a slight difference on how the story is presented.

Late Wednesday evening a fire killed eight children and one adult in the South Bronx. The local stations gave the community and the street location.But the national news only mentioned the South Bronx.

For the most part this has a lot to do with proximity. The national news when referring to the police shooting of Sean Bell back in November did not mentioned Jamaica, Queens at a certain street location because listeners outside the NYC metro area no nothing about communities in the New York area.

I would like to know how was the local coverage of the school shooting in Oaklahoma, Colombine (spelling).


Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy

 

[LinoNYC]

"....The national news when referring to the police shooting of Sean Bell back in November did not mentioned Jamaica, Queens....."

They also don't seem to have mentioned that Bell and the two with him had a total of 14 arrests for drug pushing, and weapons etc.


What they have shown are the somewhat sickening "memorials" extolling the "sacred memory" of Bell, not the fact that he was a predator and that the police were there because of community pressure to stop the drug dealing and prostitution that went on in that dump.

Future stories will probably detail how the two remaining thugs in Mr Bell's party have become millionaires, thanks to our gun-happy NYPD.

Kind of an expensive way to take out trash.

 

[fredflintstone]

One big difference in how stories from New York and from any where else get national play...

The national network newscasts are produced in New York by people who live and work in New York. For stories from Oklahoma City or Denver, the people who rewrite the wire copy, introduce wraps from an affiliate or read the stories, have probably never been there. Therefore, a New York local story is more likely to get national coverage than a story from any where else.

 

[FilioScotia]

I frequently file stories on local happenings of national interest for use on NPR, and my own rule on those kinds of stories is to use as little local detail as possible. Nobody in Peoria or Pocatello knows or cares that the triple axe murder happened in the 3300 block of Elm Street on the west side. The bare facts of the happening are sufficient for national audiences.

But you're right about New York reporting. They really believe NYC is the center of the universe, and every small detail of every local story is vitally important for national audiences. It's just more evidence of my long held belief that New Yorkers -- and I love'em, I really do -- are without question the most provincial people in this country.