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WHEC Breaking News

P

prompter

I have been convalescing for the last few weeks, recovering from triple bypass surgery after
watching all of 10 NBC's "Breaking News" opens sliding across the screen. Every time some story
happens, anywhere, they scare the bejesus out of me with a Breaking News stinger. It got so bad
my ticker stopped. So feeling spry after some weeks of rest, I decided to settle in and watch 10 NBC's
noon news broadcast today. Hold on, Breaking News, a chopper down in Michigan. I saw the stinger and
immediately thought some local information officer might be ciphoning gas from a RTS bus. But NO!---it was
a chopper crash in Grand Rapids for God's sake! Then at 5, my heart murmur now settled down, another
Breaking News stinger.....oh no--could Midtown Plaza be burning? No, not at all....just a fire in Peabody,
Mass.. Are you kidding? They get my dander up with this kind of garbage? What happened to Live, Local
and up to the Minute? Frank Magid must have had a nice visit over on East Avenue. Stop scaring the hell
out of me---inform me, don't alarm me...at least not about news so far away!
 
prompter said:
I have been convalescing for the last few weeks, recovering from triple bypass surgery after
watching all of 10 NBC's "Breaking News" opens sliding across the screen. Every time some story
happens, anywhere, they scare the bejesus out of me with a Breaking News stinger. It got so bad
my ticker stopped. So feeling spry after some weeks of rest, I decided to settle in and watch 10 NBC's
noon news broadcast today. Hold on, Breaking News, a chopper down in Michigan. I saw the stinger and
immediately thought some local information officer might be ciphoning gas from a RTS bus. But NO!---it was
a chopper crash in Grand Rapids for God's sake! Then at 5, my heart murmur now settled down, another
Breaking News stinger.....oh no--could Midtown Plaza be burning? No, not at all....just a fire in Peabody,
Mass.. Are you kidding? They get my dander up with this kind of garbage? What happened to Live, Local
and up to the Minute? Frank Magid must have had a nice visit over on East Avenue. Stop scaring the hell
out of me---inform me, don't alarm me...at least not about news so far away!
Click to expand...

Now you know why I don't bother to watch local television news anymore because unless there is a homicide, house fire, or something the assignment editor thinks passes for news, all viewers get is a mish-mash of stories that have little or no interest to the general public. I have no interest in the banter between news anchors; weather forecasts that 90 percent of the time are wrong, or local sports. All I can say is thank goodness for the internet where I can be spared idiotic commercials featuring the likes of Mr. HUGE-JA, and actually read some interesting stories. I've even avoided the cable news channels because I am tired of the slanted coverage provided by so-called anchors, some of them who use to be hosts of entertainment-type programs, or former sportscasters. News has degenerated into a format that is more in tune with the likes of Entertainment Tonight, or E-Hollywood. And then news executives wonder why fewer people are bothering to watch television anymore. As for radio news, that is a joke in this community, and in many others. With the exception of public radio, most commercial radio stations either simulcast their news from TV, or have someone read headlines out of the newspaper or wire service.
 
prompter said:
...they scare the bejesus out of me with a Breaking News stinger.
Click to expand...
If a breaking news stinger scares you, it's a wonder your heart has lasted this long ;)
Most of the time they don't even merit mental acknowledgment. And I'm sure ALL local news stations are guilty of also using them as a cheap tactic to make "we just got our asses kicked" seem like "we're on the scene as it happens!!!!!" I yawn in their general directzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........
 
Not enough news happens in a market the size of Rochester to merit a "breaking news" approach....and as a result you start filling the show with breaking news from other markets--chopper crashes/fires in other states, etc.

This is an example of a station trying to be big, but forgetting where they are--and the viewer suffers with crap coverage.
 
Give it a few months or a year and things will (hopefully) subside.

All the stations in Syracuse were on their own breaking news kick for awhile, but they seemed to have calmed down. Most people would agree WSTM was the culprit there. Besides "breaking" out-of-town stories, they'd often brand local stories as much as 16 or 24 hours after they actually happened, sometimes even stories of just minor importance. Most people with common sense see right through the smoke and mirrors. But no station wants to appear to be "lagging" by not having that "breaking news" banner on the screen right at 5:00 or 6:00 when many viewers are turning on the set and flipping around to see which station has the best lead.

Before long, people realize it's like the boy who cried wolf. Viewers start complaining. It really helps if the station that started overdoing the "breaking news" shtick realizes they went through all that effort, for little or no audience growth. Once that station backs off, the others will also back off (if they haven't wisely already done so on their own).
 
I agree everybody, although I think for Rochester(and other cities upstate) there is a catergory to which stories can be breaking news...things like a big local politician's resignation, the closure of a major expressway due to a pileup, school lockdowns, and a fire at a major place of interest constitute the breaking news title.However, so many stations do seem to lable everything as "breaking news". I can understand the headings of "our top story" but breaking? Remember last year when those girls in Fairport died in a rollover after texting while driving? Sure it's a tragic loss of life for all involved and a chilling reminder of the dangers of careless driving, but I don't think it deserved the huge amount of coverage it got, heck even CNN aired the story. Must have been a slow news week. Bob is right, another thing to take in consideration is all these big and fancy stories they do for sweeps, and now that May is over, we can relax until July, then November.

"BREAKING NEWS: The lines at Wegmans in Greece are really long, five to ten minute waits at the least...THIS JUST IN: Fred the Goldfish in West Webster just died!
 Reports are saying he has since been flushed down the toilet!!!!!
 
Speaking about "breaking news" did you know that it was hot Monday? That was 10's lead story, and to prove it was hot they sent a reporter outside in the heat. Wow that's journalism at it's best ::) I actually felt bad for the poor schmo who had to stand outside in the heat to tell viewers it was hot. It reminds me of when there is a winter storm and TV pulls the same stunt. Oh well that's show business!
 
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