We Interrupt This Nescast Ho to Improve Local Nes and Win Ratings, Too [Hardcover]

The main argument of this book is that local TV news can practice high-quality journalism without sacrificing commercial success.This book shows that 'how' a story is reported is more important for building ratings than what the story is about. Local journalists can succeed by putting in the effort to get good stories, finding and balancing sources, seeking out experts, and making stories relevant to the local audience.This book shows that 'how' a story is reported is more important for building ratings than what the story is about. Local journalists can succeed by putting in the effort to get good stories, finding and balancing sources, seeking out experts, and making stories relevant to the local audience.Local television newscasts around the country look alike and are filled with crime, accidents, and disasters. Interviews with more than 2,000 TV journalists around the country demonstrate that news looks this way because of the ingrained belief that 'eye-ball grabbers' are the only way to build an audience. This book contradicts the conventional wisdom using empirical evidence drawn from a five-year content analysis of local news in more than 154 stations in 50 markets around the country. The book shows that 'how' a story is reported is more important for building ratings than what the story is about. Local TV does not have to 'bleed to lead'. Instead local journalists can succeed by putting in the effort to get good stories, finding and balancing sources, seeking out experts, and making stories relevant to the local audience.Acknowledgments; 1. A prologue: what this book is for Dante Chinni and Tom Rosenstiel; 2. The knowledge base Tom Rosenstiel and Marion Just; 3. 'I-Teams' and 'Eye Candy': the reality of local TV news Wally Dean and Atiba Pertilla; 4. The myths that dominate local TV news: the X-structure and the fallacy of the hook and hold method of TV news Wally Dean, Atiba Pertilla and Todd Belt; 5. The magic formula: how to make TV that viewers will watclS)