News Analysis

The newscast began with a bombardment of stories. I thought it was unusual, and if I’m honest, somewhat annoying that the first story was a rather longer one about Brett Farve. It gave the impression that he was the most important story. I’m sure the station placed the story first to gain attention from the audience and prevent them from turning the channel after finishing the 9:30 program. After that the anchors spoke so quickly it was hard for me to keep up. I created a panicking feel for me, as if I would miss something if I blinked or turned away for a moment. This is purposely done by the news station to keep viewers attention.

There were many short 20-50 second segments and only a few that were longer than a minute. The longest, by far, was the segment on sports. Here Brett Farve was discussed again and in addition an interview clip was shown of him. Apparently the news believes this is what the audience wants to know about. What was surprising to me is that the investigative report on Iranian protests seemed only to be a blurb. They had a reporter on location and still the clip was only 27 seconds. That and the layout of Obama’s budget plan were the only items of national importance and they were both less than 50 seconds combined. This aims to the “Joe Plumbers” watching that feel the Farve stories are more applicable to there daily life and therefore more interesting. The news aims to please!

Towards the end of the newscast, when the weather and sports were reported on, the rapid panic attack I was having fizzled away. The newscasters became very calm for these segments and even joked around with one another. This leaves viewers with a much less intense and happier note as the newscast comes to an end. This satisfactory feeling is likely to bring a viewer back the next night to watch the news again. This is especially true as the main entertainment story of the night, the tree that was caught on tape as it was hit by lightening, was the only news story told after the final commercial break. This leaves viewers with the feeling that news does in fact report on interesting and even happy events. Viewers are more likely to watch that news channel again if they don’t feel that all the news stories they’re hearing are sad and depressing. I believe this is why the news becomes so casual and light hearted towards the end of the segment.

The appearance of the newscasters was impeccable. The men all had gelled hair and shirts with beautiful ties. The women all had suit jackets and skirt and very shiny lip gloss. This physical appearance is a must since this network is broadcasting for ratings and popularity. Kare11 also mention there website several times in attempt to gain attention from a wider audience and satisfy there current viewers with more information that can be found on the site.