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nonchalant news anchoring

"nothing really dramatic today, good night."
(+12, -1)
  [vote for,

news on tv has it's way of dramatizing everything , even uninteresting unimportant bits are made to sound as if the end of the world is coming, in terms of tone of voice , language and even body language.

(everyone remembers one or two 'slow news days' in which papers and anchormen were struggling to find something that sounds important/dramatic)

this can get very annoying sometimes , especially for people whohave enough drama in their life and just want to know what happened in the world in the last few days.

come 'nonchalant news'-

1- news are anchored in a nondramatic tone, all events are proportionalized.

2- only real events ase reported, not assumptions/opinions/guesses ('Authorities say attacks may have been linked to...')

3- in the event of a disaster/live event , no 'improptu experts' are brought to the studio to make guesses about what may be happening with no information available, and only official ,authenticated info is reported ('bystanders report hundreds of wounded...')

4- also , no 'light' subjects are sequenced after a report of a tragic event , and no dancing squirrels or cigarrette-smoking chimps. there's plenty of that on the net. maybe even bring good news to beginning of broadcast and finish with bad news?

for 'hard-core' viewers , all news are optionally reported 2 days after happening, when dust has settled and information is plenty and accurate.

supershnitzel, Jul 24 2005


       +, mostly for the day+2 news.   

       3a- No 'impromptu experts' to be dragged from the ranks of whoever was nearby, when the tubes & buses are screwed and you can't get anyone more authoritative to stand with your on-the-spot reporter (I'm looking at YOU, ITV news), to spout such absolute fearmongering drivel as, "I think it'll be quite difficult to ever feel safe in London again."
friendlyfire, Jul 24 2005

       Yes! This is exactly what's needed. TV news hasn't been worth watching for over twenty years because of all the hype and sensationalism, and it's also spilled over onto the radio. I can't express how good i think this idea is. I'd vote for it twice if i could (though i wouldn't really of course).
nineteenthly, Jul 24 2005

       Maybe have another version with just the good news, so people can be optimistic and happy right up until the terrorists come...   

       On second thoughts, this would make one very paranoid and is not what your idea was at all...   

       I'll shut up now.   

dbmag9, Jul 24 2005

       Did anyone else think that "Attempted explosions" was a strange phrase, or is it just me?
For your idea, [supershnitzel], maybe the news could be split into "This is a known fact", and "this bit we aren't so sure about". After listening for a few seconds, you could switch off, while those that like a bit of gossip could hang on for longer.
While I am inclined to agree with your rant, the seriousness of the news is in the eye of the beholder, I think. Therein lies the problem.
Ling, Jul 24 2005

       I would want the bad news at the beginning because that way it would be less depressing. On the other hand, what is bad news? It would surely depend on your outlook, such as news about abortion or the legal status of recreational drugs. Very few things are known facts anyway.
What i would welcome is news that doesn't depend on visual factors for its impact. In fact, maybe there should be no visual element at all, just a screen displaying the word NEWS, like in the old days on BBC TV.
nineteenthly, Jul 24 2005

       Perhaps have no fixed endpoint of the news. If it was a busy day, it'll last up to an hour. Every now and then the entire show will consist of: "Nothing interesting happened today. Good night.", and the rest of the hour would be footage of puppies playing.
Worldgineer, Jul 25 2005

       I agree with [World]. Right now news only has two lengths: one hour, or "24-hour coverage" for disasters. But the one-hour news should be variable in length. All crimes will be reported, no matter how many. If you commit a crime, you are preventing millions of Americans from enjoying "Seinfeld" that night.
phundug, Jul 25 2005

       This is a great idea. Probably not jazzy enough to convince the networks to go for it but great nonetheless. I'm remembering about eighteen months ago seeing news reports about bad weather in LA. High winds can be serious news but footage of a guy standing in a car park pointing out shopping trollies being blown about was just lame. Far better to have someone say "High winds affecting LA, tie things down". (They kept returning to the car park guy. I thought that was quite cruel as he had nothing to tell them the first time, he had to keep showing us different trollies doing the same thing).
stilgar, Jun 13 2006


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