I'm interested in hearing everyone's feelings about their local news programming. I live in the Pittsburgh market and its almost excruciating to watch any local newscasts. Every single story is either a fire, a shooting, the elderly losing money in some scam - nearly all so small in scale and therefore endlessly boring. Also, the local media here is absolutely enamored with the Pittsburgh Steelers and has been for as long as I remember. Every time a 3rd string lineman scratches his ass, it's automatically the biggest story of the day. In a dying town where nothing happens, the media here has picked a sports team as the go-to news source.

Does anyone else find their local news in a sad state of insignificance filled with inconsequential tidbits of crap? Or do you find local news genuinely worth your time and well-balanced?

Sounds like the news is the same everywhere. Mine begins with multiple shootings thru out the city, metal thefts, old people swindled,suspicious fires,drug busts and the top story, " The Cardinals ". For some strange reason, the women newscasters wear red outfits almost every night.

Same news, different town.

Sounds like the news is the same everywhere. Mine begins with multiple shootings thru out the city, metal thefts, old people swindled,suspicious fires,drug busts and the top story, " The Cardinals ". For some strange reason, the women newscasters wear red outfits almost every night.

Color-coordinated outfits is a new one to me. I've noticed countless times small subtle black and gold pins, scarves, etc. but not whole outfits lol. Guess black and gold pretty hard to pull off in wardrobe on a nightly basis lol.

For someone like me who dislikes football and loves baseball, I can only envy you in St. Louis for having a consistently good baseball team. Our Pirates currently have the worst record in North American sports history - 19 consecutive losing seasons. Here, they are neglected and have become a running joke in both the public AND on the news. So my heart goes out to any football fans in St. Louis. I can imagine what it's like trying to follow the Rams there in 2012.

The local news here in the Greensboro, NC market has changed so much over the years that I rarely watch it anymore. I can recall the broadcasts from the 70's when in 30 minutes, they would give a thorough report of the local and national headlines, an informative weather report and a recap of every MLB, NFL or NBA game that had been played that day including scores and highlights. If the NWA held a wrestling event within the area, they would often cover it. Human interest stories were generally the last thing told before leading into the national news at 6:30 and The Tonight Show at 11:30 or whatever programs NBC, CBS and ABC were airing at the time. My guess is that the added commercial time killed local news as I remember it especially sports because the so-called local/regional teams such as The Atlanta Braves, Charlotte Bobcats, Carolina Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes are the only teams that get any coverage. The one thing though that really turned me against local news was their teasers. More often than not, they would run constant promos about a story coming up on the next edition and unless it was a major news story or a weather alert, the story you waited to see was always the last thing they mentioned. This was nothing but an attempt to get viewers to watch the entire newscast. :rolleyes:

I agree about teasers -- very frustrating and annoying as to how they're handled.

Some of the other things that bug me about my local news:

Every road is called "... Street," regardless if the actual name is a Boulevard, Avenue, etc.

Even simple words are misspelled (doctor misspelled "docter") on screen.

The female reporters are always jerking their heads to try to flip the hair out of their eyes when outdoors on windy days. Multiple attempts that usually fail! Barrette, clip, or bobby pin, anyone? Fun to watch though (lol~!).

This is going to make me sound shallow, but I don't watch the local news in my market (Chico/Redding, California; DMA #130) because it's essentially amateur hour. The CBS and NBC affiliates are co-owned, and the Fox affiliate doesn't have a newscast, so that leaves only two television news departments in the area (CBS/NBC and ABC stations). Since there isn't much competition, there isn't much incentive to bring production values into the 21st century. The video and audio quality looks like something the stations in my hometown of Spokane, Washington produced in the 1980s.

Here's the very bland "Action News" produced by KHSL and KNVN (the CBS and NBC affiliates):
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Here's the ABC affiliate, KRCR:
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Graphics from the '90s, no HD, anchors who would rather be someplace else (as evidenced by the high turnover rate). I admit that the biggest reason I don't watch the local newscasts is because they're not in HD yet. But once they finally make the switch, I'll probably find another reason to not watch them.

By the way, the aforementioned CBS/NBC duopoly shows the same exact newscast at the same exact time from 5:30-7 am weekdays, 6:30-7 pm weekends, and from 11-11:30/11:35 pm every night. What a waste, and a terribly boneheaded programming decision! Why can't they just air the news on one of the two channels at a time, and show syndicated programming on the other?

I'm interested in hearing everyone's feelings about their local news programming. I live in the Pittsburgh market and its almost excruciating to watch any local newscasts. Every single story is either a fire, a shooting, the elderly losing money in some scam - nearly all so small in scale and therefore endlessly boring. Also, the local media here is absolutely enamored with the Pittsburgh Steelers and has been for as long as I remember. Every time a 3rd string lineman scratches his ass, it's automatically the biggest story of the day. In a dying town where nothing happens, the media here has picked a sports team as the go-to news source.

Does anyone else find their local news in a sad state of insignificance filled with inconsequential tidbits of crap? Or do you find local news genuinely worth your time and well-balanced?


Philadelphia Local News summary

They are very EXCITED to discuss the weather

They tell people what sports team to root for

They feature a lot of young sexy women and purposely bring attention to their breasts and hips

I love the Channel 8 news in Cleveland (the FOX affiliate) because the anchors and other reporters have been there a long time, they find a way to make the newscasts fun, and we have the longest-running meteorologist, Dick Goddard. He's been on the news for over 50 years, and I got to meet him last December at a book signing. :D

our local news is a pretty big joke, but I watch it anyways.

they always have a couple of shootings, robberies, abandoned house arsons, local government corruption, always go WAY overboard with local weather (they will INTERRUPT primetime broadcasts when there is so much as a stiff breeze over in Indiana), and they ALWAYS have to have the reporter on the scene find the craziest-looking, toothless slack-jawed yokel to interview...

on yesterday's news, man on the street interview about gas station thefts - "they just drive off without payin'? well that's almost like STEALIN'"

- that and they can't go through a single hour without misspelling onscreen graphics or getting names/etc wrong.

^ Actually, the news I like misspells words and screws up graphics all the time, but for some reason I just go with it. :crazy: :lol:

We don't have a local tv station for our city but the one I watch out of Nashville reports the news pretty well. They cover our city as well as several other nearby cities. The only real complaint is that the woman squints her eyes trying to read the teleprompter & she often leaves out some of the words. So you're wondering what the heck she's saying. I think she really needs to get some glasses or contacts.

We don't have a local tv station for our city but the one I watch out of Nashville reports the news pretty well. They cover our city as well as several other nearby cities. The only real complaint is that the woman squints her eyes trying to read the teleprompter & she often leaves out some of the words. So you're wondering what the heck she's saying. I think she really needs to get some glasses or contacts.

Sounds like she can never work for a BIG MARKET because she would not last LOL

Sounds like she can never work for a BIG MARKET because she would not last LOL

She actually came to the Nashville station from Chicago, so you may be right. :lol:

She actually came to the Nashville station from Chicago, so you may be right. :lol:


It sounds like because don't go from Chicago to Nashville, You go from Nashville to Chicago LOL

I'm in the Baltimore metro area and here are the stations we have:

WBAL - The most serious of all the stations, more news-oriented. I watch their 6pm newscast during the week and on weekends, and their 11pm news every night.

WJZ - WBAL's main competitor. The anchors on there are likeable and many have been at the station for 20+ years so there's no high turnover. The downsides: Three hours of news from 4pm - 7pm which gets repetitive and weatherman Marty Bass, who is the most annoying local news personality I've ever seen. He's a loudmouth, too opinionated and too full-of-himself. I can't wait for the day when "Smarty Ass" retires. Bob Turk is way more classier than him and is focused on reporting the weather and not injecting snide remarks while doing it.

WBFF - The FOX affiliate and they've really gone downhill since their debut in 1991. When they first aired, it was some of the best news around with in-depth stories about Baltimore that other stations wouldn't cover. Now they're nothing more than a political mouthpiece for the Tea Party and they're not as objective as the other stations. I'd say 90% is politics and the rest other news. I only watch for the weather on their 10pm news and that's about it. Their sports is the most involved, devoting 10 minutes to it every night and half-hour on Sunday nights. Anchor Jennifer Gilbert apparently has no other wardrobe besides sleeveless red dresses because that's all she wears, even during the dead of winter.

WMAR - They're in the bottom of the ratings year after year. The reporters aren't exciting although I do like Joce Sternan and her consumer watch stories. They do have good weather reporting and they are the only channel to have a 6:30 newscast on Sunday nights.

Does anyone else have these segments on their news?

1. PET OF THE WEEK (Should be called dog of the week because that's all they show) It's where they try to get you to adopt one from the animal shelter.

2. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING A reporter goes around uncovering weasels (politicians) who are pissing away taxpayers money on stupid things, or companies who are giving customers the shaft.

Our local FOX affiliate (Channel 8) has the Pet Parade every week, and yes, we also have the undercover investigations with the pushy investigative reporter. I think pretty much every city does. :lol:

Those "undercover investigations" by the local newsteams here are always a joke in journalism. The huge conspiracies they hype up typically turn out to be some low level local politician (probably making $7,000/year at his or her part time post) who had a DUI in 1987. That isn't news - it's gossip.

I hate the way my newscasts here in Dayton are not only filled with crime stories (are the area lawyers and/or law firms bribing them??? Their commercials are pretty prevalent here!), but also with interviews. In this age of instant gratification the news can only be delivered in a couple of sentences like "Weekend Update" on Saturday Night Live.

However, I was told ten years ago by someone who used to live outside of San Francisco that crime happens there, but the stations don't report it. (Way to go!)

I hate the way my newscasts here in Dayton are not only filled with crime stories (are the area lawyers and/or law firms bribing them??? Their commercials are pretty prevalent here!), but also with interviews. In this age of instant gratification the news can only be delivered in a couple of sentences like "Weekend Update" on Saturday Night Live.

However, I was told ten years ago by someone who used to live outside of San Francisco that crime happens there, but the stations don't report it. (Way to go!)


Was it because it was occasional crime and not happening everyday i wonder

I live in the Pittsburgh market and here's the local news stations and my opinion on them:

Kdka- The anchors seem enthusiastic and like they want to be there.

Wtae- Arguably the worst of the bunch. The anchors look like they don't even want to be there and are boring and dull.

WPXI- See KDKA

As for local news itself , it gets old pretty quick.Turn it on , and there is always a story on someone getting shot, stabbed , robbed , car accidents , drug busts , etc... Hardly any good news that you'd want to hear. Another thing is the weather. The local stations show the news every 5 minutes , and it gets repetitive real fast.And not to mention , some of these news broadcasts are on for 3 hours

I think shootings should be for the newspaper. Have no interest in THUG NEWS

I watched the local news virtually my entire life but no longer. Now it's a bimbo show with 20 something fashion models on virtually the entire newscast all joking and sucking up to celebrities pretending they're having a good time. It's worthless.

My mom watches the 11:00PM news on our NBC station and every time that they have big news they always save the big news story for the end of the news and they always start with stories about crime or car crashes and it continues until a commercial break and then in the second half they have the weather report then sports reports. But my CBS station has a smart idea in it's local news by showing a mini weather report first then showing the top story second and then has the sports report at the end along with the actual weather report and it's been like this ever since I can remember. Another thing I've noticed is that every so often about local news is they always hire great weathermen but then in a few months the weathermen get replaced by different weathermen. Take for instance my NBC station has had the same weatherman for a long time but then added various weathermen for the weekend edition of the news. So if you watch local news today you'll see a great improvement in local news and I think many advancements will be added to local news as the future of TV continues to improve
Bestie

The local news here in the Greensboro, NC market has changed so much over the years that I rarely watch it anymore. I can recall the broadcasts from the 70's when in 30 minutes, they would give a thorough report of the local and national headlines, an informative weather report and a recap of every MLB, NFL or NBA game that had been played that day including scores and highlights.

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This isn't exactly from the 70s, but I think that this WNBC 11 P.M. news from April 1981 reporting the landing of the space shuttle Columbia as the lead story is a shining example of what you're referring to as to how all-inclusive the local newscasts of the past were.

We don't have a local tv station for our city but the one I watch out of Nashville reports the news pretty well. They cover our city as well as several other nearby cities. The only real complaint is that the woman squints her eyes trying to read the teleprompter & she often leaves out some of the words.

Are you referring to Demetria Kalodimos on WSMV Channel 4 (NBC in Nashville)?

I watched the local news virtually my entire life but no longer. Now it's a bimbo show with 20 something fashion models on virtually the entire newscast all joking and sucking up to celebrities pretending they're having a good time. It's worthless.

They were probably told to pretend as part of their jobs; just like actors.

Another habit that my local news often does is that every time they introduce a new news anchor the new news anchor is around for about three months and then gets replaced with another news anchor. Take for instance my NBC and CBS stations started switching news anchors when the NBC station switched their news anchors to the CBS station and because of this change one of the news anchors that was from the NBC station got very sick and had to be replaced with another news anchor and after that the CBS station got all new people. The CBS station also does this with it's weathermen and they seem to have different weathermen all the time when the current weatherman at the time have retired for no reason. Another thing that I have noticed about local news today is that you never see good celebrity stories being mentioned on the news and it seems that the only time that the news features celebrity stories is that the only topics of celebrities are celebrity deaths celebrities that have new babies and I remember when the news used to be filled with amazing stories about celebrities starring in new movies and happy Hollywood stories
Bestie

The other thing I have noticed about local news is that anytime a city has a fire they take some of the news time talking about the fire and I remember when the news didn't focus so much on fires or earthquakes or any other emergency. Why the local news has obsessions with stories about fires and other emergencies i'll never figure out? I've also noticed The Pet Of The Week segments on local news and my CBS station has a segment called Pets Of The Month where they team up with the animal shelters and they talk about the cats and dogs that are up for adoption and it's various animals like turtles too. The reason why today's local news channels have a new image is because the local news gets more ratings winners and to get a more popular audience to TV
Bestie

Another thing I can't figure out about local news is why the sports news seems to be the biggest moneymaker for local news today? Because on my NBC station they have an hour long segment on nothing but sports and it's mainly news about basketball games and rarely you see sports news about NASCAR races and soccer games or boxing matches. My CBS station has sports news about golf and football games and baseball games but rarely on special occasions they have basketball news and it seems to me that sports news segments are the easiest news segments to do. Another habit that I've noticed about local news is that when every time the news comes on the male news anchors always wear what Mom and I have started to call "Nick Wilde Striped Ties" after what the character Nick Wilde wears in the movie Zootopia and I have started to think that these ties are a new fashion statement to the male news anchors and I remember when the local news anchors used to wear good clothing and neat colored ties and so I think that these reasons are used to make the news more exciting to watch on TV
Bestie