Local news trawls new depths, hits new lows

Local news programs are not national news programs. This truism is one everyone knows by new. National news programs aren't perfect. Sometimes there's a subtle (CNN), or even not-so-subtle bias (Fox News) to the tone of reporting and story selection and focus. Whatever bias may or may not exist, it is consistent and predictable, and even the more biased nations sources are careful to keep news separate from editorial content. Editorial content can be informative, but it is clearly distinguished from regular news content in that a distinct personality is involved and it is usually pretty clear that that personality is opining in concert with whatever news they're sharing.

Local news has always had trouble keeping quality stories, local interest stories, and crap filler separate. When you have smaller markets and 3 or 4 local station affiliates attempting to compete with each other for local news ratings standards tend to take a back seat to viewing eyes, and boy do they take a back seat. I live in Cleveland, Ohio. Every time I watch a local news show I'm astounded at the lack of quality standards throughout the newscast. I know I've set up a big rant about a particular kind of content, but let's start simply, shall we?

Local news stations in this area have horrible writing and editing when it comes to creating sentences and narratives. When the stories are read by reporters and anchors they have piecemeal flow and grammatical errors abound. There are problems with consistent voice as well. Given the quality of what comes out of these people's mouths, I can only assume spelling and punctuation errors also abound on paper and teleprompter feeds.

Next on the plate is story selection. Local news only has so much choice. They don't want to dwell too much on national stories that may be covered again in the national news casts. This is partially because people might change the station if they hear the same content over and over, but also because it has the potential to make the local station look even worse by comparison. Who would want to have their own amateurish content shown up repeatedly by national newscasts? No, instead they try to take on national issues briefly or by focusing on local impact. This can be helpful. Unfortunately its the other news story selections which are most disappointing. Thanks to newspapers and on-line news sources I can honestly say that sometimes the local news completely glosses over stories of major local impact in favor of what are effectively local fluff pieces. I understand the need for some positive news or some local flavor beyond simple news reporting, but the local stations have taken this balancing act to absurd levels. Local news will take 2 minutes on a major road accident on an important thoroughfare and then waste 4 minutes on a segment comparing 2 "As Seen on TV" style products which may appeal to only a tiny percentage of viewers.

The biggest problem with local news, however, is that of the blurring line between news and opinion and editorial content. This is especially apparent when it comes to reports about crimes and criminals, especially where someone has been arrested or is sought as a suspect. While national news casts are generally pretty careful about judging criminal suspects, making sure to keep such news stories informative but heavily steeped in words like alleged, charged, etc..., local newscasts are not nearly as careful. If someone is sought in a rape case the local anchor may append a "That's disgusting," or "I hope they catch him," at the end of the story. Rape is not a light matter, but someone who is sought or has been arrested as a suspect is not guilty until tried and found guilty. Editorial comments like the above suggest to the audience that the newscaster's opinion has been decided. The imagined examples provided are mild because I can't remember any of the specific examples. The specific examples were worse, however. They were more damning and totally inappropriate for a newscast. For other types of stories this kind of editorial behavior is simply unprofessional. In cases where crimes and suspects are involved, this kind of reporting borders on dangerous. Why editors and writers at local news stations believe this kind of behavior is acceptable I cannot fathom.

So, in the hunt for rating, local newscasts have sunk to new lows. While they trawl the seedy bottom of local happenings the writers and editors attempt to lower reporting quality. Rather than setting professional standards and sticking to them, they seem to be determined to limbo under the Lowest Common Denominator bar. My hope is that someone in local television news sees the light and attempts to fight back. There has to be a way to garner both viewer ratings and quality marks for local reporting. Maybe it's just that local news stations are hiring all the wrong people. Maybe there's just a lemming-like, industry-wide race to the bottom. Either way, something has to change if anything like integrity is to be preserved in the world of local news reporting.