Broadcast Critique Blogpost

During the local Lynchburg news on ABC 13, I was so interested in the way that the news reporters presented themselves. I have never been much of a news watcher, mainly because it stresses me out or makes me mad in some way. I am from Atlanta, and whenever I watched the Atlanta Live news, it was always intense and so deep with conflicts. Watching the local Lynchburg news was so refreshing, giving a different perspective of smaller current events happening. It gave that small town feel and close-knit community setting.

The three factors for writing for Broadcast were all within the the news. Timeliness was given when the reporters were shot live outside of crime scenes or story settings. This gave the viewers more of a visual and better understanding. One story about a young boy that died in Lynchburg was very touching. His grandmother created a Christmas tree outside of her house with ornaments with his picture on it for the community to remember him. These kind of stories are heartfelt, and what I feel is important to include in local news.

Audio/Visual impact was given as well. Music was played in between transitions, which gave a nice flow to the presentation. Naturally, visual is always given during the weather news presentation which allows the viewers to see the progression on a map. For reporters, their transitions for upcoming news stories were helpful to know what the next topic of news was. Good visuals as well as good interviews is what make the news entertaining. One news reporter, Carleigh Griffeth, spoke very clearly and made her local news story intriguing. The visual of her standing outside of the house reporting the crime scene allowed for a direct visual to the story.

Information, not explanation, was given through short stories and the transitions between news subjects. This aspect of news reporting is so important because it brings clarity and is what mainly draws the viewer's attention. Viewers want to hear the news spoken clearly and with the most important information being given.

The reporters for ABC 13 were more personal in the way they spoke. Even the weather guy was slightly humorous. The stories for the local news were of course smaller stories, relating to local individuals and even several Liberty sports players. One Liberty soccer player, a girl, was recently injured yet she will be playing again soon after recovering from her injury. It was even neat to see Liberty being featured on the local news, discussing the success of the football team. Coach Gill was interviewed as well as several of the players on their recent victories. 

The broadcast style differs from print style in that it is a lot less formal in wording. The differences between print and broadcast news is that broadcast news is written for listeners and viewers turning in with their ears and sometimes their eyes. Reporters and newscasters speak with less proper language, and they are more informative. Information needs to be direct when listening to the news because that it what the listeners want to hear. They want to hear the news story in such a way that only the most necessary information is given.

ABC 13 was great live stream, and gave great necessary information from what I saw. 

ABC 13:  http://new.livestream.com/accounts/7960773/events/2923711