Abstract
Local TV news emphasizes the earliest stage of crimes because “breaking news” is fresh, dramatic and visual. A qualitative analysis was conducted using a comprehensive set of recordings of the first three-and-a-half hours of local television news coverage in Omaha, Nebraska. This study identified a series of ongoing issues that have important implications for newsroom decision-makers. Local television news used charged and dramatic language, such as that shooting victims were “fighting for their lives.” Reporters and news managers find themselves in the middle of a struggle between two options: remaining a distant and objective observer of events, or connecting with the emotion felt by viewers.
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