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Yes, I agree. Why is 30% to 40% of the time slot allocated to matters that are as ephemeral as the weather and of no long term consequence whatsoever? (For that

Yes, I agree. Why is 30% to 40% of the time slot allocated to matters that are as ephemeral as the weather and of no long term consequence whatsoever? (For that matter, the weather segment has become much longer than it needs to be, but I digress). Afaict it's only bc it's cheap filler. Certainly most sports fans can either watch things as they happen, or can find out the results any time they want on the internet. Insofar as broadcast news makes any sense at all these days, more emphasis on information you might not otherwise seek, and that might matter beyond next weekend would be desirable

nitrogen 6y ago
I assume you are joking about the weather, but either way... Before weather was freely available on computers or phones, it was useful to know what the weather was likely to be so you could plan local and/or national travel accordingly.
- greenbit 6y ago
  Idk about other areas but I suspect my local stations are fairly representative of at least the north eastern quarter of the US. All of them burn the better part of a minute with a 'teaser' piece that reveals essentially nothing, early in the half hour. Then about mid way through they burn what must be a solid 4 minutes at least with all manner of fluff. This is when there are no extreme events. If they just stuck to the next 24 hours, and then maybe a brief look at the "7 day" just for the general trends, they could stick that in place of the dreaded teaser, and even repeat it later (in case you missed it) and easily shrink it by 75%
  - nitrogen 6y ago
    True. The teasers are an unfortunate side effect of the primary goal of TV news, which is to sell ad slots. A family member did the weather graphics for a TV station years ago. I've sat on the set and in the control room a couple of times during a live broadcast. Everyone involved is really talented, and it's a shame that talent isn't devoted solely to the long-term benefit of the viewer and society.

nitrogen 6y ago

I assume you are joking about the weather, but either way... Before weather was freely available on computers or phones, it was useful to know what the weather was likely to be so you could plan local and/or national travel accordingly.

greenbit 6y ago
Idk about other areas but I suspect my local stations are fairly representative of at least the north eastern quarter of the US. All of them burn the better part of a minute with a 'teaser' piece that reveals essentially nothing, early in the half hour. Then about mid way through they burn what must be a solid 4 minutes at least with all manner of fluff. This is when there are no extreme events. If they just stuck to the next 24 hours, and then maybe a brief look at the "7 day" just for the general trends, they could stick that in place of the dreaded teaser, and even repeat it later (in case you missed it) and easily shrink it by 75%
- nitrogen 6y ago
  True. The teasers are an unfortunate side effect of the primary goal of TV news, which is to sell ad slots. A family member did the weather graphics for a TV station years ago. I've sat on the set and in the control room a couple of times during a live broadcast. Everyone involved is really talented, and it's a shame that talent isn't devoted solely to the long-term benefit of the viewer and society.