Local TV News: Add Value, Minus Crime

There are few hours in a day, so I try my best to customize news to focus on stories that relate to my professional industries (thank you Google Alerts), my neighborhood (My Ballard blog), and topics that are of interest by following a broad range of Facebook pages. I often get King 5 news from their Facebook posts.

To refresh my local TV news experience, I watched King 5’s 6 p.m. broadcast on February 11. The night’s lineup featured these stories:

• Sister of Green River killer victim fights to change child rape laws
• Prison Beating (story of guards being beaten)
• Graffiti Arrests (vandalizers caught)
• Dental Dilemma (Difficult for some to receive dental coverage)
• Watery Mark (Popular bourbon being watered down)
• Mountain Dew (new drink being released)
• Apps for Online Dating (location-based dating apps)
• iWatch Coming? (Buzz of a watch by Apple)
• Pope Benedict Resigns (the pope gives his two weeks’ notice)
• Green Lake Attack Attempt (increased police after attack)
• Battery Investigation (Dreamliners being grounded)
• Weather
• Sports

Based on this recent viewing experience, two suggestions for local news improvement include:

1.    Add Value: There were a few stories above that could make for water cooler chatter, such as the changes to Maker’s Mark, word of an Apple product release, and the international headline of Pope Benedict’s resignation.

People have limited time, so the news has to add value to viewers. I want to come away from a 30-minute newscast feeling like there was a benefit, whether that’s being in-the-know of local events or being inspired by a person doing good work (like seen in the ‘Making a Difference’ segment on NBC’s Nightly News. Also, a five-minute segment called “look at today’s headlines,” would be helpful for busy viewers. I’d love to watch a quick, headlines snapshot, similar to how Natalie Morales reads the news on the Today Show.

2.    Minus Crime: Local TV news can often sound like a police scanner reading. Out of about a dozen main stories on the February 11 broadcast, four were crime related, such as prison beatings, a runner attack, vandalizers, and child rape. A higher ratio of human interest, business, community, and international stories would improve the 30-minute broadcast experience.

Certain crime stories are important to help inform and catch suspects. In addition to showing a sketch of a Green Lake attacker, there could be stories to share helpful information and influence action, such as “top 10 ways to increase safety while running” and “5 recommended running routes in Seattle.” The story could include interviews with local running group leaders to encourage people to get involved with their active community.