caroline's stuff that doesn't go anywhere else.

sit down news: no longer in fashion?

There's a part of me that went a little giddy when I heard that Jessica Aguirre, formerly of ABC7, wasn't going to return for the nightly news. My gidiness subsided a little once I heard she was going to NBC11, home of more annoying anchors (oh Laura Garcia-Cannon, can you slow your word roll a little without batting your eyes?). I would say that I watch the ABC7 news more often than NBC's, so of course this wouldn't affect me as much.

But curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to see what was up with Jessica. Would she bring the same amount of editorial comment filled newscasts to NBC? Answer: yes, and along with that a particular phenomenon that has somehow invaded my television. That my friends, is reporting the news while standing.

Now, I don't believe this is a new fad, but I do believe it to be an annoying fad. What's wrong with sitting down behind an anchor desk? Not so much, especially since sitting behind that desk gives you more power than your counterparts. You're anchoring the news for the love of Pete. You're there to, well, anchor the news. Ultimately, it makes you better than your co-workers: you've paid your dues out in the field and are now allowed to sit on your butt while others are out there doing the dirty work. It's an award that is a long time coming, and it shouldn't be taken lightly.

But the only reason I think that they're doing the stand up shtick is because it gives the viewer the impression that the anchor is more than just someone who tells you the news. I'm thinking: is it because they want to give her more to do than just sit down and talk? It's not so much a concept to just sit there and talk (which is what she did at Channel 7), but to have her get up and move around? WOW. Now THAT'S a concept . I mean, why sit in a TV studio when you can walk around it? Not only this, but she gets to hold a rolled up piece of paper in her hand, have an HDTV screen behind her instead of the traditional floating box, stand at a table that should be at a local sports bar and talk to guests standing at that table. It's almost like she is in a sports bar. All that's missing is a pitcher of beer. I kind of want to blame Katie Couric, especially when she began doing the "CBS Evening News." She would lean up against her desk, read in front of a HD screen, etc. Damn you, Katie. Damn you.

What I'm definitely not missing: editorial comments. As a broadcasting student, and if you're going into news, the thing they reiterate so much that your ears begin to bleed is that you are to report the facts and no opinions, unless you are a commentator. On ABC7, Aguirre constantly did this to a point where I was like "Who the f*ck are you?" It would go like this: she would report on something sad, play the package, then right after when she would have to segue, she would shake her head. "Just terrible ... terrible. In other news..." *jumps up and down while shaking head* Seriously? Nobody asked you, lady. Just report the news. That's what you're there for. It's just one of those things that you don't do. I suppose she wanted to bring some kind of humanity to her news reporting, and hell, I ain't mad at that. But there's a time and a place for it, and quite frankly, she was going about it all wrong.

Anyway, maybe I'm being a little too harsh. I realize I am being highly superficial, but these people have been invited into my home, it's only fair that I criticize the way they talk to me. I suspect my cattiness has surfaced more recently because Leslie Griffith has somehow vanished off the face of the Earth, and my need to pick on someone has finally reached the brink.

Visit: Who's The Most Annoying A**hole News Anchor On TV, in which someone decided to call out our top news men (if you want to call them that); also check out Should TV Anchors Get Into the Opinion Game? (really ... should they?)
Other notes: picture is from Aguirre's former home, ABC7; Couric's is from CBS.

Labels: news, television

posted by caroline @ 12:13 PM