For this particular blog, I chose to watch and analyze half an hour of KDKA-TV News on Friday, October 14, 2011 at 11PM. The following is a chronological account of this newscast which took about 3 hours to do:
1- We hear Stacey Smith, a news anchor, say, “Right now at eleven” as we also hear the KDKA theme and see the logo. On top of it are the words “RIGHT NOW.”
2- We cut to a crest of Indiana University of Pensylvania and David Heifield outside the school with a story on how a “student claims she was bullied by her professor for being a lesbian.” At the bottom of the screen, “Student Bullied?” This is a just an ad for what’s to come.
3- Then, Susan Koeppen reports a Lice Outbreak in a local school. We see “Lice Outbreak" on the bottom of the screen and images of school hallways and kids getting off of buses. This is another ad.
4- Then, Stacey Brown advertises a story on a “Controversial Billboard.” We see a picture of a billboard advertising the Haunted Hayloft. The billboard includes a house and a man hung in a tree. Stacey asks, “Racist or a harmless depiction of a real event." He states that the billboard is being taken down.
5- Next, they flash to video of a citizens bank atm. Of course, there’s a headline at the bottom- “Bank Account Glitch.” Susan Koeppen states that there was a computer glitch. They cut to an interview of an African-American male saying, “It’s a real inconvenience.” This is also an ad.
6- Finally, we see the logo for KDKA and hear the theme as well as an announcer reassuring us that we’re “watching KDKA-TV News at 11 in high definition.”
7- The student who as “Bullied” explains how she feels. We see her and the headline, “Student Bullied?” It flashes to the IUP sign. Then Stacey repeats what he said earlier about the student.
8- Cut to Susan Koeppen and Stacey Smith sitting behind a desk and reannouncing the bullied student. They cut to David Highfield who is on the campus. He goes into some details, then they cut to a rally of people supporting gays. Cut to the student again, explaining what happened. Then, cut to a statement by the VP of the school. Cut to the student again, David Highfield raps it up. This takes only 2 minutes.
9- Susan announces “12 Cases of Lice Reported at Charters Valley Intermediate School” (the headline). We see people in bleachers and buses pulling away. This story lasts all of about 10 seconds.
10- We see Stacey Smith introduce Ralph Ionotti who has a story on the billboard. Then, Ralph is on site with a few details. Cut to a video with clips of the billboard and an interview of an African-American male saying he knows the billboard isn’t representing Halloween. He also says that the billboard (which shows a man hanging from a tree, curiously similar to lynchings) is in a neighborhood that’s 99% black. His name Brandon Humphrey is at the bottom of the screen. Cut to three black females who have the opposite view. They didn’t take it offensively. Cut to an ad on www.hauntedhayloft.com. Cut to the same image of the billboard, this time with audio of Elizabeth Svonavec, in charge of the hayloft. Then, Ralph raps it up. This story takes up 2 minutes.
11- Stacey talks about “Bloomfield Bank held up by robber wearing an orange mask, Work Boots. His voice is heard over a video of the bank and police on the scene. This lasts 10 seconds.
12- Susan reports a traffic stop that became a drug arrest. The screen shows the picture of the man arrested, Kevin Fogle. Above the pic is “Drug Arrest”This lasts 10 seconds,
13- Stacey announces another drug arrest. We hear him go into minor detail as we see video of money and the headline “Wilkinsburg Man Facing Drug Charges After Traffic Stop. This lasts five seconds.
14- We see Susan at the desk announcing a break-in with a video of police on the scene in the left-hand corner. Under the video are the words “Home Invasion.” Then, they cut to just the video. The headline says “Clairton-Miles Avenue.” Susan goes into detail as the video of police and dogs on the scene runs. Also, cut to an interview of a black female. This story lasts maybe 30 seconds.
15- Then, Stacey narrates another clip of police on site of a different scene. The bottom says “North Side-Forsythe Street.” Stacey talks about an 18 year old who was shot. This feels like it lasts 5 seconds, but it’s probably ten.
16- Flash to Susan behind the desk. She reportsan ambush that killed a police officer. The officer’s photo flashes on screen. Above it are the words “Fallen Officer” and below are the words “Courtesy: Facebook” and his name- “Ofc. Derek Kotecki.” Next, there’s a picture of the suspect in the murder. Above the photo is “Suspect” and below is his name- “Charles Post.” Susan narrates as we see more police at yet another crime scene. The headline reads, “Sources Say Another Person Drove Post to the Dairy Queen.” Then, there’s the headline, “Police awaiting Ballistic Tests Determining Post’s Cause of Death.” Stacey appears on screen with an image on the top right-hand corner of the fallen officer with the headline, “Boot Drives.” Stacey explains what the drives are and then, they cut to another video while Stacey narrates. The headline on this one says “Police Will Collect Donations for Ofc. Kotecki’s Family.” Then, there are details for the officer’s viewing shown on the screen with a photo of the officer. This story lasts about 3 minutes.
17- We cut to the KDKA theme and the words “LOCAL TRAFFIC” are flashed on the screen. Susan talks about Interstate 79 as we see a video of the road with the headline “Interstate 79- Single Lanes in Two Locations.” Then Stacey narrates a video of another road with the headline, “Route 50- One Lane Bridgeville to Carnegie.” These last 5 seconds each.
18- Cut to Susan describing road closings. Then, it cuts to a map of the roads. At the top of the map, it states, “Occupy Pittsburgh- Locations of Demonstrations Tomorrow.” Then, the screen flashes to the CBS Pittsburgh website. Susan says several bus routes will be rerouted and you can go to kdka.com to find out if that affects you. This takes a minute.
19- Cut to Stacey with an image of Rick Perry at the top right-hand corner of the screen. Under the image is the headline- “Perry at Pittsburgh.” Stacey says that Perry has a plan to “expand domestic energy production.” Then, it cuts to a video of Rick Perry delivering a speech. At the bottom of the screen, it says, “Gov. Rick Perry- R-Presidential Candidate.” Then, it cuts back to Stacey who has a few more details. This story takes about a minute.
20- Stacey goes into another story. This one is on how the democrats are against Perry’s Plan. The image at the right has changed to a red, white, and blue donkey and the headline reads, “Democrats Attack.”
21- Susan is shown next and she tells of a man accused oftrying to extort money. A video is shown of the suspect while she narrates. The headline on the video says, “Man Accused of Trying to Extort Diocese Agrees to Leave Pittsburgh.” This lasts 30 seconds.
22- Cut to Stacey with an image of a red house at the top right. Under the photo are the words “Fire Escape.” Then, it cuts to a clip of the house while Stacey narrates the story of the fire. The headline at the bottom says “West Homestead- West 13th Avenue.” This story lasts 20 seconds.
23- Flash to “BREAKING NEWS” with the KDKA theme and logo. Then, cut to Susan with the headline, “McArdle Road Closed At Grandview Ave Because Of Landslide.” This lasts ten seconds.
24- Then, the KDKA logo and theme comes again and the news anchors go into what’s to come. Susan announces a bank glitch while a video shows a Citizens Bank sign with the headline “Bank Glitch.” Then, Stacey announces an “Auto Shop Theft” (as the headline states) while the video shows the auto shop. Next, Susan narrates a football video with the headline, “High School Highlights.” This “Coming Up” segment lasts about 30 seconds.
25- Cut to Jeff Verszyla talking about the weather. The screen shows a cloudy night sky in the city while the words say, “Cool w/ Clouds 51 degrees.” Then, we see the words “A Look Ahead…” And under them, e see “Gusty Winds Again Tomorrow,” “Some Weekend Sun,” and “Below Normal Temps.”
26- Finally, there is a commercial break. The first ad is for the Kia Optima which lasts about 30 seconds. In the ad, we see the Optima speeding down roads at night.
27- The second ad is for Show ‘N Tell NFL which is a sweepstakes for kids to get the chance to take Lamarr Woodley to school. The kid will also win a Motorolla Droid Bionic. The ad says to log onto KDKA.com. This ad lasts about 20 seconds.
28- The next ad s for Levin Furniture’s Columbus Day Sale. It shows images of some of the furniture and lasts about 10 seconds.
29- Next, there’s an ad for Mucinex. It shows a couple up at night, coughing. It feels like five seconds.
30- The next ad is for a Honda Civic. It shows someone talking about the car with a little humor thrown in. The Honda Civic is parked next to him. This lasts about 20 seconds.
31- They fade in to Stacey Smith at the desk with the Citizens Bank Glitch story. On the top right there is a picture of the bank logo and under are the words, “Technical Glitch.” Cut to a video that shows the Citizens Bank location and has a headline saying “Citizens Bank Says It Fixed the Glitch That Caused Account Problems. Cut to an interview of a white female who is unhappy with the glitch. Cut to a video of bank receipts. This story lasts just a minute.
32- Cut to Susan with a story on parents suing in order to be allowed to install an awning to their house. Their son is sensitive to sunlight. Cut to a video of the parent’s two boys as Susan narrates. The bottom of the screen reads, “Family Suing Homeowners Association Over Right to Hang Awning. This takes about 20 seconds.
33- Flash to “New at 11PM” and the video of the auto repair shop. The bottom reads, “60 Radiators Stolen From Auto Repair Shop in Bullskin Township.” This takes 10 seconds.
34- Cut to Susan narrating a video of a bridge with the headline, “Police Arrest Two People dor Bridge Theft in North Beaver Township.” This takes 10 seconds.
35- Cut to Stacey narrating a picture of a well site. The top says, “FIRE AT GAS WELL SITE.” The map shows Greene County and Morgan Township. This takes 10 seconds.
36- Cut to Susan at the desk with a video at the top left of people holding umbrellas outside of an Apple store. Under the video is the title, “iPhone Frenzy.” Cut to just the video while Susan narrates. The headline now reads, “People Wait in Line Overnight to Buy the New iPhone 4s.” This takes 10 seconds.
37- Cut to both Susan and Stacey at the desk talking about weather. They turn it over to Jeff Verszyla who talks about the day’s weather. The screen flashes to statistics for the weather. It says the day’s high was 62 and the low was 51. Then, it shows the normal high and low and the record high and low. Then, the screen changes and says, “RIGHT NOW.” It shows the temperature, humidity, wind, barometer, and dew point. Then, it shows a map of temperatures in different areas. Next, the screen fades to the Viper Radar. Then, it shows the “Daily Planner” for tomorrow. “Wake Up-44, Lunch-53, Late Day-58.” Then, the screen changes to “KDKA Local Weather” and says in white lettering, “Strong Winds-Tomorrow Afternoon. Sustained 15-25 mph-Gusts to 40 mph. Wind Advisory-Noon-8pm Sat. in Laurels. Next, it shows the 12 Hour Satellite. Again it shows a map, this time with clouds. Then, the screen fades to a map that shows wind and rain and “Comfy” temperatures. The title says, “Right Now.” They show the same thing for Sunday. Then, the forecast for “TONIGHT” is shown. 44 degrees, “Patchy Clouds & Breezy. A Spotty Shower. Wind: SW 8-16.” Next, it shows the forecast for “TOMORROW.” It will be 58 degrees with “Clouds & Sun. Very Windy. A Shower North of I-80. Wind: WSW 20-30.” For 2 seconds, the forecast for “TOMORROW NIGHT” is shown. It says, 43 degrees, “Partly Cloudy. Brisk & Chilly. Wind: WSW 10-20.” Then, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday’s forecasts pop up. Followed by Tuesday and Wednesday’s. Then, Jeff steps in and introduces Bob Pompeani. This whole segment takes about 3 minutes.
38- Clips of football, baseball, and hockey appear and then there are the words “SPORTS REPORT BROUGHT TO YOU BY xfinity. Then, it fades in to Bob Pompeani who is seated at a desk with a TV screen displaying “PITT” behind him. He introduces a video of Russell Shell talking about Pitt. The title says that he “Verbally Commits to Pitt.” The screen fades to a list of “Prized Panthers” with the Pitt logo next to it. Then, it flashes to a video of Russell Shell on the field. This takes about a minute.
39- Next, it cuts back to Bob and the TV has changed to display a Penguin hockey player, Asham. Bob talks about Asham’s fight on the ice the previous night. It cuts to Asham apologizing and a clip of Asham’s punch. Then, it cuts back to Bob with the TV now showing “FIGHTING” and the NHL logo. He advertises his Sunday panel. The screen flashes to information about who will be on the panel and when it will be on. This takes 2 minutes.
40- The first ad is for the Late Show with David Letterman. The clip shows what will be on the next show and lasts for about 10 seconds.
41- The second ad is for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. It features white words on a light blue background and lasts about 15 seconds.
42- The third ad is for a Lincoln MKZ. It just shows a man in the car. Then, it shows a parked Lincoln MKZ. This lasts about 20 seconds.
43- The fourth ad shows a woman diving into a pool and then swimming. They cut to the woman talking to another woman. Then, it is apparent that this is an ad for IUP. It lasts about 10 seconds.
44- The fifth ad is for the jcpenney Big as it Gets Sale. It features models with the jcpenney clothes and images of women’s boots and sheets and towels. This ad lasts about 20 seconds.
45- The sixth ad is for Hundai cars. It shows cars driving down city roads at night while an announcer gives statistics.
46- The seventh ad is another Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Its style is the same as the other one- blu background and white words. It lasts about 15 seconds.
47- The eighth ad is for KDKA and says to watch Stacey Smith and Kimberly Gill on KDKA. It shows Stacey and Kimberly smiling at the camera. This lasts 5 seconds.
48- The news comes back on as they fade to a screen saying “High School Highlights.” During this segment, high school game scores are displayed at the bottom of the screen. They cut to Bob Pompeani sitting behind his desk with a TV screen behind him that says, “High School Highlights.” Bob narrates as they cut to a video of the Gators homecoming game. Then, they cut to a video on the Mount Lebanon/Bethel Park game while Bob narrates. To someone who hates football (like me) this story lasts ten minutes, but it probably only lasts around 5 minutes.
49- Fade out to a screen that says C-Harper. An announcer says that “High School Highlights” is sponsored by C-Harper. It fades out to LaMarr Woodley who is the spokesperson in this C-Harper ad. This lasts about 30 seconds.
50- The second ad is for Eat ‘N Park that shows fake interviews with customers who say they love Eat ‘N Park’s new “Dinner for Two.” This lasts 10 seconds.
51- The third ad is for Sheetz and encourages the viewer to buy a “MySheetz Card” with red words on a white background. Then, it flashes to pictures of burgers, breakfast sandwiches, pizza, wings, coffee, and smoothies. This lasts 20 seconds.
52- The fourth ad is for Waynesburg University and shows pictures of students while a man explains everything you can study there. This lasts about 10 seconds.
53- The fifth ad is for Nissan. Here’s a surprise- it shows a car driving on a country road. This lasts about 20 seconds.
54- The sixth ad is for XFinity. It starts with Sofia Vergara driving up in a flaming dragster. Then, it shows people on their laptops and “tablets” watching a movie. This lasts 10 seconds.
55- Next, the KDKA announcer says that the highlights are also sponsored by Fidelity Bank. The screen shows the company name. It lasts about 5 seconds.
56- Fade in to Bob Pompeani at his desk with the TV screen behind him showing the Penguins and Buffalo logos. Bob narrates a video of a hockey game between Buffalo and Carolina. This lasts about 1 minute.
57- Then, we see Bob again and this time, the TV behind him has the Brewers and Cardinals logos. Bob talks about the teams and then it fades out. This lasts about 10 seconds.
58- Fade in to an ad for Hundai. It shows cars driving on country and city roads and lasts about 10 seconds.
59- The second ad is for Huntingdon and features a group of guys watching a game at a bar. This lasts about 20 seconds.
60- The third ad is for Ford. It shows the pick-up trucks and lasts about 10 seconds.
61- The fourth ad is for Empire Today and shows videos of rooms with clean carpets. This lasts about 20 seconds.
62- The fifth ad is for Sears Optical. It shows a fairly young couple and implies that the woman has an eye problem because she says she’s lucky to have him. I don’t know if the guy is supposed to be a loser because he doesn’t look like one. This ad lasts about 10 seconds.
63- The sixth ad is for the 2012 Kia Sorento with the original (not really) idea of showing the car driving down a city road at night. This ad lasts about 20 seconds.
64- The eighth ad is for a story on KDKA that tells the public if the government can take your land. The bottom headline says, “Monday at 5:00.” It takes up 10 seconds.
65- Fade in to the KDKA theme song and the winning numbers for the Mega Millions from the Pennsylvania Lottery. This takes about 5 seconds.
66- Stacey announces that the Steelers will be collecting canned foods at the next Steeler game. It cuts to information on where people can donate while displaying the Steelers logo. It takes about 20 seconds.
67- Then, Susan announces the next time for KDKA-TV News. It fades to a screen with the time which is 6AM-8AM. This is just a side note and takes ten seconds.
68- Finally, Stacey closes with “Letterman is next. Have a great night.” Before they go to Letterman, the camera lingers on the entire news team, talking amongst themselves while the KDKA theme plays.
(I applaud you if you actually read that entire thing.)
If I were an alien, I’d think that all the earth had to offer was violence and sports because this newscast showed only showed these two things besides the weather.
Waiting outside all night in the cold and rain for the new iPhone 4s and the overall idea of sports is projected as being good while the death of an officer and bullying a student is projected as being bad.
The ads that are shown during this newscast are mainly for cars, Highmark, furniture, and carpeting. These ads mainly appeal to adults because adults own cars and houses and therefore need furniture and new carpeting.
I think that pretty much every story in this news program was oversimplified. The only stories that weren't were the sports and the segment on the fallen officer. I was surprised by how much the news focused on sports. I guess since Pittsburgh has great sports teams, the news wants to project that Pittsburgh is a nice, successful city.
Photo courtesy of Cracked.com.
