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Richard Gilbert's avatar

Very interesting, Dave. You didn’t mention the most important sign-off skill by the anchor(s)… rearranging, then tapping vertically the papers we’re meant to assume was their script. Just for a change why not have them tear the papers into little pieces as the credits roll? Reminiscent of Nancy Peloisi tearing up Trump’s speech after his first State of the Union.😎

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Scott Libin's avatar

I'm right there with you, Dave, as usual. We both aged out of the target demo quite a while ago, and we both remember many ill-fated and short-lived "reinventions" of newscasts. Like the infamous "News Out of the Box" experiment, most were forgotten as quickly as possible, and replaced with painfully predictable, traditional formats.

I enjoy showing my college students examples of newscasts that are designed to lure younger viewers. And yes, I have to show them, because of course they aren't watching on their own. Generally, their responses range from a shrug to a chuckle. A TV newscast trying to look like TikTok is like an old guy trying to look young and cool. It rarely works.

For old guys like us, the answer is acceptance; eventually, we stop struggling to be something we aren't. It's liberating not to need everybody's approval. Television stations don't have that luxury, and I actually admire their efforts, even if I do feel a bit of gentle skepticism. They have to keep trying. Now and then, somebody succeeds.

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