Friday, apparently, was national opposite day. So the morning crew at Colorado Springs' local Fox affiliate had their anchors imitating each other.
This is a compilation of the show, put together by the station.
Is this proper behavior for journalists? Is there such a thing as proper behavior for journalists?
7 years ago
14 comments:
I believe that if the news being presented to the public is not that of tragedy or devastation than certain behavior rules do not have to be followed. There is no harm in having fun at work presenting the traffic reports and the weather. If the content that the journalists were reporting were stories of death, disease, etc than the joking behavior and demeanor would of course be inappropriate. It is fair to say that in order to define "appropriate" behavior in a journalist the content that they are presenting must be taken into consideration.
I'd have to agree with Ciara, as long as the news is still being presented with accuracy the manor in which it happens to be presented isn't all that relavant. Of course when it comes to more serious news events such as war, illness or anything of that nature a more serious tone should be taken.
I'm not strictly against humor or bantering in the news, but when it becomes an industry wide standard, that becomes a major problem. I just don't see the reason why everything needs to be all things at once. Apparently it's not enough for a show to provide the news but it also needs comedy, relatable characters, sexual eye candy, and a Gene Kelly musical number. For example, we need a good, intelligent journalist who just so happens to be good at reading jokes as he makes friendly eye contact with the co-anchor. By putting this irrelevant prerequisite on who gets to be on the news, the standard of quality inevitably goes down in the same way that a sports team's quality would go down if they only took on players who could juggle.
Watching this video reminds me of sports commentators on TNT! It is just a group of co-workers enjoying their day at work and having a good time.
I do believe that journalists should have a respectful attitude toward stories that are serious. I view journalists (especially tv anchors) almost like actors - they should know their roles and understand the proper time and place to joke around or be sincere.
A lot of people don't watch the news because there is nothing on besides sad stories..I think that's why more stations are trying new ways to draw in an audience..and providing laughter will do that! As we learned in class, media is a business - one that strives of viewership. I'm sure this station was just trying to play off that idea.
Should the journalists act happy when doing lighthearted stories? Should they appear somber when doing sad stories? Should they alter their behavior for each story?
If so, will we ever see the journalist being genuine?
- George
(the teacher who hates lack of authenticity but can't really define what is authentic ... so he usually just walks around smiling).
As long as journalist's emotions are not on point(I mean they are not laughing after a somber event), then to be genuine they must just tell the story instead of thinking about emotion. Instead of thinking of how a certain emotion will appeal to audiences, journalist have a duty to not only themselves but to their audience to be honest instead of displaying contrived emotion.
In regards to this video, the anchors are obviously "trying" to entertain their audience by adding comedy to the news, a place it seldom belongs. While I am not against news broadcasters adding a touch of light-hardheartedness to the the at times depressing tone of the news, this video takes it too far. In the end, the video becomes more of an SNL spoof instead of a quality news piece.
Personality! Personality! Personality! Whoever said that journalists couldn't have fun? Of course as a public figure you must always hold professionalism, however, taking the time to have a little comic relief on "opposite day" is more than acceptable. It is important for viewers to remember that journalists/anchors are more than just a script.
I think what these anchors did was funny and connected to their own local audience. Should they do this all the time?...problably not. As far as what is considered to be "authentic", I believe it is important to present yourself both professionally and realistically. Some news anchors force smiles so much it looks painful. It was a clever idea to play with Opposite Day. It looked like they were having a lot of fun.
These reporters are acting ridiculous. Maybe 30 seconds to a minute of silliness would have been more appropriate. People watch TV News to become informed, get traffic updates, and to stay safe. I believe they just wasted many of their viewers precious time! But it was cute.
The first thing that came to mind with this is journalists making a mockery of themselves - Hoda & Kathie Lee. Nobody takes them seriously so when people want to pretend to watch news or their brains aren't working in the morning, they ease into their day with winos.
In the case of these guys it is entertaining as long as it isn't their every day. As long as they respect the news while they cover it otherwise, it doesn't seem like an issue. However, I do question Kathie Lee and the Today Show because it crosses the line over journalist to TV personality.
I know that where I am from, there are at least three channels where you can get weather, sports, traffic, etc. updates daily. If anyone had an issue with this "Opposite Day Episode", they could have simply flipped to another channel offering the same information without laughter. These journalists should not be penalized or looked down upon because they wanted to appear human and comical for a day. However, if the incessant laughter started to interfere with the accuracy of their information, that would be an issue.
I see nothing wrong with these journalists goofing off on television for one day. In the grand scheme of things, the one day will be forgotten and they will just go back to reporting the news as they have done previously. Many people try to look for ways to make their job fun. I do not blame them for choosing this as their way. However, this is my own opinion. And in the end, not everyone will be satisfied with the outcome of what they are seeing or hearing.
I agree with what Charles Ries said and I think he stated his point well. I don't think it is bad to enjoy your job and have fun with it, however, it should not be the journalist's job to be everything at once. Their job is to gather and disseminate information. Yes, they should be able to do this in a charismatic and personable way, however, the way the anchors acted in the video was borderline unprofessional. It was not hard news being covered, but their audience should always be able to take them seriously as "gatekeepers."
Furthermore, I think the journalist's demeanor should match the story. Obviously, if it is a tragedy that happened, it would be inappropriate to smile and laugh while reading it. However, if the journalist's job is to be objective, he/she should mostly separate his/her personal feelings and emotions.
I agree with Ciara and Zoe, it is appropriate for a journalist to act according to the story they are covering. There's nothing wrong with a little clean fun!
I would totally have to disagree with the idea that it is appropriate for journalist to act any way, as long as the story is being covered on the news. The news is an important and serious outlet for people all around the world to get information on any subject, and I think the journalist as well as news anchors should compose themselves with a little more professionalism. Based on that video I just saw of the news anchors showing the news was very disrespectful and childish. From my point of view I would never watch the news if the people on it were playing games like that and acting a fool of themselves. I’m not saying to be uptight and serious all the time, but there are several ways you can show personality and humor by documenting the news, but this was not it.
sonji milburn
Post a Comment