The video is so much like real news it borderlines not even being funny
This video from The Onion reminds me of the LA Fitness shootings. They came in with about 6 people confirmed shot when in actuality 4 died including the shooter. They used phrases like, the shooter possibly entered the cardio room and turned off the lights much like the Onion said that the event was possibly a riot, possibly a celebration. It was agonizing to sit there and listen to them fumbling around with the information given to them and try to make sense out of it.
Does anyone know the purpose of breaking news? Keep in mind that in class we said that the news is meant to sell things but breaking news has no commercial breaks.
I also thought that it was funny that the Onion's spoof had the reporter on audio. Obviously, the fake reporter is not in Haiti. He even sends a picture. This happens on the actual news a lot. But without camera footage, we really don't know if the reporter is at the location of the story or if he is sitting in front of his TV, watching The Dark Knight and eating a bag of potato chips.
The first thing the female reporter says in the spoof is "We've got a breaking story coming out of Haiti. Quite possibly the biggest development to come out of that nation in decades." This is sadly similar to many of the things you will hear on your local news. How does one determine "the biggest development"? Isn't this just insulting to Haiti?
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Aja Hannah on The video is so much like real news it borderlines not even being funny: Breaking news, I think, is mea
Breaking news, I think, is meant to inform the public that something is going on. Like Jerz said, something potentially dangerous and inform the public on other places first.
Sadly, breaking news a lot of times has just come on without facts and to get the highest ratings. The first station on with "breaking news" is likely to be the most watched at that time.
Your exactly right when you mention the LA Fitness shooting and how the news reported it. They seem to scare people more than simply tell them the news. If they are unsure of how many people were shot, then they should simply say that they are unsure of the total number of victims, but will relay that information as soon as it is avaliable.
The anchor in the studio kept mentioning events that didn't really happen in Haiti. Was this to make the viewer keep watching or was she just not a good reporter.
Great blog!