I never realized how much I disliked TV journalism until today.
My dance improvisation class decided to have class outside on the campus lawn today. As we practicing, we were approached by a reporter and a cameraman from a big local news station. They asked if they could talk with us about a campus security alert that just went out today, and we said yes. The interview started out with pretty open ended question, but as it continued, the reporter became increasingly pushy in directing our answers towards particular soundbites she wanted. Clearly, we were supposed to sound like terrified, clueless students. After 30 minutes of questions, we were asked to give our names so they could identify us on the screen as they aired our clips. We all resoundingly refused to give our names....why would we identify ourselves talking about a security threat?! Rather than respecting our decision, the reporter and the cameraman both got upset, questioning us repeatedly about why we wouldn't share our names.
So that evening, in the 6:00 news, I show up in the headline story on the TV screen, looking like a complete slob in my dance clothes, with a couple of clips about why I thought students should be cautious. And of course, just as I guessed, the fact that we were "too afraid to even be identified by name" was one of the key points of their TV story. Funny how easily the media can manipulate things....
My dance improvisation class decided to have class outside on the campus lawn today. As we practicing, we were approached by a reporter and a cameraman from a big local news station. They asked if they could talk with us about a campus security alert that just went out today, and we said yes. The interview started out with pretty open ended question, but as it continued, the reporter became increasingly pushy in directing our answers towards particular soundbites she wanted. Clearly, we were supposed to sound like terrified, clueless students. After 30 minutes of questions, we were asked to give our names so they could identify us on the screen as they aired our clips. We all resoundingly refused to give our names....why would we identify ourselves talking about a security threat?! Rather than respecting our decision, the reporter and the cameraman both got upset, questioning us repeatedly about why we wouldn't share our names.
So that evening, in the 6:00 news, I show up in the headline story on the TV screen, looking like a complete slob in my dance clothes, with a couple of clips about why I thought students should be cautious. And of course, just as I guessed, the fact that we were "too afraid to even be identified by name" was one of the key points of their TV story. Funny how easily the media can manipulate things....
