Local Newscast

The newscast I have selected focuses on Sarah Palin’s visit to Bangor, Maine in 2008. I feel that the only way to truly critique this newscast is to be extremely nitpicky; otherwise the newscast is satisfactory. I would alter the first sentence slightly by rearranging the order of the words in the sentence; I think this would improve the flow and sound of the newscast. The first sentence reads as follows, As anxious Mainer’s who had come from all over the state, held signs and screamed at Bangor’s international airport, governor Sarah Palin finally took to the stage with senator Olympia Snow. I think it may just be a matter of personal preference but for some reason this first line always leaves me confused. My sentence would read, Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Olympia Snow, finally took to the stage at Bangor’s international airport, as anxious Mainer’s who had come from all over the state, held signs and screamed. I think this sentence is more organized and more direct. When Cindy Michaels, the reporter, says the first line she is talking over a screaming crowd, this distracts the viewer from actually listening to what she is saying. I would run the first sentence clear of any background noise and then cut to it after the line was delivered, to ensure the focus of the audience. I also would cut the bit about the local country singer; I don’t think it offers anything to the overall story of the newscast. I appreciated how the newscast told the story, the actual footage from the event fills most of the body of the newscast, and no actual opinion on the event was given by the narrator, just the facts.


(See the newscast here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMTw83uj_c8)