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Although TV news reporters share many values and conventions with their print counterparts, they also differ from them in significant ways. First, while print editors fit stories around ads on the printed page, TV news directors have to time stories to fit between commercials, which can make the ads seem more intrusive to viewers. Second, while modern print journalists derive their credibility from their apparent neutrality, TV news reporters gain credibility from providing live, on-the-spot reporting; believable imagery; and an earnest, personable demeanor that makes them seem more approachable, even more trustworthy, than the detached, faceless print reporters. As TV news reporting evolved, it developed a style of its own, one defined by attractive, congenial newscasters skilled at perky banter (sometimes called “happy talk”) and short, seven- to eight-second quotes (or “sound bites”) from interview subjects. Print and TV reporters also must compete with Internet-only outlets, which combine elements of both television and print journalism.

Pretty Faces and Happy Talk

In the 1970s, TV news program directors learned that more people watched the news if it was delivered by attractive men and women with upbeat personalities who exchanged apparently spontaneous banter. News anchors who didn’t fit these criteria—they looked too old, too fat, or (in women’s cases) too aggressive—were replaced. This development helped create a stereotype of the unintelligent but physically attractive news anchor, reinforced by popular culture images (from Ted Baxter on TV’s Mary Tyler Moore Show to Ron Burgundy in the film Anchorman). Although the situation has improved slightly, national news consultants set the agenda for what local reporters should cover (lots of crime) as well as how they should look and sound (young, attractive, pleasant, and with little or no regional accent).

Another news strategy favored by news consultants has been happy talk: the ad-libbed or scripted banter that goes on among local news anchors, reporters, meteorologists, and sports reporters before and after news reports. During the 1970s, consultants often recommended such chatter to create a more relaxed feeling on the news set and to foster the illusion of conversational intimacy with viewers. A strategy still used today, happy talk often appears forced and may create awkward transitions when anchors move from bantering to reporting on sad or tragic events. However, this tactic may continue to look ever more dated, as it’s less often a component of Internet news reporting.

Sound Bites

In the 1980s, when stations began devoting more time to commercials during news programs, people being interviewed by reporters had less time to answer questions and explain their views. The sound bite was born. The TV equivalent of a quote in print news, a sound bite is the part of a broadcast news report in which an expert, a celebrity, a victim, or a “person on the street” responds to some aspect of an event or issue with a short, memorable comment.

Some reporters have sought to use sound bites to create dramatic tension and satisfy the “both sides of a story” ritual by editing competing bites together as if the interviewees had been in the same location speaking to one another. This tactic has drawn criticism from some observers. Of course, print news also pits one quote against another in a story, even though the actual interview subjects may never have met. However, in a TV news story, the visual images added to the spoken word make the resulting sound bites more memorable for viewers. On the Internet, the brevity and accessibility of a memorable sound bite can help it go viral, circulating to people who may not be reached by traditional articles or TV broadcasts.