Sunday, September 25, 2016

Ashley Prondzinski CTP #4



AN ANALYSIS OF A TMJ4 5:00 PM NEWS BROADCAST

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9-22-2016 TMJ4 5:00 PM NEWS
SEGMENT NAME
PERSON’S NAME
AGE
RACE
GENDER
GOOD OR BAD NEWS?
City on Edge
n/a
Varies
African-American
Mostly Male
Bad News
Mayor Jennifer Roberts
55
Caucasian
Female
Chief Kerr Putney
Late 40’s
African-American
Male
(Reporter)
Jay Gray
40’s
Caucasian
Male
(Anchor)
Carole Meekins
50-60’s
African-American
Female
n/a
(Anchor)
George Mallet
Mid 50’s
Caucasian
Male
n/a
(Reporter)
Veronica Macias
30’s
Latino/Hispanic
Female
n/a
Video Release Debate
Jay Anderson, Sr.
50’s
African-American
Male
Bad News
Chris Ahmuty
50’s
Caucasian
Male
Woman Arrested After Child Shot by Brother
n/a
30
African-American
Female
Bad News
Jerika Bolen Dies
Jerika Bolen
14
African-American
Female
Bad News
Task Force on Opioid Abuse
Governor Scott Walker
48
Caucasian
Male
Good News
Colon Gets 2-Year Reappointment
Hector Colon
40’s
Latino/Hispanic
Male
Neutral News
2 Killed in Crash
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Bad News
Car-Truck Crash
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Bad News
Man Killed in Mudslide
n/a
n/a
n/a
Male
Bad News
Vehicle Swallowed by Sinkhole
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Bad News
(Reporter)
Ben Jordan
20-30’s
Caucasian
Male
n/a
New Stadium Unveiled
Sheri Vaccaro
60’s
Caucasian
Female
Good News
Franco Tenuta
50’s
Latino/Hispanic
Male
Good News
Serious Accident
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Bad News
Car Wash Shootout Near Children
n/a
n/a
African-American and Latino/Hispanic
Male
Bad News
Mom Overdoses in Store
n/a
30’s
Caucasian
Female
Bad News
Yahoo Security Breach
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Bad News
Enrollment Drops at For-Profit Colleges
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Neutral News
Pitt Speaks with Authorities
Brad Pitt
52
Caucasian
Male
Neutral News
Angelina Jolie
41
Caucasian
Female
National Arts and Humanities Awards
Barack Obama
55
African-American
Male
Good News
Bear Takes Downtown Stroll
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Neutral (Humorous) News
The ‘Hamdog’
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Good News
(Weather)
John Malan
60’s
Caucasian
Male
Neutral News
(Sports)
Elise Menaker
20-30’s
Caucasian
Female
Neutral News
Packers Top-Ranked Run Defense Catches a Break
Mike McCarthy
52
Caucasian
Male
Good News
Matthew Stafford
28
Caucasian
Male
Gaglianone Out Saturday vs. Michigan State
Rafael Gaglianone
20’s
Latino/Hispanic
Male
Neutral News
Bucks Trade Ennis to Rockets for Beasley
Tyler Ennis
22
Latino/Hispanic
Male
Neutral News
Michael Beasley
27
African-American
Male

***

I noticed a distinct pattern regarding how the order of the news articles are broadcasted. At the beginning of the program, the audience is hit by a barrage of depressing and fear-inducing stories. It immediately started off with a five-minute segment about the riots in Charlotte, North Carolina that included a young man throwing a bench through a large window, tear gas clouds, women sobbing, and gunfire. The footage they had shown was shocking, particularly since it was only the start of the broadcast. However, as the program continued, the content slowly became more light-hearted.

It was pleasant to see the gradual transition from young children witnessing a shootout at a gas station to a random black bear wandering through the city with the anchors chuckling through their narration. Upon examining the data I have collected over half an hour, I was impressed by the racial diversity between every person who got screen time. Unfortunately, I did not see any representation of Asian or Middle-Eastern ethnicity. There was a decent balance between the females and males shown on screen.

I found the reality the news broadcast presented to the viewers to be a tad strange. While taking notes, I was bewildered by how quickly they were switching through segments. TMJ4 is responsible for showing as much information as possible within thirty minutes, but major details in some stories were left out. In order to complete the chart seen above, I had to look up some individuals who were only briefly mentioned.

My findings somewhat reflect what I have read this week. Although diversity has been displayed both on screen and shown the stories, I had expected to see at least several people of Asian or Middle-Eastern descent. It lacked a global representation of the world. Over the years, females and people of color have been making more appearances on television. There is always room for improvement, but watching this news broadcast, in particular, did not turn out to be as negative as I thought it would originally be.

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Although the broadcast as a whole is not available, TMJ4 uploads some of their segments on YouTube. If you are interested in viewing more stories, visit

1 comment:

  1. I love that you put all of your information into a graph: it literally speaks for itself. Plus, it's a great visual to keep readers engaged. On the whole, too, I liked your explanation of the your findings, which really summarized the news cast data well.
    On a side note,where can I find the story about the black bear?

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