Good morning, everybody!

1
Good morning, everybody!

• A little bit about the genre of television
  morning news programs

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What is it?

• If you have ever turned on the T.V. before 9am
  anywhere in America, you have probably seen a
  morning news show. Not sure? Do these sound
  familiar?
• Good Morning, America (ABC)
• Today Show (NBC)
• The Early Show (CBS)
• American Morning (CNN)

3
Common Features

• Most of the national morning news shows have
  several common features.

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The funny weatherman

• Shown outside with a crowd
• Talks with audience members
• Often has a slogan
• Heres whats happening in your neck of the
  woods Al Roker, The Today Show, NBC

5
The trustworthy male host

• Handsome
• Older than the females
• Funny, but serious
• Wears a suit tie everyday
• Common, American names
• Harry Smith
• John Roberts
• Charles Gibson
• Tom Butler
• Matt Lauer

Harry Smith, The Early Show, CBS
John Roberts, American Morning, CNN
6
The likeable female host

• Katie Couricneed I say more?
• Younger than male host
• Attractive but not sexy
• Clothing is bright, fashionable, yet professional
• Always happy ?

Kiran Chetry, American Morning, CNN
Katie Couric, former host of The Today Show, NBC
THE EXCEPTION Diane Sawyer, Good Morning
America, ABC
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The news update person

• Usually female
• Gives snippits of current news events
• Appears in other segments but is not a main
  anchor
• Chronicles feature stories
• Often a minority (race or ethnicity)
• Serious

Robin Roberts, Good Morning America, ABC
Ann Curry, The Today Show, NBC
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Celebrity guests

• On-set interviews with celebrities in current
  headlines
• Tries to make the celebs look credible but this
  can backfire
• Britney Spears looked like white trash
• Tom Cruise seemed whacky cult-ish
• Celebs promote current film, album, TV show
• Celebs defend themselves against tabloids

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Morning concerts

• Why anyone would want to go to (or watch) a
  concert at 7am is beyond me

10
Health wellness features

• There are often full features or interviews
  devoted to specific health issues, such as
• Colonoscopies (thanks, Katie)
• Breast cancer
• Overweight children
• Food allergies
• Autism
• Healthy cooking

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Family values

• There are often stories that offer advice or
  support for family values, such as
• Parenting tips for toddlers
• Coping with divorce
• Hosting a holiday party
• Planning a wedding

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Audience
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Local T.V. morning news

• Most network channels have some morning news
  shows but often they are snippits within the
  national shows or spots before they begin. There
  are a few stand-alone local news shows.
• In Minneapolis, we have exactly one.

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(My Shameless Plug)

• FOX 9 MORNING NEWS
• Weekdays 5-9am

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Top Tenreasons you should watchFox 9 Morning
News

• 10. Convenient, local channel
• 9. Catchy theme music
• 8. More local news
• 7. No annoying celebrity interviews
• 6. Julie Jays frequent, colorful traffic reports
• 5. M.A. Roscoes unexpected feature stories (like
  the Summit Brewery a workout class for
  brides-to-be)
• 4. Weather on the 9s
• 3. Tom Butlers lame jokes
• 2. Alix Kendalls perky personality
• .and the number one reason is.

Tom
Alix
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Keith Marler greatest meterologist alive

• Funny beyond belief
• Always accurate
• Makes his cohosts look good (and funny)
• Did I mention funny?

• Brief Bio
• Lives in Maple Grove
• Married to Susan (a teacher)
• Has a bulldog named Mel
• 2 kids Gracie Jack

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T.V. Morning News Genre Recap

• Network shows (some local)
• Funny weatherman
• Trustworthy male host
• Likeable female host
• Celebrity interviews
• Concerts
• Health features
• Family values
• Middle-class audience
• Twin Cities FOX 9 MORNING NEWS ROCKS!