Monday Morning Media Memo - 00:07

This is the first in a series of comments on the news media, especially, TV News, that will run each Monday on this site. I'd love to hear your comments! Perhaps readers can help launch an online conversation about what the public can and should expect from Alabama's print and broadcast media. MMMM #1 A "soundbite" is the part of a television news story in which viewers hear someone being interviewed actually speaking, perhaps a politician, a witness, a police office, or a professor. The length of soundbites has been getting shorter and shorter, to the point that in 2008, the average "soundbite" in TV news is now seven seconds. Doubt it? Use a stopwatch on your local newscast tonight. Its amazing how often they will be seven, or eight, or nine seconds long. Why is that a problem? Ask yourself which seven seconds of the Gettysburg Address you might use if you were a TV journalist covering Lincoln. Do stations think Alabamians are too distracted to watch a full, complete comment? Too stupid? I can't say, but it's a trend that shows no sign of stopping. In a case of perfect timing for this first MMMM, the Pew Internet and American Life project is out with a report today that finds nearly 30% of Americans have used the net to read or watch unfiltered campaign speeches..."a push back from the soundbite culture," says the project's director. Since TV News Directors (and their "consultants") continue to chip away at what viewers hear firsthand, why not just go to the end game and eliminate them all together? Just have the reporter tell us what was said...surely we can trust him or her to be fair, right? NEXT MONDAY: Media-generated "Polls".