Network Television Broadcasting during U.S. Crises: Its Evolution, Execution, and Effects
Abstract
The Kennedy assassination and September 11, 2001: these were the beginnings of two distinctive catastrophic events in U.S. history, both of which were captured by network news stations. The purpose of this research was to determine how and why broadcast production decisions were made during such crises. Six qualitative interviews were conducted with news producers and reporters. These subjective narratives were used to analyze the overall patterns of decision-making at a television station during a catastrophic event. Analyzing techniques involved 1) the identification of production themes within each station and 2) the comparison of these themes to other interviewee accounts. Snowball sampling was used to gather quantitative statistics regarding viewer’s opinions on a station’s coverage of an iconic event. The sample consisted of 200 viewers across the country. This research found the qualities valued when the stations broke the news of a crisis, as well as determining factors in viewers’