ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS

By guest blogger Ruby Baresch

The other day I noticed that Judy Woodruff, long-time PBS Newshour anchor, looked somewhat different, rather pale? When she announced that she was broadcasting from home, I thought, Aha! Another new visual to get used to.

Two or three months ago, when you turned on the television news, you knew you would get, visually, well-dressed presenters sitting companionably in a studio with professional lighting making them look good, if somewhat alike. Guest experts in their own offices, also with good lighting. Reporters in the field who often sent reports via their phones, with occasional glitches in the reception.

That was then. Now a news broadcast features possibly an anchor in the studio and everyone else mostly broadcasting remotely, i.e., from home. There is uncertainty as to what we will see and I rather welcome it. From very high end technology, well-defined faces against the light, to others, maybe those on Skype or Zoom, looking washed out, their faces (too close to the camera?) sometimes distorted like bad selfies, and the sound not always coming through properly.

The biggest change, I think, is that we now get a glimpse into the private lives of our newscasters and their guests, at least a thin slice of it. A chance to find out what they’re really like when we see the corner they choose to show us. I wonder if this changes how we perceive them? Do they seem more accessible but less professional? Did the high production values of the studio, the visual perfection as it were, induce trust in the product or put us off somewhat, or both?

My impression is that we still value and trust the news shows (according to political beliefs), perhaps because we need them, lo-fi visuals notwithstanding.

We used to distract ourselves by critiquing the clothes newscasters wore, especially the women. Hair styles likewise. Now I cast my eyes on the bookshelves and wish the cameras were close enough for me to read titles. Instead I look for organization: this shelf of books standing tall in perfect order looks rather unused; another has books on their sides on top of vertical ones and I smugly note that it is more disorderly than mine.  

What parts of this new format may endure when everyone can go to work again can’t be imagined as yet. It may not be sustainable. Judy Woodruff commented on the amount of hard technical work required to make her broadcasting  from home possible. Another remote worker turned his camera around to show what was behind it, a big pile of cables, power strips, and devices. Studio broadcasts will be more economical but we may still need Skype and Zoom.

Or, there’s always NPR.