Breaking News! A Look at Kare 11

Kare 11 News, Nov. 30, 2007, 10:00 P.M.

Here's what happened:

• The first five minutes of the news was focused on the upcoming snowstorm. This included maps, snow estimates, a report on the preparedness of the snowplows, an update of the possible roadway conditions, advice about shoveling, and an assurance that this would not be the storm of the century. There was also a clip about flying this weekend and whether stores will be low on staples (not at this point). Although is seemed at first as if they were hyping up the weather, the majority of the information was reassuring.
• Next, there was a two-minute clip about the budget deficit and how the state and Pawlenty will handle it. One thing was emphasized, no raised taxes.
• Now we move on to the speed news, thirty-second clips about the diesel prices, a murderer who used Craig's List, a fire, a man holding hostages who just wanted to talk to Sen. Clinton, and the death of Evel Knievel. The move from local to national news was seamless.
• Another winter warning sends us into the first commercial break exactly ten minutes into the news. These commercials appeal to middle-class adults for the most part with ads for cars, furniture, and anti-aging products. The commercial breaks stayed consistent at four minutes each, all including at least one car ad., furniture ad., and one farm seed ad.
• The next section of the news was some brief clips of a local soldier's suspicious death, a progress of the I-35 bridge, the new Nordstrom store coming to Minnesota, then a four minute report on the weather. It was tied up with ten second clips focusing on good works such as Toy's of Tots.
• At 10:20 was the second commercial break following the same format as before.
• The last section of the news was focused on sports: hockey, football, volleyball, and basketball. The reporter bounced from high school sports to college sports to professional sports. The majority of the time was spent on male teams.
• At 10:28 the final commercial break occurs with the same commercials as before: cars, furniture, farm seed, and now insurance too.
• The lottery numbers pull us back into the news for a last plug for the Salvation Army and a weather reminder to be careful.

Here's what I noticed:

• The news lasted about 31 minutes and 12 minutes were taken by commercials, ten minutes by the weather, 2 minutes on the budget deficit, 2.5 minutes on local news, 1 minute on national news, 30 seconds on charity, and four minutes on sports.
• There was only one female anchor and she was only shown for about 2 minutes.
• The majority of the news was upbeat and positive.
• The weather was over-covered, but it was not played up as being an "emergency" situation.