Analysis:
The first question that viewers should ask themselves here is why does channel 17 even both to show them a random arrest story from Texas? What bearing does it have on viewers in West Michigan? TV news does this because it is an easy and inexpensive way to fill up their newscasts. The problem with these kinds of stories is that they tend to have a negative impact on how people view their communities, the country and the world. There is no context provided for these types of crime stories, so they generally end up making viewers feel helpless. What is worse in the story is they actually show viewers the footage of a man being run over by the police car. To make matters worse they show the same footage again, all in the span of a 26 second story. It was nothing more than gratuitous violence.
Story:
WXMI 17 News reader – Some dramatic video tonight of a police chase in Huston, Texas. It ends with the cops hitting the suspect with a police cruiser. They were chasing a couple of purse snatchers at a Wal-Mart hitting speeds at more than 100 miles an hour, dodging in and out of traffic. The chase ended when they flew into a ditch near the airport, but one suspect was arrested in the water. The driver which you see there…run over. And tonight he is still in the hospital and under arrest.
Total Time: 26 seconds
