Local TV News

The 'local' TV stations are located in Columbia (not the country) and there is a university there. Apparently they offer courses in broadcasting....... This makes the broadcast all the more entertaining as we get to watch students blunder their way through segments that I suppose are their assignments. I guess this is the easiest way to weed out the ones who aren't suited to a life in front of the camera. That isn't always the case here, though. My favorite is the skinny little girl who speaks with such a heavy accent--sounds middle eastern--that it is impossible to understand what she is reporting. The first time I heard her she was on in the morning during the local update that comes hourly during the Today show. I usually have that on in the 'background' and if something catches my attention I stop what I am doing and watch. When I heard her, I stopped and had to really concentrate to understand her. At the end of her segment she announced that she would be back "in two to five minutes". What? Oh, she is trying to say twenty five minutes! Okay, you would have thought that after that they would pull her aside and explain to her that in order to deliver the news people would have to be able to understand her. Nothing against her, although she did look terrified, but maybe she should make another career choice. No, she was on for about a month, indicating to me that she was going to continue with this course. Another thing that I find annoying is the hair. The female anchors all have the same hairstyle, no matter the length. It is parted on the same side and poofed out on the sides and flat in the back, so that when they turn to comment to the co-anchor you wonder what deformity has befallen their heads! Even the students are subjected to the stylist, making for some really bizarre looking do's. The male counterparts have escaped the stylist so far. It is amusing, though.