Weighing the economics of airing a live car chase
Local TV news stations are apt to air live car chases — especially in California or Florida, where sprawling highway infrastructure makes for long and thrilling pursuits.
For viewers, the possibility of seeing a dramatic ending live on screen is a huge draw — entire offices can come to a standstill when a big chase is on.
But newsrooms have to consider the high stakes of showing a potentially dangerous, or deadly, situation play out in real time. Just last month, for instance, a man involved in a car chase was shot by police on live TV in Texas.
Al Tompkins, senior faculty at the Poynter Institute, has been working in newsrooms for more than forty years.
“Once you’ve decided to go there, it seems to me you have to ask a series of questions of yourself,” he says. “Is this so important that you’re willing to air the worst possible outcome?”
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