Spot On!

News . . . never . . . stops," the announcer raps. Jazzy techno music thumps. Cameras pan on the station's chopper and news van. Quick cuts of anchors and reporters on the go at night. And u-n-f-o-l-d-i-n-g in glittering fonts: "The News Station."

It's the newest 30-second news promo for WHDH-TV Channel 7 and it's one of many that have been airing the past few weeks. As local stations duke it out in highly competitive February sweeps, their creative service divisions have been churning out new promos to flaunt what they're all about.

I have a story in today's paper that looks at the psychology of these TV news promos. Armed with dramatic music, graphics and other bells and whistles, local stations use these news promos to grab viewers during sweeps. A sidebar to my article includes feedback from a marketing expert, a graphic design student and local author Steve Almond on how effective these local TV news promos are, what message do they convey to the viewer? If you click on the above links, you can watch the promos and judge for yourself.