scripted news

A PBS NewsHour report on a viral compilation of local TV anchors reading identical scripts, which raised concerns about Sinclair Broadcasting mixing partisan opinion into local news. It also covers Sinclair's reach and its bid to grow larger.

A Conan segment compiling local news anchors who all read the same scripted copy during the holiday season. It highlights how homogenized local broadcast news has become.

A short compilation showing many local news anchors across different stations reading the same scripted statement verbatim. It is presented as evidence of centralized message control in local media.

A short satirical segment from Charlie Brooker's Newswipe that lampoons the formulaic conventions of television news reporting, from stock shots to filler street interviews and news-speak.

A one-hour 2019 KOMO News documentary hosted by Eric Johnson on Seattle's homelessness and drug crisis, with interviews and looks at proposed solutions including a drug court program in Rhode Island. It argues addiction and mental illness are at the core of the problem.

An hour-plus Some More News episode that critiques Ben Shapiro's arguments and record of errors. It is a long, comedic and opinionated breakdown.

A short Adam Curtis clip on what he calls oh dearism, the habit of news reporting that presents events as a stream of sad, inexplicable happenings. He argues this leaves viewers passive and unable to imagine action.

An NBC News clip from 2020 of Kamala Harris on whether she would take a Covid-19 vaccine. She says she would if doctors said it was safe but not if Donald Trump told her to.

A BBC News clip of Putin pressing Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin to speak clearly during a televised meeting on recognizing the rebel-held Ukrainian regions in February 2022.

A 1990 lecture by James Gosling on NeWS, Sun's networked window system in which clients send PostScript programs to the server for execution. It covers the high-level imaging model and compares NeWS with similar systems.

A short compilation of dozens of local news anchors at Sinclair-owned stations reading the same scripted promo about biased and fake news. It went viral in 2018 as an example of centralized media messaging.

John Oliver's Last Week Tonight segment on Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of US local TV stations, and how it injects political content and scripted must-run segments into local news.

A clip from Charlie Brooker's Newswipe in which a forensic psychiatrist argues that intense news coverage of school shooters encourages copycat attacks, alongside Brooker's satire of formulaic news reporting.

A Last Week Tonight segment on sponsored content in local news. John Oliver explains why local news integrity matters and how paid content disguised as news erodes it.

A 2014 BBC Newsnight report by Gabriel Gatehouse on the presence and influence of far-right and neo-Nazi groups in the new Ukrainian government after the Maidan. It is a short news investigation.

A 1994 video from Knight Ridder showing a concept for a tablet newspaper with a rounded-corner rectangular touchscreen. It was reposted by Matt Novak of Paleofuture.

A Last Week Tonight segment on the decline of the newspaper industry and what it means for journalism, including local reporting. It uses John Oliver's comedic commentary and references the film Spotlight.

The opening scene of HBO's The Newsroom, in which anchor Will McAvoy answers a student's question about why America is the greatest country. He delivers a blunt speech arguing it no longer is.

A short clip of 1980s news coverage in which people react angrily to new drunk driving laws, with some calling them communist.

Rap Genius founders appear at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013 for a joke-filled interview announcing News Genius, with little detail about what it is.

A Not the Nine O'Clock News sketch that satirizes the controversy around Monty Python's Life of Brian.

A short project video in which Greg Raiz turns a 32-inch eInk display into a wireless digital newspaper showing daily front pages. It runs for months on battery, and the code is published on GitHub.

A short Washington Post compilation showing Fox News hosts shifting from doubting the coronavirus to calling it a public health crisis.

A KOMO News documentary about Seattle's homelessness, addiction and street crime. It examines the City Council's policies, shows conditions on the streets and the impact on local businesses, and explores possible solutions.

A 2019 BBC News report by John Sudworth, who was given rare access to the secure facilities in Xinjiang where more than a million Muslims are thought to be held. Authorities call them training schools, and the report examines what the visit reveals about the system and conditions inside.

A Some More News episode critical of Elon Musk, covering his public image, billionaire behavior, the Boring Company and the push to Mars.

A BBC News segment on University of Washington research that synthesized a photorealistic Obama video, modeling mouth movement so any audio can be put in his mouth.

A 2018 VICE News Tonight interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, in which he discusses privacy as a core company value, the Facebook breach, and Apple's iCloud arrangement in China.

A Jimmy Kimmel segment in which interviewers at SXSW ask festival-goers about made-up bands, and many people confidently claim to know and like them.

VICE News reporter Isobel Yeung goes undercover as a tourist in Xinjiang, documenting heavy surveillance, policing and internment of Uighurs. It also covers children taken into state-run institutions.

A 1983 interview clip in which David Bowie questions MTV VJ Mark Goodman about why the channel played so few videos by black artists.

A short PBS NewsHour clip of Elon Musk making a gesture at the post-inauguration celebration in January 2025, which many described as a fascist salute. The report includes the remarks he made just before it.

A VICE News report on the 2017 protests at Evergreen State College, including the confrontation involving professor Bret Weinstein.

A Fox News segment in which Jesse Watters interviews the moderator of the r/antiwork subreddit. The interview went badly for the moderator and led to the subreddit going private.

A BBC Politics Live interview in which Andrew Neil presses conservative commentator Ben Shapiro on his past statements and an incident involving Corey Lewandowski and a reporter. It is a tense, widely shared exchange.

A VICE News segment following Uber driver Terri White, who drives 83 miles from Stockton to San Francisco and sleeps in her car between rush hours. It looks at the conditions of gig-economy drivers.

A VICE News piece on China's Social Credit System, including a neighbor-watch pilot where paid watchers record behavior. It covers rewards for high scores and public shaming or restrictions for low ones.

An Onion News Network sketch in which two teenage girls appear on TV to plead for their kidnapped friend's release, then start gossiping about classmates. It is a satirical parody of teen behavior and sensational news.

A short supercut showing many Sinclair-owned local news anchors reading the same scripted warning about biased news, word for word.

A Deadspin compilation of local news anchors at Sinclair-owned stations reading the same scripted message about irresponsible one-sided news. It was assembled by Timothy Burke.