Television and Time

Abstract

Time is at the centre of our understanding of the relationship between television news, television per se, and the culture within which television content is produced. In the weather commercial above, CNN appeals to viewers with reference to different temporalities. It offers ‘real-time’ weather reports, ‘historical perspective’, and ‘forecasts’ of weather to come. Moreover, bringing to bear the present, past, and future upon weather is a service framed as integral to the viewer’s security — enabling them to be informed and prepared, we might infer, for the worst. CNN promises a premediation of potential weather catastrophes, reminding us of the potential for catastrophe while rendering the notion contained by CNN’s own capacity to prepare us. In this chapter, we explore the principles underlying the CNN weather broadcast as they apply to television and television news in particular. We outline the ‘economy of liveness’ underlying television broadcasting. This forms the basis for a medium-specific alternative to Johan Galtung and Mari Holmboe Ruge’s (1965) ‘news values’ paradigm which has endured in much media analysis to this day.

When weather information is absolutely crucial, count on CNN’s global weather team. Armed with the latest technology, real time weather reports and satellite images from around the planet, why depend on anyone else? CNN’s forecasters draw from an extensive database to help put today’s weather into historical perspective. This means forecasts that are accurate, clear and dependable. And if you can’t tune in, log on to CNN.com/weather for all the information you need at your fingertips. So no matter where you are in the world, the CNN weather team has you covered. When it comes to weather, be prepared, be the first to know.

(CNN, 19 March 2003, commercial broadcast minutes before the Iraq war begins)