Broadcast News 101

Monday, 01 February 2010 | by Pat's Picks

Charlie Brooker is a British comedian, journalist and columnist for the Guardian. And he has created a hilarious template for the vast majority of stories you see on the evening news. Even though it’s a send-up of the BBC, the constants he pinpoints -  a lackluster opening shot of a significant building; the reporter punctuating every other word with a hand gesture; obligatory shots of overweight people with their faces subtly framed out - are more than familiar on this side of the pond. In fact, I fear I’m guilty of committing some of them myself. The whole thing is dead on but my favorite observation comes near the end: “the dowdy man in a kitchen opening letters as he responds to the news.”  I bet you can picture what Brooker is talking about before you even watch the clip below:

Thanks to @SceneStealrEric for the tip.

Charlie Brooker’s Guardian profile

Charlie Brooker on Wikipedia