Here’s one from our “This is Interesting” files: If you watch local TV in Pittsburgh and have a question or complaint about what you see, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will help you out.
Every Friday, Rob Owen’s Tuned In Journal blog covers viewer questions about everything from why TV stations stay quiet about anchor moves to the question below about newscast music.
Q: Please ask the local TV news outlets (particularly KDKA) why they play loud, annoying, discordant racket between breaks and while displaying daily stock market results The remote is not always handy to change channels fast enough and the mute button does not always work fast enough. I have complained to KDKA but they claim it is required by their national affiliate, which makes no sense. — GERALD VIA E-MAIL
AdvertisementRob: There is definitely no requirement that any TV news station use this music so I’m not sure why anyone at KDKA-TV would tell you that. Music going to and coming back from commercial is a staple of local TV newscasts going back decades. It’s simply a convention of the medium.
“There are music beds that play under teases as we go to commercial breaks and under graphic elements like stocks and lottery numbers that are not voiced over by an anchor,” said KDKA news director Anne Linaberger. “The music is not made purposefully louder.”