NYC Newscasts Turning To Jokes

New York City TV news used to thrive on getting ratings from stories like how dry-cleaning will kill you. Now, it's turning to jokes.

This trend is so strong that it's time for the two local 10 p.m. newscasts to get serious and cut back to half-hour reports, according to a story by Richard Huff at nydailynews.com.

Really.

Last week, WNYW/Ch. 5 added a comic to its 10 p.m. newscast. This is on a production that has already upended its format to add lame interviews to try to look like Fox News Channel.

And since WPIX/Ch. 11 relaunched its 10 p.m. report last fall, there are some nights when much of what gets on the air is some kind of stunt.

That suggests there's way too much extra time in the newscasts during the late hours, and it's time to consider cutting back.

Last week, on the night of the second major snowstorm to hit the city this winter, Ch. 5 aired a segment from comedian Jessie Cantrell that poked fun at Mayor Bloomberg's press conference.

Previously, Ch. 5 aired a skit with Cantrell showing viewers how to have fun in the snow. It included her doing snow angels and then visiting a cleaner.

"How do you get dog urine out of a coat?" she asked the cleaner, who smelled the coat and asked how it happened.

"Snow angels," Cantrell said.

Read more here.