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Will Ferrell Co-Anchors Local Newscast

Leavellebrett

By Leavellebrett
in General TV

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Leavellebrett Managing Editor

Leavellebrett 85

Posted
Posted

No, this is not a joke. Will Ferrell traveled to Bismarck, ND to co-anchor KX News. Ferrell dressed as Ron Burgendy from the Anchorman movies. He stays in character the whole time and occasionally cracks a joke. It's a great video to catch. Thank goodness KX News' youtube channel posted the whole newscast.

 

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https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13126-will-ferrell-co-anchors-local-newscast/
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Jess

Jess 1115

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I'm fine with this too.

 

It's called verisimilitude. Or in English, "you can believe a man can fly".

 

One of the reasons Anchorman 1 worked (besides being hilarious) was that Ron Burgundy and his news team could easily have passed for real talent back in the day. I have a KABC newscast where Harold Greene looks identical to Ron Burgundy - clothing and all. Okay, maybe the news teams in our town don't have street fights that inexplicably have tridents show up, but still.

sanewsguy Station Group CEO

sanewsguy 511

Posted
Posted

 

I'm fine with this too.

 

Well..., I am to an extent. He can anchor SportsCenter all he wants since sports isn't news, it's entertainment. But I'm bothered that he is anchoring a real, legit local newscast. Now I understand it's a very small market (and they chose the least watched day of the week as well), but it's very hard to take that newscast seriously because of his presence. For his part, he did a decent job while managing to get some laughs here and there. But I just don't think it was right. That and it was essentially a 30-minute advertisement for his movie which I don't think is good to use the news as a billboard for your film. I understand the news has to make money, they do with commercials, and they could have someone sponsor the "Dakota Storm Center" as well that's fine. But this just crosses on so many ethical lines which were definitely broken during that newscast. They only had four days notice (at least according to interviews with the actual anchor there), but if I was the anchor, I would've taken the day off, as it would be hard for me to anchor with him and it would look bad on my part as an actual trained journalist. Will Ferrell is funny, I have nothing against him or his movies, but I just don't think he should be anchoring actual newscasts.

 

If they really wanted to give him the opportunity to anchor a newscast, then he could co-anchor the Daily Show or Colbert Report. Those are not actual news shows so I don't take them seriously and I don't have to worry them breaking any ethical barriers.

 

Two more things that bothered me (and it wasn't Ron Burgundy):

Their time/temp bug is in Comic Sans, there's not another font they can use? KIII also uses Comic Sans for their time/temp bug.

 

And this, WTF?

egmh.png

 

But I thought this was clever:

g23.png

they stuck his name in the credits

 

Let's just say I'm glad I live in a top 40 market, this crap would never fly here.

caliwxdude News Director

caliwxdude 254

Posted
Posted

 

But this just crosses on so many ethical lines which were definitely broken during that newscast. They only had four days notice (at least according to interviews with the actual anchor there), but if I was the anchor, I would've taken the day off, as it would be hard for me to anchor with him and it would look bad on my part as an actual trained journalist. Will Ferrell is funny, I have nothing against him or his movies, but I just don't think he should be anchoring actual newscasts.

 

Let's just say I'm glad I live in a top 40 market, this crap would never fly here.

 

It's Bismarck, ND, DMA #158; cut them a little slack. Ron Burgundy's appearance will probably be one of the career highlights of everyone working at KXMB that day and got them all some great national exposure. Ferrell has some history with small-market TV—recall the Old Milwaukee beer spot that aired only on KNOP in North Platte during one of Super Bowl XLVI's local ad breaks.

 

If you're intent on being a "serious journalist" 100 percent of the time, local television news (especially in a small market) is not for you. Look at the stories that made the first block of this weekend show: 15 people lining up for Small Business Saturday at some downtown clothing boutique and a pile of burning trash in a Sam's Club parking lot.

jero23 Managing Editor

jero23 105

Posted
Posted

 

Well..., I am to an extent. He can anchor SportsCenter all he wants since sports isn't news, it's entertainment. But I'm bothered that he is anchoring a real, legit local newscast. Now I understand it's a very small market (and they chose the least watched day of the week as well), but it's very hard to take that newscast seriously because of his presence. For his part, he did a decent job while managing to get some laughs here and there. But I just don't think it was right. That and it was essentially a 30-minute advertisement for his movie which I don't think is good to use the news as a billboard for your film. I understand the news has to make money, they do with commercials, and they could have someone sponsor the "Dakota Storm Center" as well that's fine. But this just crosses on so many ethical lines which were definitely broken during that newscast. They only had four days notice (at least according to interviews with the actual anchor there), but if I was the anchor, I would've taken the day off, as it would be hard for me to anchor with him and it would look bad on my part as an actual trained journalist. Will Ferrell is funny, I have nothing against him or his movies, but I just don't think he should be anchoring actual newscasts.

 

If they really wanted to give him the opportunity to anchor a newscast, then he could co-anchor the Daily Show or Colbert Report. Those are not actual news shows so I don't take them seriously and I don't have to worry them breaking any ethical barriers.

 

Two more things that bothered me (and it wasn't Ron Burgundy):

Their time/temp bug is in Comic Sans, there's not another font they can use? KIII also uses Comic Sans for their time/temp bug.

 

And this, WTF?

egmh.png

 

But I thought this was clever:

g23.png

they stuck his name in the credits

 

Let's just say I'm glad I live in a top 40 market, this crap would never fly here.

 

You are the same person whom defends Sinclair's takeover of TV station all over. Yeah, the same company that attempts to shove a political agenda down the throats of the existing and future viewers of all the newly acquired TV stations even in markets (like Seattle-Tacoma, Portland, and probably Washington DC if the Allbritton deal goes through) where that sh*t wouldn't fly as a "form of journalism and editorial inserts" even if it was catapulted from rocket launcher. Sorry, but until you change your stance on Sinclair your rant lacks validity and or an ounce of integrity about the 'state of journalism' involving this "Anchorman" movie promotional stunt..

 

Also realize the irony and hyperbole of your pro-business rants for Sinclair across the board shell game of acquisitions of the local TV landscape as of late.

 

In other words, you need to really lighten up some...GEEEEEEEEEEEZ :bang: :chill:

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