Where's Al Roker when you need him?

Today is the first day the weather here has been gross. Earlier in the week, I could tell the weather was turning colder, and there hasn't been as much sun this week, but I was definitely disappointed when there were so many clouds and rain this morning.

I guess I don't have too much reason to complain. Today officially marks one month since my arrival, and today is the first time the weather is gross, so I realize I have no room to talk. Perhaps I would feel better about the weather, though, if the meterologists here warned me, but no, the news programs here are very different (as are the weathermen), which brings me to today's blog topic: the differences between American and Italian newspapers/broadcasts.

I realize this might bore those of you who didn't study journalism, so feel free to skip it. But as a journalist, I find it fascinating to look at the differences between the two countries with regards to how they receive their news.

We'll start with the newspapers. The main difference I see is in the design. They frequently use flashier designs, cutouts, and colorful graphics and charts, even for very serious stories. The designs in America aren's that flashy, unless you're looking at say, the Features section. The front page rarely has such flashy elements. Other than design, though, the emphasis placed on items and their location within the paper seem to be similar.

I rarely look at Italian newspapers, so perhaps I'm better qualified to compare the TV broadcasts, since I see that every night. In the States, the anchors and reporters are typically pretty or at least attractive. The Italians take that to another level completely. The woman on the evening news here (or at least the station I watch) is always showing cleavage. I think her stylist must actually cut lower V-necks from her wardrobe in order to show as much cleavage as possible. In the states, I often see the achors in turtlenecks, and suit jackets. Not here - they like to show the skin.

They also have cheesy "live" shots where the reporter is obviously standing in front of a green screen in the studio where they've superimposed some skyline. The local Auburn stations (and Eagle Eye) do this all the time, and it looks terrible. The effect is about the same over here. I think my favorite "live" shot like this was when a reporter was doing a story "from" Paris, and you could tell from the skyline that he was obviously in the studio. I guess some things don't change from one country to the next.

I've already explained their interest in American politics. I'm not quite sure what news cast we watch, but I think it must be like a national/international show as their news comes from all over the world. I suppose it's a bit like World News Tonight.

The reporters don't seem as experienced and articulate as most of ours (in bigger markets) are. They aren't dressed as nice as our reporters (which is a shock because normally everyone dresses really nice here). Sometimes they have their back to the camera, and a lot of them don't look very interested in their subjects. Because of this (my hypothesis, not fact here), they don't often do live interviews or stand-up shots with the reporter. Instead, the clips are shot during the day and filed back at the studio with the reporter narrating the film. This technique is used all the time in the States, but usually at the end of the clip, the camera returns to a live shot of the reporter who then explains some more, or answers questions from the anchor. You don't see much of that kind of ending here.

Now my absolute favorite part of Italian news programs is the weather. Maybe we're over-obsessed with weather in the states - I don't know. But their metereologists are incredibly useless. The weather information is put at the end of the program (instead of the beginning like ours), and the weatherman just stands in front of a map of Italy, and on the map are weather symbols in various locations (like a flashing sun, clouds, rain, etc). That's it. I've only once seen temperatures given. They never explain the next day's weather, and they sure as heck don't have a 10-day forecast. They also don't have any other maps to explain cold and warm fronts and what that might do to the weather in the coming week. Nope. All I get is a flashing symbol somewhere in the vicinity of where I live. The whole report takes about 30 seconds. How I wish I could hear the weatherman say "And that's what's going on around the country. Here's what's happening in your neck of the woods." If I had heard those fabulous words, I would have known to take an umbrella and dress warmer today.