Asian Stocks Rally

Zach Wade

http://www.cnn.com/video/?iref=videoglobal

In this video, a CNN correspondent in Hong Kong outlines the unprecedented nature of a global economic bailout. The coverage however mainly focused on the market reaction to the economic stimulus plans proposed by G7 governments. The visuals were relevant to the story, but were mundane, cliche and boring. Most of the shots were simply of stock tickers which tell us very little in scope and only repeat the information that the stock market was doing better on the news. There was also some footgae of the NYSE floor, but it was so generic that it might as well have been stock footage.

A little bit of ticker is fine, but I owuld prefer to see something that reveals a little more information. I would have included clips on government meetings and federal reserve shots. Also, the transitions in video were a little odd. The story was about the Asian stocks rallying last night, but occassionally they would include a shot of the NYSE without a clear enough segway. CNN needs to assume the viewer knows nothing about the markets and should explain or imply what they are seeing on the screen.

If the story were written in plain text, it would read fairly choppy. The reporter used a lot of "Well, And, So" transitions that makes sense in speech, but not on paper. The pauses that exist in the audi/video format are necessary, but those who read it straight through in print may find thatwithout the necessary pause, the story is choppy. Obviously written stories and audio stories are two different animals.