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Here are the 54 half-hour local TV shows broken down by: the date and time it aired; the channel; what the lead story was; how many minutes into the broadcast a major national or international story was reported; and what that story was. Items in red denote that a national or international story led the local-news broadcast.
| DATE OF BROADCAST | TIME | CHANNEL | LEAD STORY | MINUTES INTO | NATIONAL / INTL STORY |
| 2/21/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Breaking News: Teen shot in McKees Rocks | 8 | Tim Murphy cancels meet-up at Duquesne University |
| 2/22/17 | 11 P.M. | WATE | Breaking News: Trump tosses out transgender protections; local Evancho angle | ||
| 2/23/17 | 11 P.M. | WPXI | Breaking News: Skeletal remains found in McKeesport | 15 | “Where’s Toomey” light sign; town-hall no-shows |
| 2/24/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Somali cab driver in Beltzhoover has died | 9 | Toomey and Rothus no-shows at town halls |
| 2/25/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Tailgating crowds at Heinz field hockey game | 14 | DNC elects a new chairman |
| 2/26/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Gov. Wolf releases PA budget | ||
| 2/27/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Follow-up to Jeanette pawnshop burgarly | 5 | Local tie-in to rash of Jewish center/cemetery threats |
| 2/28/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Weather: rain in the morning | 10 | Trump’s joint address speech (given that night) |
| 2/28/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather: It’s raining | 2 | Trump’s joint address speech (given that night) |
| 3/1/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather is windy | 9 | Trump speech, with local infrastructure projects tie-in |
| 3/2/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather is cold and snowy | 7 | Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuses hmself from Russian investigation |
| 3/3/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather is chilly | 18 | Warning about tax-return fraud |
| 3/4/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | New TSA airport pat-down procedure | ||
| 3/5/17 | 6 P.M. | WPXI | Breaking News: Car crash in Armstrong County | 5 | Foremer director of National Intelligence James Clapper refuting Trump’s wiretap allegations (from Meet the Press) |
| 3/5/17 | 6:30 P.M. | KDKA | Transplant surgeon Thomas Starzel dies | 30 | NOTHING; newscast abbreviated by sports delay |
| 3/5/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Transplant surgeon Thomas Starzel dies | 9 | FBI head James Coomey calls for Department of Justice to refute Trump’s wiretap claim |
| 3/6/17 | 6 P.M. | WPXI | Body of Dakota James found in river | 4 | Recreational pot issues locally and nationwide |
| 3/6/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | GOP releases ACHA plan | ||
| 3/6/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Body of Dakota James found in river | 10 | GOP releases ACHA plan |
| 3/7/17 | 6 P.M. | WTAE | Breaking News: Car crash in Dravosburg | 6 | GOP releases ACHA plan |
| 3/7/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather: It’s rainy and windy | 2 | Documents released in hack of CIA |
| 3/7/17 | 11 P.M. | WPXI | Weather: Gusty winds | 10 | AAA survey about autonomous-driving cars |
| 3/8/17 | 6 P.M. | WPXI | Weather: Windy | 10 | Intl Women’s Day, with live local march angle |
| 3/8/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather: “Winds of change” | 11 | Intl Women’s Day, with local march angle |
| 3/8/17 | 11 P.M. | WATE | Weather: Windy | 3 | Intl Women’s Day, with local march angle |
| 3/9/17 | 6 P.M. | WPXI | Weather: Winter weather on the way | 30 | NOTHING |
| 3/9/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Weather: “Level 1 snow event” | 9 | Man with ax attacks people in Germany |
| 3/9/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather: Winter weather | 10 | Some states challenge revised travel ban |
| 3/10/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather: It’s cold | 11 | Jeff Sessions asks for resignations of U.S. Attorneys |
| 3/11/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Two killed in Knoxville | 10 | Man jumps fence at White House |
| 3/12/17 | 6 P.M. | WTAE | Child shot and killed in Mount Washinton | 10 | Trump’s wiretap claims remain unproven, plus more on ACHA |
| 3/12/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Weather: Will it be the last blast of winter? | 30 | NOTHING |
| 3/13/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Preparing for snow storm in eastern part of the country | 16 | Republicans voicing support for ACHA, plus more on wiretap allegations |
| 3/14/17 | 6 P.M. | WTAE | Breaking News: Ambulance crashes into dialysis center in Hempfield Township | 30 | NOTHING |
| 3/14/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Former PGH policeman caught sexting a teen | 4 | Trump dismisses CBO report on ACHA |
| 3/14/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Weather: Spared by the storm | 3 | Story about Trump’s 2005 tax return, dhown on MSNBC earlier that night |
| 3/15/17 | 6 P.M. | WTAE | Breaking News: Charges against NFL player Darrelle Revis dismissed | 30 | NOTHING |
| 3/15/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Weather: Winter is not letting up | 4 | Federal judge blocks Trump’s revised travel ban |
| 3/15/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Breaking News: Two people shot in Pitcairn alley | 10 | Federal judge blocks Trump’s revised travel ban |
| 3/16/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Fatal shooting in Butler | 10 | Congress intel committee rejects Trump’s wiretap claims |
| 3/16/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | Breaking News: Building on Fire in Raleigh, N.C. | 10 | Trump releases budget |
| 3/17/17 | 6 P.M. | WTAE | PWSA and reports of foul smell in local water | 11 | Hillary Clinton gives speech in Scranton |
| 3/17/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Weather: It Snowed | 10 | Trump’s Secret Service member’s laptop stolen in NYC |
| 3/19/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Breaking News: Man shot in Braddock | 15 | Man arrested at White House fence, claiming to have bomb |
| 3/20/17 | 6 P.M. | WTAE | Penn State Spanier trial re: Sandusky child abuse | 22 | Teaser for FBI head Comey testifying at Congress on “This TV” at 7 p.m. |
| 3/20/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Breaking News: Riot outside Alleghney Jail | 9 | Trump rally in Louisville; Comey statement on Russian interference and wiretapping |
| 3/21/17 | 6 P.M. | WATE | Breaking News: Suspicious death of 4-year-old boy in Butler | 23 | Teaser for “laptop ban on Mideast flights” on “This TV” at 7 p.m. |
| 3/21/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Child dead in Butler | 10 | “State of Addiction” opiod abuse in Pennsylvania |
| 3/22/17 | 6 P.M. | WTAE | London terror attack on bridge near Westminster | ||
| 3/22/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | Candlelight vigil for dead child in Butler | 6 | London terror attack |
| 3/22/17 | 11 P.M. | KDKA | South Hills karate instructor charged with child assault charges; plotting deaths | 9 | London terror attack |
| 3/23/17 | 6 P.M. | WTAE | Breaking News: Houses explodes in Moon Township | 3 | Vote on ACHA postponed |
| 3/23/17 | 11 P.M. | WPXI | Breaking News: House fire in Bellevue | 5 | Vote on ACHA postponed |
| 3/23/17 | 11 P.M. | WTAE | House explodes in Moon Township | 4 | Vote on ACHA postponed |
Read more about media literacy:
- A guide for navigating “good news” and “bad news” in the fake-news era
- In the current news climate, it’s time to question where news outlets get their information
- Media consumers are taking memes at face value, but they often contain misinformation
- TV news is not the best place to “go local”
- MedLocal TV newscasts keep it local
- The Eight Stages of a Golden Shower (Story)
- Evisceration Nation
- How Journalists Can Mislead Readers: An Annotation
- Pittsburgh Left: Our paper may be alternative, but our facts are on the money
- Real News About Fake News Quiz
This article appears in Apr 5-11, 2017.
