Local TV news emphasizes the earliest stage of crimes because ‘‘breaking news’’ is fresh, dramatic and visual. A qualitative analysis was conducted using a comprehensive set of recordings of the first three-and-a-half hours of local television news coverage in Omaha, Nebraska. This study identified a series of ongoing issues that have important implications for newsroom decision-makers. Local television news used charged and dramatic language, such as that shooting victims were ‘‘fighting for their lives.’’ Reporters and news managers find themselves in the middle of a struggle between two options: remaining a distant and objective observer of events, or connecting with the emotion felt by viewers.