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Mrs. Bush Steals Show

An analysis of the ABC Nightly News - May 1, 2005. The story is "Mrs. Bush Steals Show at Reporter's Dinner." This was a humorous piece that showed Laura Bush speaking at the 91st annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner. The piece used several news packaging techniques to persuade the viewer that Bush's speech was unusual, funny, and out of character for her. The length of the story was about two minutes long, and it showed Mrs. Bush first interrupting the President as he began and "old joke," and then talking about him as if it were some kind of roast. The piece used several sound bites of jokes and quips that the First Lady said about the President, and then the camera would show reaction from the crown, including Condoleezza Rice and Vice-President Chaney. Laughter and applause from the audience were quite important to the overall effect of the story, and the editing was quite tight and used mostly close-up shots for the reactions, mixed with some general long shots that gave an overall picture of the size of the audience. Mrs. Bush's segments were shot from a bit below the podium where she spoke, giving her an aura of power and control. The narrator before and after the piece used a light tone to introduce the piece, and added a note at the end, saying, "The First Lady said she had always wanted to do that."

It was interesting to see the First Lady "let her hair down" so to speak, and make fun of her husband. She called herself a "desperate housewife" because of her husband's legendary early bedtime, and also poked fun at his intellect when she said, "I was the librarian who spent 12 hours a day in the library and yet somehow I met George." The President chuckled at many of her remarks, and the piece cut from the First Lady to the President and his reaction several times. The banter seemed good natured, and the piece gave the idea that the First Lady enjoyed her speech. So did the crowd, the piece ended with their giving her a standing ovation. This piece was presented so that the First Lady came off funny but not overbearing, and the reaction was very positive in the crowd. It was very well done, and enjoyable, even funny to watch, which made it seem more like entertainment than straight news.