Even though most people are still at work (and nowhere near a TV set) when 5pm rolls around, many
American
television stations
broadcast their first live
newscast of the evening at that time, referring to it with the catchy
moniker, "Live At Five". The corporate decision to continue broadcasting live news at 5pm has got to be either a
throwback to decades past, when people were already sitting in their
La-Z-Boy at 5pm with
martini in hand, or an attempt to reach
housewives, the
elderly, or anyone too injured to work. I can't imagine the term "Live At Five" being
trademarked or
copyrighted, since nearly every U.S. city has such a broadcast.
The content covered during a typical Live At Five is pretty broad and shallow, and is interspersed with innocuous "human interest" pieces to keep the mood light. In the 1980s, the writers for
Late Night With David Letterman would routinely create skits where
Dave would barge in on NBC's local Live At Five show in a neighboring studio to do any of several
asinine things, including giving
canned hams to the entire news team.