A bit of fear fuels the news at Channel 13

Boo! is the glue.

The adhesive that keeps viewers stuck to their station.

So says ex-Channel 13 anchor Ron Futrell in a feature examining the impact of TV news consultants elsewhere in this section, asserting that 13's goal was to "scare them into watching the next newscast."

Though not a new TV claim, it's still cause for shame, assuming it's accurate. Based on a recent, randomly chosen 11 p.m. newscast on Channel 13 ... it's accurate.

The tent-pole pieces -- the lead "top story" and an in-depth report at midnewscast -- illustrate the practice perfectly. (News director Karin Movesian declined to comment, possibly because of the station owner, Journal Broadcast Group. This media company is apparently uncomfortable dealing with the media, sealing employees' mouths in a kind of corporate Ziploc bag.)

The lead story was the lesser offense, but still relied on manipulations -- largely, what wasn't said -- to keep a bit of fright on a fading story.

"Tiger on the Loose" -- about a tame, king-size (450-pound) kitty that wandered through some yards when the owner lost sight of it -- was the opening screen graphic. Surely sexier-scarier than an updated graphic -- say, "Tiger Captured" -- given that the formidable feline was collared 24 hours earlier, not sinking its teeth into a single tush.

Anchor Steve Wolford goosed the setup with adrenalized buzzwords -- "freaking out," "chaos," "astonished," "panic-stricken" -- and Drew Karedes reported the day-old capture, omitting the day-old part.

Nip/tuck the news a bit and "Tiger on the Loose" still had some legs.

Later, Nina Radetich's "Surgery Scare" investigation kicked the fear up a gear with the sort of artificially enhanced news story that Channel 13 tends toward.

The piece about a woman's breast enlargement surgery botched by a local doc while she suffered through it awake would've been compelling enough without the incessant plunking of a piano chord and a percussive beat, effecting an ominous tone. Reminiscent of the migraine-inducing, one-note piano pounding in "Eyes Wide Shut," it was punctuated by jarring cymbal splashes and staccato drum bursts.

Shrouding the victim in shadow was standard, but a fuzzier focus -- blurry, hallucinatory images of a doctor operating in blue scrubs and a darkened, sinister figure -- injected a villainous vibe, like a monster lurking nearby, likely staged or stock footage since the doc didn't participate in the piece. What was startlingly crystal clear? Graphic shots of the bungled surgical incision.

Radetich's otherwise strongly reported story was marred by manufactured tension and visual deception.

News shouldn't be wannabe Wes Craven flicks. As a trust issue, viewers should expect everything they see to be real, not surreal -- the actual world, not virtual suggestions of it, no matter how artsy the impulses of editors and producers that day.

Has pop culture-addled America conditioned us to demand Hollywood hamminess -- audio effects, atmospheric music, stylized video, fabricated fear -- to watch news?

Tonight at 11 ... Boo!

P.S. KVBC: As we first reported Tuesday on our Web site, Channel 3 lured local broadcasting legend Bob Stoldal out of retirement and into the job of its new news chief. Congrats, guys. That's one serious newsman for a newsroom that's got to get serious.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.