Last weekend Saturday Night Live did a sketch about a Wisconsin newscast out of Fond Du Lac. A lot of actual newscasts in Wisconsin posted to Facebook and asked its followers if the portrayal was accurate.
Now the answer to this is yes and no.
Yes, the sketch did an accurate job of what someone from Wisconsin would sound like and what they would wear. They also got the name of the small towns, and Appleton, that are around Fond Du Lac correct.
That’s about all they did right.
The main problem I have with the sketch is that it’s a very 1980s sketch. In the 80s it would be really easy to pull this off because no one would have actually seen a Wisconsin newscast. So it’d be pretty easy to lampoon this telecast. I mean SNL made a killing with sketches that were “regional.”
But that type of thinking isn’t original anymore.
Now it’s probably dumb to bring in logic to a comedy sketch, but let’s get to the thesis.
The fact that SNL still thinks that everyone stays within 100 miles of where they grew up is pretty archaic.
The one local news website I went to said that 4 out of 5 news anchors were from outside of the state of Wisconsin. One was from Nashville, one from Ohio, one from Washington and one from nearby Minnesota.
I’m sure this is true of many of the newscasts across the country.
The thing that is weird is that in the very next sketch they had someone be a newscaster, and they were just like anyone else in the country. They were normal.
So I guess the point is, SNL you are behind in the times. Yes, people come from different places. And yes, people from different places talk funny. But come one SNL you are better than this.