Sweeps are a time when some stations try to grab viewers by, well, stretching the truth a bit to pass off old news as "breaking news" or by labeling widely reported stories as "exclusives." Some like, Fox 35, try both — to con viewers into thinking they’re breaking an exclusive story that "you have to see!"
Monday night during 24, WOFL aired a promo for its 10 p.m. news. Anchor Shelly Ribando breathless reported, "Fox 35 makes an alarming discovery! Foreign companies taking charge of security in our nation’s ports! Tonight, on Fox 35 News at 10." Same tease with same wording ran later during Fox 35′s newscast. Remember, this is Fox 35 saying it’s making this "alarming discovery."