And Now, For the Big Story   

It wasn't all seriousness and hard news during the November sweeps.

The industry buzz was that, due to the war in Afghanistan, local news stations were going to put their serious foot forward for the November sweeps. Salacious was to be shelved, ostensibly to make room for the more straight-faced reports these times demanded. Well, not so much.

Here are a few sweeps reports aired in November: • WJBK Detroit, Fox 2: "Sex Tips for the Working Woman." • WBAL Baltimore, NBC 11: " 'Hot' Baby Formula Sells Big on the Black Market." • KSDK St. Louis, NBC 5: "Young Girls Dressing Sexy." • KCOP, Los Angeles, UPN 13: "Bootylicious: Unit 13 shows us why some think the bigger the butt, the better the booty." • WFLX, West Palm Beach, Fox 29: Not one, not two, but three body enhancement stories in 15 days: "Liposuction — An Inside Look," "Silicone Parties," and "Instant Face-Lift." (To boot, they also investigated, "Niagra: Viagra for Women?") • KYW Philadelphia, CBS 3: "Lose Weight by Hypnosis: Consumer specialist Paul Moriarty put the seminar to the test." • KVVU Henderson, Nevada, Fox 5: "Strip Clubs Surviving Slumping Economy."