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.

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