When I asked two weeks ago what viewers expect of local newscasts, I knew I would get some feedback. But I honestly didn't expect the outpouring of response from more than 100 viewers, many of them frustrated with the state of local TV news.

Many of those responses -- about 35 printed pages' worth -- have been posted in Tuned In Journal at post-gazette.com/tv. The recurring complaints were these:

• Too much news time: You might think this desire for an abbreviated newscast was limited to old-timers still yearning for the resurrection of Bill Burns. But that wasn't the case. Chris McCracken, 29, of Monroeville said he grew up in rural Pennsylvania with only two choices for a half-hour 6 p.m. newscast, and that was plenty.

"In that short half-hour we were able get a complete rundown of the day's stories," McCracken wrote in his e-mail. "Perfect! Now, stations such as KDKA drag out the local evening news for three hours. They either go over the same story over and over again or they 'tease' you to stay tuned for another hour for a report that you may be interested in. I am not naive. I understand that the stations are a business and all of this is dollars to them. However, for myself, a half-an-hour summary with no fluff is all that I am looking for."

A corollary to this complaint was a sense from many of the respondents that there's too much repetition in newscasts. Of course, there is an easy way for viewers to solve the repetition problem themselves: Just turn off the TV.

• Too many teases; too much hype: "We watch the news to be informed and not to be asked questions about a story that is coming up," wrote Bob Kress, 59, of Wexford.

"Please quit telling me over and over what you are going to tell me at 6 o'clock," wrote H. Lessman, 80, of O'Hara. "Just tell me."

The word "hype" was used repeatedly by viewers frustrated by hyperbole in newscasts. Two recent examples I caught in the March 6 11 p.m. newscast on WTAE: An anchor described video of cars burned in a fire inside a Downtown parking garage, saying, the cars were "charred beyond recognition," but anyone looking at the video would probably recognize the basic outline of a car. (One viewer who wrote in made the same observation.)

Similarly, a report on "a midair near-miss in the skies above Pittsburgh this week" was followed by news that the incident took place not over the city but "20 miles east of Pittsburgh." Why put the near-miss "above Pittsburgh" when that's not where it happened other than to hype the story unnecessarily?

• Too many Steelers stories as news: This was a frequent complaint with many viewers expressing a desire for Steelers stories to return to the sports portion of the newscast and for stations to not make "breaking news" out of every tiny Steelers detail.

"Trust me, I like the Steelers and want them to do well," wrote Chris Jones, 36, of McCandless, "but, seriously, this town has more to it than the Steelers. Seems like the local news stations have become a marketing arm of the Rooneys."

• Too much weather: Although I'm sure local stations have reams of research and ratings spikes that prove viewers love weather news, those who responded to my query were almost all annoyed by weather hype: "By now we who live in this area should be able to drive sensibly in snowy conditions, and the national morning shows should not be pre-empted to give minute-by-minute coverage of the weather," wrote Louise Jencik of Squirrel Hill. A significant portion complained about too much detail: "It doesn't matter that it is 2 degrees cooler in Hollsopple than it is in Cokeburg," wrote Ron McCollum, 65, of Pittsburgh.

There were also multiple pleas for predictions only. For example, "The weather report should focus on the forecast since I already know what the weather is at present," wrote Gisela Kress, 64, of Squirrel Hill.

• Too many stories with no relevance to the average viewer: As R. Romagni noted, "News is not a story about someone's poodle that's found its way home or a front porch collapsing in Millvale."

Speaking of dogs, I was surprised by the number of viewers who complained about one of my personal pet peeves: Too many stories about wounded or maimed animals that serve little purpose other than to pull the emotional strings of animal lovers.

Viewers are divided on whether local newscasts should carry national or international news. Some want a broader perspective ("Tell me what is going on in the world. It will help me decide if I want to watch the expanded world news," wrote Michael Hellman, 51, of Morningside). Others do not, particularly if they believe it has no relevance to Pittsburghers. ("Forget the '10 dead in a three-car pileup' promos when the wreck happened in Kansas," wrote Cheri Cunningham of Brookline).

• Too many references to Web sites: "The phrase that sends me through the roof is, 'If you want to know more about this subject log on to our Web site ...' Does that mean, 'You poor slobs who don't have a computer don't deserve to find out anything more'?" wrote Carole Berry, 71, of Bethel Park. "The reason I turn on the news is to hear the full story, not to be sent to another source. And is this a good thing for the TV news industry? Perhaps we will just log on to the Web site and not turn on the TV news anymore."

In fairness to TV stations, I think there is value in offering extra information online. The problem is when viewers feel like they're not getting the whole story from the newscast. Perhaps TV stations need to find a way to better communicate Web extras to viewers.

• Too few stories on the arts: Some viewers noted a desire for more local reports on the arts.

"You have so many plays listed in your papers, the least someone could do is have a 5-10-minute theater slot in their news," writes Marge Peckham of Weirton, W.Va.

While I disagree on the duration, I agree with the sentiment. For too long, Pittsburgh TV stations have given our vibrant arts scene short shrift.

• More serious news: Viewers railed against "fluff," but defining it proved elusive. Although some viewers dislike anchor banter ("I do not need all the laughing and inside jokes between the anchors, weatherman and sports person," wrote Ed Kerestes, 71, of Kennedy), others don't mind it ("If I want to watch some stoic anchor, I can turn on the national news," wrote Faith Milazzo Graham, 36, of Penn Hills).

"I don't understand why there isn't at least one local news program that doesn't attempt to emulate PBS's 'NewsHour,' " wrote Anthony DeFrank of Regent Square.

But another viewer offered an answer as to why that won't happen:

"When I was living in Chicago in the 1990s, one of the local affiliates there tried to zig where others were zagging by offering 'hard news.' The anchor was Carol Marin. It flopped," wrote Jimmy Rhoades of Detroit. "Station managers won't run considered, thoughtful news programs because the ratings will be poor. And these managers have to keep their numbers up, because local news is THE main profit center of local TV stations. And the stations are often owned by big station groups and parent companies with shareholders, who, of course, want to see healthy profits.

"So everyone is acting rationally here," he wrote, adding, "except, perhaps, the viewers who won't support more substantive news programs by choice."

PBS's "Unnatural Causes" (10 p.m. Thursdays on WQED starting next week and running through April 17) explores the socio-economic and racial inequities in the health of Americans and searches for the causes.

Carnegie Mellon University psychology professor Sheldon Cohen will be among the experts interviewed for "Unnatural Causes." He appears in the premiere episode next week.

At 8 p.m. April 3, WQED will broadcast (and stream at WQED.org) a one-hour town hall meeting with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Minority Health, offering a local angle on the subjects covered in "Unnatural Causes." "On Q" regulars Chris Moore, Michael Bartley and Tonia Caruso will moderate the discussion.

If you didn't buy the DVD but you get Comedy Central, now you can see the first direct-to-DVD "Futurama" movie, "Bender's Big Score," which premieres on the cable network at 8 p.m. Sunday.

This week's TV Q&A includes no answers but a collection of unanswerable questions, rants and questions whose answers would be of interest only to the person asking the question. Read it online at post-gazette.com/tv.