Ever wonder why so many local TV news programs in the US have "live" reports "on location" and there is no live event happening at that time? I don't watch too much news on TV, but the rare times I do, I come across this practice so often, I'm compelled to ask aloud.

Routinely the news channels do a live report on location about an event that has already transpired. It could very well have been a "recorded on location" news; there is absolutely no need to do it live. It looks so silly to see a reporter standing on a freeway shoulder at 10pm on a cold night to report that CHP is stepping up seat belt enforcement.

I wonder why they are doing this. Is it just simple competition and each channel has decided to make a certain percentage of their reporting live, no matter what?