This study offers a method for analyzing the narrative content of television news videos. Very few scholars approach the study of visual narratives in television news editing because the technique is highly specialized and not commonly articulated by practitioners. However, cognitive experiments are supporting the importance of understanding the way the brain processes video messages; in particular, those coming from television news. Based in norms and routines theory, this study combines an unprecedented method of content analysis with in-depth interviews of award-winning local news editors in order to reveal a contemporary state of narrative production in television news.