This paper suggests that syntactic features of newscasts can operate as learned motivational stimuli defining both viewers’ attention and memory for information. In an experiment it manipulated the presence of stings (a type of broadly employed audiovisual connector) and the arousal levels of stories, while participants’ attention and recall of information were measured. The results propose that stings evoke motivational activation among viewers; however, differences in motivational activation were perceived depending on whether it was due to arousing content or to stings. These results point out the pertinence of accounting for learned motivational processes in media information processing inquiry.