Questions

* Why is it OK for national shows like "60 Minutes" to do segments that are longer than 1:30, but it's not OK for local news?

* Why is commentary allowed on shows like Bob Schieffer or even local big-market stations, but ruled out for use in other local markets?

* Why do some stations feature the top ten movies of the week, but neglect to mention top iTunes downloads?

* Why, at some stations, is healthy discussion over important and compelling local events between anchors and guests as part of the newscast completely ruled out for inclusion?

* Why do markets outside the top 50 or so rely upon hand-written Nielsen diaries filled out by a sample size of less than 1% of the population to set ratings and thus advertising rates? More importantly, is there an age shift from this definitively non-random sub-set of the population? When Nielsen ratings shift from hand-written diaries to set top box information (which is a more accurate determination of actual viewers), will stations be in a rude awakening to see how many young viewers they actually have?

(more to come...)

A Quick Beatcheck Tip

Speaking with a communications person at our local police today, I came across some valuable information.

When making your beatchecks, asking "Hey, is there anything going on today?" is in most cases a complete waste of time. I was informed today that our local PD is trained to simply say "Everything's about normal today" regardless of anything going on that's sub-apocalypse level of importance. But, if you're listening to the scanner and have one nugget of information, if you start with "Hey we're hearing on the scanner there's a robbery in progress, do you know where the address is?" then you'll get some concrete information.

Of course, if you're making your regular beatchecks and are trying to be friendly with local dispatch, you might be able to get that information anyways if you're friendly with them. I know an overnight producer who had no PIO to rely upon for breaking news, and the constant communication between her and local dispatches allowed her to get more information from dispatch than they generally release. It's probably been repeated to death, but when making beatcheck calls, be friendly, try to sneak in a question about their day or anything beyond "Anything going on? No? OK thanks bye!".

To recap, if there's a robbery going on in your town, the quick call to local PD can go two different ways.

"Hey, is there anything going on right now?"
"Everything's within normal."
"OK, thanks!"

OR......

"Hey, I heard on the scanner that there's a robbery in progress in Temple, do you have the address?"
"Yes, hold on... It's on the 3700 block of ____ Street, units are on scene."
"OK, Thanks!"

I'm not sure if this is how every PD in a mid-sized town works, but I was shocked when he said how many other news stations ask him that question when he knows he can't volunteer indiscriminate information and that he's been trained to simply reply "Everything's normal" regardless of what the current situation is.

Just a quick tip I thought I'd pass on.

Chipping Away at the Top

From The Economist:

Technology hasn't just changed the demand for newspapers, it's also changed the supply of information. News used to be an oligopolistic business, now it's just about perfectly competitive. Barriers to entry are minimal, and plenty of suppliers are happy to provide content at next to nothing. That's a recipe for a big drop in price, and any organisation built on market power and rents is sure to fail in such an environment.

Does this mean that news, as a business, is dead? Not necessarily. Some papers will survive by selling things other than news—reputation, say, or exclusivity. Others will hang on until the print market shrinks enough that profitability is possible for a handful (or fewer) of national papers. Survivors in both groups are also likely to capitalise on the demand for news products that remain scarce—especially investigative reporting.

Extra Credit Question: How is the above relevant to broadcast news?

Live Shots - Breaking Through the Wall

It's only 10-15 seconds. It's only a few main points. It's only you looking into a little black lens. Easy, right?

For some reason, it's much harder than that. Take out the "umm", "you know", pauses, slang, informal speech, keep your eyes on the camera, don't look down unless you have to, ignore the scene behind you which may or may not consist of bystanders trying to mess you up or get their 15 seconds on TV, and whatever you do, keep talking and don't stop to think.

Now some people are naturals on TV, going live their first time like their last job was the host of the Emmy's. Others have been in the business for years, and still sound like they're a substitute teacher for a high school algebra class. For the majority of us, we start off somewhere in between.

From talking to other people as well as from my own experience, it takes about 3-4 months of regular on-air experience before your live presence is solid. There will be hiccups, embarrassing live shots, and moments where you want to throw your paper down and put your coat over your head afterwards (just make sure your photog doesn't zoom in on you so that the control room can record it and play ad infinitum). But from these experiences, your comfort level will rise and the wall of fear that hit you the first time will slowly fade with every live shot. For me, it's been 6 months and a while since I've had that dread experience where I hear "Kevin Davis joins us from the newsroom with more, Kevin?" and the words I had practiced just suck right out of my head. But that doesn't mean I'm not prone to error either, as the impetus for this post was a horrible live shot I did just last week where I paused and had to look down on my paper to see what I was saying.

When you first start out, try to keep your intros and tag-outs short. In the beginning, it's much easier to introduce a package with a quick sentence then to try for a 30-second intro. Just put that information you were going to do live into the package. Start with short introductions and work yourself up to longer and more detailed intros when you get more comfortable on camera.

Read over what you wrote, and make sure it's natural for you to speak it as well as it was written. If you're in an extremely breaking news situation, it's sometimes better to write the most important facts in bullet point and read off that rather than meticulously constructing each sentence.

Speak with authority, but try not to get all Kent Brockman about it either. There's a middle ground between the monotonous dead-pan style of PBS and the uber-cheesy inflection of tabloid shows like Access Hollywood. Watch network anchors like Campbell Brown and Mika Brzezinski, both of whom are very good at sounding authoritative while being conversational at the same time.

Whatever you do, don't get frustrated. If your live shot goes bad, just start practicing a little bit earlier the next day. Look forward to your next live appearance as an opportunity for redemption.

For me, it's been 6 months and I'm still learning. I no longer fear going live. Instead, I now look forward to the adrenaline rush. I don't think that slight nervousness before a live shot will ever go away, I've just tried to harness that energy. I've come a long way since the beginning but I still have room to grow before my station can throw me at a huge breaking news story minutes before a live hit where I'm expected to flawlessly ad-lib off the top of my head the details of the story in narrative structure rather than just a fact-by-fact recount.

But I'll be there soon, and you will be too if you aren't already there. Practice makes perfect!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

When you're on TV, it just goes along with the job that you're putting yourself up for criticism. People who have never touched a microphone, never gathered sources, never raced to a live shot to gather information minutes before a live hit will tell you with absolute certainty every minute detail that you did wrong. From your presentation, your presence on-air, your sentence construction, choice of phrases, camera shots, etc. all these are fair game.

I don't bring this up to stir anger, resentment, or any other feelings of ill will, as I honestly don't feel any of these things. The only reason why I've progressed since my first day is from valuable constructive criticism I've received from my co-workers. But just know, it takes a thick skin to be the face on TV.

The key is to find the balance between how others see you and you see yourself. Take criticism, even when it's hardly constructive, but don't always accede to criticism that doesn't ring true. Gauge your stories by your intuition, think about what you did correctly, and what you can work on to improve. Ignore the petty smack talk. Incorporate constructive suggestions.

All throughout your career, no matter what field, you will face coworkers who are supportive and those who are less so. The sooner you learn to learn from those with valuable lessons and tune out those who are simply trying to bring you down, the easier your professional life will become.