Impact Civic Journalism
Wisconsin: Beating the World Series . . . Good civic journalism can compete with major-league sports, sit-coms and movies. The first program in the “We the People/Wisconsin’s” sesquicentennial series, “Family,” aired from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 — the same time as Game 3 of the World Series. “Family” aired live on […]
KRON Gambles on Race Series in Sweeps
By Pat Ford Had KRON-TV gone crazy? Not only was the San Francisco station launching a lengthy, weighty series about the serious subject of race relations in the Bay Area, it was doing it during sweeps month. The time of year has become notorious for sending local TV newsrooms reaching for the sensational. But KRON news director […]
Austin Draws Broadcast Journalists
Dan Rosenheim Marla Crockett Fifty broadcast journalists from New Hampshire to California and a dozen Texas markets met in Austin June 5-7 for the first all-electronic workshop on civic journalism. The weekend presentation of the Pew Center and the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation featured news directors and producers showcasing good examples of civic […]
Lessons Learned: Sailing Uncharted Free-Time Waters
By Andy Moore Senior Producer Wisconsin Public Television Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold was running a little behind the day he stopped into our station to record some free time. He rushed in, armed with a computer disk containing six, one-minute commentaries we had invited him to write. It was part of an experiment last […]
Civic Journalism: Building Ratings, Revenue
By Ray Depa General Manager KGUN9, Tucson The decline in TV news viewing in Tucson is typical of the nation. The number of households watching early evening news on the three commercial stations dropped 21% in the last year alone. Late-news viewership is down 24% over the same 12 months. This is bad news for […]
TV Stations Try New Political Coverage
By Walter Dean Associate Director Pew Center Television stations across the country are experimenting with new ways to cover politics with help from Best Practices 2000’s workshops and online resource guide. The yearlong BP2K project has been directed by Wisconsin Public Television in partnership with the Pew Center and RTNDF. At four national workshops, participants […]
Making the Most of Morning News Meetings
By Dave Kurpius Assistant Professor Louisiana State University What’s the most critical news department ritual for a television station? It’s the morning editorial meeting, the place to assess and discuss coverage as well as to assign it. In my years of studying top television news operations, I’ve sat in enough morning meetings to know when […]
Web Cams: A New Take on Getting Fresh Voices
By Jeanne Jakle San Antonio Express-News TV Writer San Antonio’s Spanish-language television station, KVDA, made international TV history in May by integrating viewers into its newscasts through Web cameras in their homes. “It’s not new to say I watch a channel; it’s new to say that channel’s watching me,” said KVDA vice president and general […]
Race Documentary Kindles Norfolk Dialogue
By Pat Ford Pew Center It is difficult and painful for people to contemplate deeply the suffering experienced by victims of slavery. Thus, Norfolk public television station WHRO took on a tough challenge when it launched a project designed to help the community come to terms with that legacy. The project revolved around “Noble Desire,” […]
TV Stations Tap Viewers for Story Ideas
By Deborah Potter NewsLab Executive Director Fresh out of story ideas? Slow news week? That’s how it was at WIXT-TV in Syracuse, NY, when then-assistant news director Jim Tortora made a suggestion. Let’s set up a phone line and ask viewers to call us. People snickered but they tried it. The result: “Your Stories,” a […]