If you could change three things about TV...

[Slick]

what would they be? Only three!

1. I would find camera operators who know how to frame up key shots and move with the anchor. Maybe one day I won't fall out of the shots anymore.

2. no more stupid phrases...
"you saw it here first"
"as we first told you"
"efforting"
"searching for suspects"
"breaking news" when it's already broken
"arson fire"
"tragic story...hmm." as a standard anchor line.
...and here's one from yesterday "the badly decomposed DEAD body"

3. and...producers who don't get all excited and yell in my IFB. Stop...I'm going deaf in my right ear!

[A Viewer]

1. Walking stand-ups where the reporter AND the photographer move. They're really annoying.

2. Anchors who are obviously "acting" with stylized hand gestures and goofy head moves and fake smiles. They make me think they think I'm stupid. I'm NOt stupid. They're stupid.

3. Talking AT me as though YOU are the expert. You're reading a script. We both know it. Read it as though you know we both know you know it. Not like YOU are the expert and I'm the ignorant one.

4. Condense the weather. It's tooooo lone. I don't care about what's happening nationally UNLESS it's a disaster OR it will affect me down the road. Weather is too much entertainment and not enough FACT.

[Frankie Magot]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Slick:
what would they be? Only three!

1. I would find camera operators who know how to frame up key shots and move with the anchor. Maybe one day I won't fall out of the shots anymore.

2. no more stupid phrases...
"you saw it here first"
"as we first told you"
"efforting"
"searching for suspects"
"breaking news" when it's already broken
"arson fire"
"tragic story...hmm." as a standard anchor line.
...and here's one from yesterday "the badly decomposed DEAD body"

3. and...producers who don't get all excited and yell in my IFB. Stop...I'm going deaf in my right ear!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

1. Live for the sake of live. Do live shots ONLY when something is going on. Nothing looks more ridculous than a reporter standing in front of a dark school admisistration building at 11pm talking about a budget meeting that ended at 9:45.

2. "Coming up", "Still Ahead", "Don't go away, we'll be right back" are just a few of the bumps that drive me nuts, especially when the story is teased over and over. Also, eliminate the canned voices on bumps and promos.

3. Whatever happened to flow and continuity? We have anchors voicing over local video of a fire, axe, murder, etc. without being on camera for the last sentence and the other anchor pops up reading a Mideast intro. I feel that an OC tag with one anchor starting to turn to the other as he/she starts the next story adds so much to the flow.

[fam]

1) Forget trying to squeeze every ounce of cash out of news and remember that news can serve the public

2) Don't hire every cute young person that comes through the door

3) Remember the big issues that truly affect the community. They might not make for the sexiest promos, but real stories matter more to real people than fluff

[burnt]

1. Get back to a common sense approach to weather coverage. Do weather cut-ins only when there is actual severe weather, and not just some heavy rain shower. I also do not need to see video of rain when I can look out my window and see it. And cut back on weather segment times when it is nice outside.

2. Sporting events and movie releases are not something that needs to be in the top block of a newscast. These are entertainment and should be treated as such. I don't need to know who won an oscar as the lead story of a newscast, and sports has a whole segment reserved just for sporting news.

3. "Breaking News". Enough said.

[Ditto!]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by A Viewer:
2. Anchors who are obviously "acting" with stylized hand gestures and goofy head moves and fake smiles.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is one of the biggest embarrassments for me as far as being a part of this biz. It's done by anchors at all levels, so I guess it's here to stay. But G.D. it looks goofy! There's one particular Headline News anchor (won't mention her name) who STARTS the first sentence of each story with a head swivel, then throws in a few more before she's done. Head bobs, nods, etc. Good grief. Who do you know in "real life" that talks like that? We don't want you on-camera folks to look like statues, but could ya back off a bit with the animatronics???

[capegin]

1) pay

2) money

3) salary

[scrooge]

ditto! Rick Sanchez comes to mind with that description! Seems like a dim bulb and maybe he isn't but with all that posturing, it comes across that way.

[Barmaid, bring a pitcher!]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Slick:

Maybe one day I won't fall out of the shots anymore.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
"Fall out of a shot"
Maybe you should lay off the morning martini. I'm a morning director (call & punch). I have ONE camera/floor person working four cameras (no robotic here, mister!). She does an AWESOME job and is severely underpaid.

Why the hell are you moving around anyway? Got your boxers in a bunch again about having to *gasp* pay for your haircut?

[cam op]

We might be able get the shots framed a little sooner if the anchors would sit up a bit earlier than AT THE LAST SECOND!!!

[Slick]

I do sit up. If you've ever anchored before, which I'm sure you haven't, you can't stay totally still. Moving between shots is inevitable. I'm not talking about exaggerated movements here...I'm talking about slight movements one way or the other that aren't adjusted for.

I'm sure your camera ops are great..and the camera op who responded is great, but ours are not.

I was always taught that a camera op should never take his/her hands off the camera so they're always ready to adjust that shot. Ours spend more time with their arms folded watching the monitor than anything else. They think once the shot is set..that's it. They're done.

That's wrong.

[cam op]

I agree. What I was mainly referring to are anchors who prop their head up on one hand until we have 2 seconds left before we come out of break. They're not exactly helping us get ready in time by doing that.

[Slick]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cam op:
I agree. What I was mainly referring to are anchors who prop their head up on one hand until we have 2 seconds left before we come out of break. They're not exactly helping us get ready in time by doing that.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Thanks. I'm glad some people out there still know how it's supposed to be done.

[Slick]

"Why the hell are you moving around anyway? Got your boxers in a bunch again about having to *gasp* pay for your haircut?"
-----------

Do you ever shift around in your seat while you're directing or do you sit perfectly still during your morning show? Mine is 1 1/2 hours. I don't know about you, but I can't sit in the same spot the whole time. And I don't mind paying for my haircuts at all. Thanks for caring, though.

[Phony]

1. My hair
2. My boobs
3. My teeth

[Bueller, Bueller....]

Come on, no one else wants to change ANYTHING about TV??

[A Distant Fourth]

1. Dump the consultants

2. Dump the flash and trash graphics and meaningless police pursuits

3. Start treating our viewers like they have more than a 3rd grade education

[BIZVET]

1. Show consultants the door! Want research? Do it yourself and save $100,000 a year. 2. Quit making a big deal out of rating book months with "special reports," series, lots of extra promotional hype, etc. If you don't have them in April, you probably won't have them in May. What's that you say? The consultants say different? Refer to suggestion number 1. 3. Quit making the weather person be a one-person band. Layers of management, producers, writers, and reporters are responsible for the news portion; editors, interns and a producer are typically found in the sports department (talking big markets, now) but the weather person is expected to forecast, be an environmental feature reporter, a graphic artist, a producer and an engineer all rolled into one. Get 'em some production help...as a number of smart stations have started to do.

[no-fli-zone]

1. Ground the helicopters

2. Ground the news choppers

3. Ground the "Sky News XYZ" whirlybirds

- especially when you FLY OVER MY STINKIN' HOUSE AT 5:30 AM AND HOVER AT 1000' FOR TWENTY MINUTES SO YOU CAN SHOW THE SAME TRAFFIC JAM FIVE TIMES!!!!!

[Trench Worker]

1. When you're reporting from the field, talk to me as though I was standing next to you. Give it the right amount of excitement, or feeling, hold the drama for those situations that call for it. You're a journalist, not an actor.

2. When you're sitting behind the desk, drop the pretenses. You may be smart in real life, you may not be so smart, but don't talk to me as though you control the information. You're reading it. That's your job. Don't gussy it up. Convey a "we're in this together" feel and things will go just fine. If you feel squeemish about saying something, that's my favorite thing to watch. Do it as straight as possible. We don't need to know what your personal beliefs are. In fact, I'd rather never know.

3. Photographers. Slow down. Exist in the viewfinder. Think before you roll. Choose as interesting a frame as you possibly can. Keep it simple. If something clever or creative exists, go the extra mile, give me that shot.

[infobabe]

1) I'd hire women for the size of their brains, not the size of their boobs.

2) I'd raise salaries for my employees, but I'd also demand quality work for my money.

3) I'd personally fire the next person who utters the following phrases: "topping our news", "exclusive", "team coverage", "coverage you can count on", "live from city hall" (or any other generic location), "breaking news", "only on (insert station here)", "first on (insert station here)", or any other over-used, unimaginative, consultant driven news babble.

[RedJen]

1) Raise salaries
2) Raise the standards for workers
3) Treat viewers like they're AT LEAST as intelligent as the news staff

[Working Grrl]

(1) - Quality of writing, research, and story telling - hire people who look nice and professional, but don't sacrifice on the most important factor - is the person really a journalist, or someone who wants to be on tv?

(2) - Rewarding people who actually work hard. My company says they promote from within, but has yet to prove it.

(3) - Make photojournalism a priority - people who really know how to tell a story with video and sound - people who take the time to light a live shot, etc. - people who take pride in their work ... not just some guy or gal who thinks lights and a tripod are inconvenient. This seems like a no-brainer for most photojournalists - but you would be surprised at how many people are just doing this "just because".

[Mad Producer]

1. I would ban the word "exclusive"

2. I would ban scripted questions during live shots

3. I would ban all reporter cutaways that show the reporter nodding thoughtfully

[!]

1. Pay everyone in the building adult salaries, i.e., salaries people in other professions make at an equivalent level of experience, so we can keep people. This will also mean we'll be able to hire producers, reporters, etc., with experience instead of 22-year-olds.

2. Stop making anchoring appear to be a promotion from reporting. (It is not; there are very different skills involved.) Doing this might require any number of things, but the first is--make sure good anchors are not paid better than good reporters.

3. Hire a large enough staff to do the job right. I want reporters to (a) work on their own beat, and (b) not have to produce a package every day unless they want to. I want enough writers so that everything is written correctly and well, not just as fast as possible. Enough photogs to shoot things well, not "spray" stories. Enough support staff in production so all the jobs are covered. You get the idea.

[Thread Bare]

I'm getting a little worried here folks. If we ban everything that has been suggested in the this thread, our newscasts are going to have about 80% dead air!

[weekendguy]

1. Give everyone on my shift the same work ethic that I have. Bring your "A game" to work everyday folks!!!

2. Get rid of the word "Exclusive". I have exclusive butt hair, but I don't go around telling everyone...now showing everyone... that's a different story!!! Besides, people at home don't go to work the next day saying "Did you see that exclusive story that Channel 3 had last night?" They don't care if it's exclusive.

3. Lose the damn MTV camera work. God, I feel like I'm watching the "Blair Witch Project" everytime I see a snap zoom.

[Weekend Anchor/Reporter]

1. STOP *****ING
2. NO MORE WHINING
3. GET OUT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT.
THIS IS A PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT.

[!]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Thread Bare:
I'm getting a little worried here folks. If we ban everything that has been suggested in the this thread, our newscasts are going to have about 80% dead air! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Funny, though, how the newspaper can fill dozens of pages every single day without resorting to the crap we'd like to ban...

No, there would be plenty of material, especially if we encouraged good writing, to fill the newscasts.

[my moniker]

1) I would take same day turns out of the norm. If we treated news like the public service it is supposed to be, we would hire enough reporters so that everyone would have time to work on 'real journalism' stories. We would have the time to get the right people to interview instead of just whoever is available between 9 and noon -- and we could get all the video we need to support the story. Then breaking news would really be breaking news and live shots could have a purpose.

2) No producer could be a producer without field experience. Then they could lose the "don't let the crew in the feild tell you it can't be done," attitude!
Um - we are here and you are not - and we're telling you it ain't happening!

3) any anchors making 6-figure cash in the same shop where reporters are only making 30K would be required to do more than read and call their kids.
And they sure as heck wouldn't be allowed to eat election night pizza if they haven't been in the field all day "Hello, that food is for the people who haven't had time to pick up their own."

[K]

both main anchors

the cheap owners

better equipment

[photog2]

Turn off the transmitter and go home!

[wassssup]

great thread....

1) News Directors would never, EVER lie. Even if it means hearing things you'd rather not. We'd all be better off in the long run. and in many cases it would save us all lots of time.

2) Kill the "eye candy" factor. Both men and women. I'm tired of sucky anchors who are there cuz they have a good look.

3) I would get all equipment replaced/repaired immediately when its broken.

notice I didn't mention cash. although if those three things were fixed, money wouldn't be as much of an issue with me.

[My_Turn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Thread Bare:
I'm getting a little worried here folks. If we ban everything that has been suggested in the this thread, our newscasts are going to have about 80% dead air! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Perish the thought of this happening, but I think a fairly good move would be to fill that dead air with ..... news.

This thread has more good meaningful replies than most.

Personally, my first choice would be with the poster that said to keep weather break-ins only when severe, not when it's raining somewhere nearby.

Second is all the "Stay here", "Exclusive", "Heard here first", etc. Great way to lose viewers.

Third: NDs, PDs, etc. Lose all that crap mentioned above and use that extra two or three total minutes for MORE real news and stay ahead of your competition!

A station in my market (small) used to begin a story at six, then say, "See how this turns out at ten". I say "used to" as I haven't watched in a long time. That completely turned me off. Suppose I had a late appointment or dinner somewhere and couldn't watch at ten. I just wasted time watching the story's beginning.

What amuses me most is, with all this negative stuff described above, almost all of the stations copy each other and continue the nonsense.

Back to newspapers.