What if...

[Bureau Chief]

What if we eliminated the "faces" on the newscast all together? Maybe a two shot at the open, and then go right into the stories with a wipe from story to story. Limited face time for all, just when you open a new block? To fast paced? Just an idea I was thinking about. Thoughts?
The rapid fire pace would allow for higher story count..or if sales has their way...more commercials.

[The Fedora]

Been Tried...

[Y2J]

Sounds like the newscast at my old station. They'd do like 25-30 quick stories in the 'A' block, anchor 1 intros first story then just wipe from video to video to video until anchor 2, intro story, video, video, video. Rapid fire pace, higher story count, yes, but lower quality content, too. I thought it was horrible and so did the viewers that consistently made our newscast #3 by a wide margin.

[TAFKA wacowx]

Interesting question.

Heck, do we really even NEED anchors to introduce stories? Can packages be created that don't need someone to intro them and can these be assembled in a way that could allow a newscast to flow?

[Bureau Chief]

I would think that once you had the format down, you could lead off your package with a stand up that would act as an intro. It would have to become habit among the troops to work.

[DoneThatToo]

If you take the faces out of the equation how long before you (and the viewer) get REALLY tired of that wallpaper video?? or another stupid full screen?? or a map that is next to usless (gee another 3 car pile up on I-XX)?? or whatever else it is that is used to fill the time??

You can keep the pace and include studio camera shots. Really you can.

Sure you can assemble a bunch of pkgs together I guess but then what happens to your flow? Suzy Q in the field would have to know what her story was going to follow to have an intro that was worth a hoot. If you don't have a transition then it would be like stringing together a bunch of CNN pkgs in a playlist and hoping for the best. But you could edit them all together and dump the control room and crew. Lower thirds and fullscreens can be created in NL edit bays.

OK I guess you have figured out that I am not a fan of this idea.

But hey, I'm just an old fuddy duddy.:rockon:

[MOCR]

Anyone remember Science International/What Will They Think of Next?

This thread reminded me about that show from the late 70s/early 80s.

No/little talking heads in that show; mostly narration as the camera panned over colorfully animated still frames.

It was hosted by Joseph Campenella and Tiiu Leek as I recall...

[ISTHISTHINGON?]

I'm not sure it'd work on the local level. It seems like you'd have a problem with transitions from story to story. Of course, I've seen many many on-air types not very good at transitions....but you stand a better chance at pulling it off with the least awkwardness.

[east coast producer]

I did this at my old station, which was an "action" format, on days when local news was light and there was a lot of great video from Newspath and Newsource. I called it my "superwipe" segment ... and I sometimes even felt bad for the tape op. Lots of live, too, from both local ENG/SNG and the networks when some event was feeding live.

It's what management wanted, and I delivered the eye candy and action. The consultant, actually, wanted more.. to the degree of technical impossibility. He didn't let physics get in the way!

I don't think it's bad. It all depends on what the station, market and demos want. There's no right or wrong way to produce news, just different ways. I think quite often saying what needs to be said about something then moving on to something else is more appropriate than going into a degree of detail on a story of limited appeal.

Or to say it another way:

I produced high-count newscasts.
Management wanted it, and the consultant wanted even more.
Shows like that can work, and so can slower paces.

[Head Janitor]

I like the idea of a reporter pkg that can be a complete stand-alone to either start off a block or come out of a pacer.

But I wouldn't build an entire newscast that way. It is a tool to keep things moving and looking fresh. You combine it with other elements and your newscast is hopping!

[TVMattNYC]

What if we eliminated the "faces" on the newscast all together? Maybe a two shot at the open, and then go right into the stories with a wipe from story to story. Limited face time for all, just when you open a new block? To fast paced? Just an idea I was thinking about. Thoughts?
The rapid fire pace would allow for higher story count..or if sales has their way...more commercials.

Actually, when you think about it, all of the very best television documentaries NEVER show the "host" or "narrator". In fact, the host never even gives his name! It's just a credit at the end of the show.

Works for me.

[east coast producer]

I like the idea of a reporter pkg that can be a complete stand-alone to either start off a block or come out of a pacer.


I don't see how this could be done without it seeming awkward with the reporter appearing out of nowhere. The anchors were introduced at the top of the newscast. I can't imagine how it wouldn't seem weird if the reporter wasn't introduced first before his liveshot/looklive aired. *Maybe* with a storystarter animation, but still.. I can't conceive of a way where it wouldn't look odd.

[east coast producer]

Actually, when you think about it, all of the very best television documentaries NEVER show the "host" or "narrator". In fact, the host never even gives his name! It's just a credit at the end of the show.

Works for me.

Yea but the viewer is tuning in because he's already bought what the documentary's selling. He doesn't care who's narrating it ... he's already attached to the niche content from what he's read in tvguide or saw in promos.

As you know, in news, there's an effort to connect with the viewer emotionally by encouraging them develop a fondness for the anchors. Since whatever niche interests the viewer has may not be represented in the show, they're not really tethered to it and can wander to competitors' newscasts. Otherwise, they have little reason to develop a loyalty to a brand when the content between competitors is usually similar.

[Produce man]

No offense, but if this question is legit, there's a reason you're still at the bureau...

[Head Janitor]

I don't see how this could be done without it seeming awkward with the reporter appearing out of nowhere. The anchors were introduced at the top of the newscast. I can't imagine how it wouldn't seem weird if the reporter wasn't introduced first before his liveshot/looklive aired. *Maybe* with a storystarter animation, but still.. I can't conceive of a way where it wouldn't look odd.


{restart pacer}
((you're watching XYZ 8..your home for neighborhood news))
{pkg}
good evening...i'm suzy reporter.. here in this Suburb neighborhood -- people aren't fighting crime -- they're fighting fireants!
[pkg body]
so now you know why the smell of gasoline is so prevelant when you drive through Suburb.
Dick and Jane?
{anchor 2-shot}
Next story...

Once again, I wouldn't build a whole newscast around it..just another tool in the toolbox.

[Bureau Chief]

No offense, but if this question is legit, there's a reason you're still at the bureau...

Im NOT still at the bureau...and its a completely legit question. Looking for some new ideas is all. We ( the local news) cant go on like we are right now. Weve had that argument before. As long as producers and NDs stick their head in the sand and say"this is the only way it will work because this is the way weve done it for years"....we will keep losing viewers to the internet and other outlets. Our long term viewers are dying off...the younger demo gets their info in a different way than we are used to offering...so Im looking at new angles to beat a dead horse.

[Produce man]

You're "looking for new angles to beat a dead horse"?? What is THAT supposed to mean?

Again, no offense, but I'm not making much sense out of this statement.

[!]

Im NOT still at the bureau...and its a completely legit question. Looking for some new ideas is all. We ( the local news) cant go on like we are right now. Weve had that argument before. As long as producers and NDs stick their head in the sand and say"this is the only way it will work because this is the way weve done it for years"....we will keep losing viewers to the internet and other outlets. Our long term viewers are dying off...the younger demo gets their info in a different way than we are used to offering...so Im looking at new angles to beat a dead horse.

Problem is, what you're suggesting is essentially cosmetic.

You've heard the term "polishing a turd?"

If "we can't go on like we are right now," then this isn't a real solution. And, besides, it HAS been tried before, in several markets.

[Produce man]

You've heard the term "polishing a turd?"
I believe Butthead coined the phrase in 1993.

(well, that's the first time I heard it.)

[TVMattNYC]

Yea but the viewer is tuning in because he's already bought what the documentary's selling. He doesn't care who's narrating it ... he's already attached to the niche content from what he's read in tvguide or saw in promos.

As you know, in news, there's an effort to connect with the viewer emotionally by encouraging them develop a fondness for the anchors. Since whatever niche interests the viewer has may not be represented in the show, they're not really tethered to it and can wander to competitors' newscasts. Otherwise, they have little reason to develop a loyalty to a brand when the content between competitors is usually similar.

If that were true, no one would ever get their news from newspapers, radio, or even the Internet.

[east coast producer]

FINE.

"In *TV* news, there's an effort to connect with viewers emotionally..."

Happy?

[CKMD]

It wouldn't work in markets where people NEED their anchors...and most markets, medium to small, are like that.

People NEED to see their friend in the morning and at 5 and 6. They let them into the home.

My wife is an anchor...and it makes me sick to see viewers fawn all over her like she's someone important when we go out. She is important ...to me and my child and our families.
Why do people she doesn't even know NEED her? It's bizzare and sad. Even she will admit she's just an anchor...I guess, though, that's why she's so popular here....she's everyone's best friend and the first person they see every morning.

[TVMattNYC]

It wouldn't work in markets where people NEED their anchors...and most markets, medium to small, are like that.

People NEED to see their friend in the morning and at 5 and 6. They let them into the home.

My wife is an anchor...and it makes me sick to see viewers fawn all over her like she's someone important when we go out. She is important ...to me and my child and our families.
Why do people she doesn't even know NEED her? It's bizzare and sad. Even she will admit she's just an anchor...I guess, though, that's why she's so popular here....she's everyone's best friend and the first person they see every morning.

It's a form of mass-induced mental illness that we should stop immediately.

If you need to let a friend into your home in the morning, get friendly with the milkman.

[Produce man]

Just don't ask for the "special" milk.

[Mighty Dyckerson]

Just don't ask for the "special" milk.

Yeah, make sure you save that for Prodouche Bag.

[adam & doctor drew]

depends how good and well-liked your anchors are.
if they're beloved figures, you'd be foolish to limit their face time.

but if you have mediocre anchors who aren't really making a dent, why not try it?
what do you have to lose?

it's the struggling stations that have to (and probably should) "try something different."
the top-rated stations have no reason to change what they're doing (as boring and formulaic as it may be).

[TVMattNYC]

Yeah, make sure you save that for Prodouche Bag.

Get a room already, you two.

[Another side]

They still have "milk men" in New York City?

[The Mockingbird]

I think the best part of this thread is that people think this idea is a revolutionary idea.

The problem with television news is that most of the content is superficial crap, or wire stories the viewer can get from a less time-consuming source.

The entire presentation model has been screwed for at least 20 years, but management was too busy stacking piles of cash to notice.

[Produce man]

Get a room already, you two.Won't happen. I could never replace his laytex keyboard cover and box of Kleenex.

[Mighty Dyckerson]

Won't happen. I could never replace his laytex keyboard cover and box of Kleenex.


Dear Lord, please provide Prodouche Bag with at least one joke that doesn't totally suck. Amen.

[Bureau Chief]

It's really is disturbing the way dykes multiple personalities keep arguing with themselves. It's also disturbing the way every thread degenerates into a mud slinging contest because three or four of those personalities cant resist behaving like 6 year olds.

Moderators...what we need here is a thread lock, one that the original poster could activate to shut the riot down when the tiny penis crowd starts shouting "look at me!".

[Diplomat]

ABC tried this in the 1960s with a late night newscast that had no anchor. Reporters simply tossed to each other. The sales department didn't like it, saying they couldn't sell a program that had "nobody on it to sell," to quote one account I read of this.

Don't know if it would work today but I doubt it. People often tune in to a particular newscast to see their favorite anchors.

[TVMattNYC]

ABC tried this in the 1960s with a late night newscast that had no anchor. Reporters simply tossed to each other. The sales department didn't like it, saying they couldn't sell a program that had "nobody on it to sell," to quote one account I read of this.

Don't know if it would work today but I doubt it. People often tune in to a particular newscast to see their favorite anchors.

Or rather, that's what the consultants TELL us.

And we know how accurate THEY can be.

[Spike]

I would rather do it a different way. Get rid of all the reporters. Have one anchor with a laid back, friendly style. Slow down the pace and have a lower story count.

All packages would be nat packs, not that flashy NPPA photog masturbation but real documentary-style nat packs that actually tell stories. The anchor would simply transition between them. No false urgency. No overly dramatic delivery. Just a nice chat with a friend at the end of the day who has a few important things to show you.

I think I would want this guy to host it:

http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/2006/09/11/1014231/Ken_Smith-300x400.jpg

[s'news]

Long ago, WBBM-TV in Chicago ran late-night news with Harry Porterfield voicing intros to packages. But they ran a station logo on the screen whenever his intros ran, which were apparently on tape. It was strangely hypnotic.

An FM radio station in Chicago used to run nighttime casts with taped packages that would stand alone. The DJ or engineer could then just pop them in, one after the other, with no anchor. Each pack would start with a headline and the reporter name. So you'd get something like "A protest turns ugly, I'm Joe Schmoe," and then the rest of the story. Then they hit the button for the next cart when Schmoe's story ends. I never heard what it sounded like, but filed a few stories as a stringer.