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Supertalk?
- Thread starter Dirtboy6
- Start date
Chris Davis, here. Greetings from WIBC and Network Indiana in Indianapolis. My family decided to move away from our home state and become Hoosiers after four years back home rebuilding and retooling the old Mississippi Network into News Mississippi. I am honored to have served with a great team at TeleSouth and to have helped build a great product with News Mississippi and newsms.fm. My thanks to the bosses at TeleSouth for doing what it took to make the network matter again and to bring an exciting delivery on multiple platforms to the Magnolia State.
That being said, I'll miss all my Mississippi peeps. We're living in a big city with lots of great radio now and I do get homesick now and then. But I gotta tell ya, that's a long drive back home. I don't know if we'll ever live in Mississippi again, but if we do I probably will be working in another profession.
I think we built something great and I wish Courtney and the crew the best on continuing to build it and improve it.
All the best,
Chris Davis
That being said, I'll miss all my Mississippi peeps. We're living in a big city with lots of great radio now and I do get homesick now and then. But I gotta tell ya, that's a long drive back home. I don't know if we'll ever live in Mississippi again, but if we do I probably will be working in another profession.
I think we built something great and I wish Courtney and the crew the best on continuing to build it and improve it.
All the best,
Chris Davis
It has been four years since I left Mississippi. If you don’t remember, I was the news director for News Mississippi, what used to be called the Mississippi Network or Miss Net News.
This tale is not meant to disparage anyone, or insult anyone’s efforts. I simply believe that the four years that I spent there were the pinnacle of that network, and the story of why I was there and what has happened since I left should be told.
I have a long history of doing radio news in Mississippi. I have been in the business for 22 years and have worked for some really great companies. But, Mississippi does not have any news powerhouse stations like WSB, or WBBM. So, that was my goal in rebuilding and retooling the old network that I had grown up in the business listening to. I wanted to make it marketable, something that affiliate stations would be proud to have on the air.
I was recruited, drafted in a way, to come there and lead the news department. The first time that the boss called me, I had just hours earlier accepted a job at KRMG, a station with a pristine reputation in Tulsa. it was and is the number one news talk station there, with an all professional crew of great news writers and people who know how to deliver.
The Mississippi Network was struggling. A very reputable consultant told the bosses that they should either improve what they were doing or toss their news product. The formula was three short AP stories, a one minute spot, then three more short AP stories. It had been that way for years. But, they had given up AP as many stations have. so, they were actually having to write some stories and they just didn’t know how. Using sound was even more foreign to that crew. I specialize in both. And, since I was from Mississippi, they appealed to my sense of love for my home state in convincing me to leave a job that I had just started.
With the help of the aforementioned nationally known consultant, I retooled the news product, hired a new crew for the most part, and built an actual Newsroom thanks to the generosity of management. They were operating out of separate editing bays at the time.
By the time those four years ended, we had pristine sounding news casts that were worthy of a major market.
When I came there, it was on the contingent that management would stay out of news content. I wanted news to be completely non-biased. If you know anything about that company, then you know that their reputation is for being heavily involved in state politics. I never had a problem with that whatsoever. They make their money off of being a conservative talk network. But, I wanted the newest product to have complete integrity. I insisted on that.
My last broadcast was election coverage. In the four years that I had been there it had been a product of News Mississippi. but, in the general election of 2015, management decided to make it a talk product. The person they put in charge of the broadcast wasn’t giving out totals, which is why people turn into election coverage. I was relegated to being on the sidelines. I knew that the integrity of the news product had been compromised to the point where I no longer want to be a part of it. it wasn’t just that night, it was a series of events, and I knew that certain political figures did not appreciate anything but one-sided coverage of some state political issues. I would do it the same way now. I insisted that all sides must be covered.
I did something rather dramatic and walked out of the broadcast. kids, I don’t recommend you try that at home.
So, I made a deal with WIBC, Network Indiana and here I am. I win state, regional and national awards, and have a stellar reputation because I work hard, and put my skill and talent to use properly. I lead and show others how to do this job, which I believe is of the utmost importance.
I write this only after returning home and listening to the news product that they are airing now. I wish them only the best, but they seem to be a rudderless crew, Reading off press releases verbatim, and using minimal sound.
The crew that I hired left one by one after I did, disillusioned by the broken back of a once well run machine. They had talent, but they needed a leader. I only wish that the company had searched for an adequate replacement. I wish they had looked for someone who knew radio news, instead of going a cheap route. but, it’s tough to find someone who not only knows their business, but will also stand up to management when appropriate.
I am not a bitter has been. I am still going strong in this business and I intend to stay in it as long as it will have me. I intend to continue pressing for the values of good storytelling, great news writing, the use of sound to tell the story, and most of all integrity.
Most of the people who work for that company are dedicated and kind. They come to work every day hoping to serve the people of the state of Mississippi.
I only tell the story so that people know, the people who care about radio that is, a little bit about the evolution of that product as it relates to my career and as it relates to the grand scheme of radio in Mississippi.
The Magnolia State once had four years of great radio news. We sounded the best ( National award for Best Newscast in 2014) and it could be that way again if they find the right person to lead the team and if they are willing to step up as a company, as they once did.
Feel free to email or message me.
This tale is not meant to disparage anyone, or insult anyone’s efforts. I simply believe that the four years that I spent there were the pinnacle of that network, and the story of why I was there and what has happened since I left should be told.
I have a long history of doing radio news in Mississippi. I have been in the business for 22 years and have worked for some really great companies. But, Mississippi does not have any news powerhouse stations like WSB, or WBBM. So, that was my goal in rebuilding and retooling the old network that I had grown up in the business listening to. I wanted to make it marketable, something that affiliate stations would be proud to have on the air.
I was recruited, drafted in a way, to come there and lead the news department. The first time that the boss called me, I had just hours earlier accepted a job at KRMG, a station with a pristine reputation in Tulsa. it was and is the number one news talk station there, with an all professional crew of great news writers and people who know how to deliver.
The Mississippi Network was struggling. A very reputable consultant told the bosses that they should either improve what they were doing or toss their news product. The formula was three short AP stories, a one minute spot, then three more short AP stories. It had been that way for years. But, they had given up AP as many stations have. so, they were actually having to write some stories and they just didn’t know how. Using sound was even more foreign to that crew. I specialize in both. And, since I was from Mississippi, they appealed to my sense of love for my home state in convincing me to leave a job that I had just started.
With the help of the aforementioned nationally known consultant, I retooled the news product, hired a new crew for the most part, and built an actual Newsroom thanks to the generosity of management. They were operating out of separate editing bays at the time.
By the time those four years ended, we had pristine sounding news casts that were worthy of a major market.
When I came there, it was on the contingent that management would stay out of news content. I wanted news to be completely non-biased. If you know anything about that company, then you know that their reputation is for being heavily involved in state politics. I never had a problem with that whatsoever. They make their money off of being a conservative talk network. But, I wanted the newest product to have complete integrity. I insisted on that.
My last broadcast was election coverage. In the four years that I had been there it had been a product of News Mississippi. but, in the general election of 2015, management decided to make it a talk product. The person they put in charge of the broadcast wasn’t giving out totals, which is why people turn into election coverage. I was relegated to being on the sidelines. I knew that the integrity of the news product had been compromised to the point where I no longer want to be a part of it. it wasn’t just that night, it was a series of events, and I knew that certain political figures did not appreciate anything but one-sided coverage of some state political issues. I would do it the same way now. I insisted that all sides must be covered.
I did something rather dramatic and walked out of the broadcast. kids, I don’t recommend you try that at home.
So, I made a deal with WIBC, Network Indiana and here I am. I win state, regional and national awards, and have a stellar reputation because I work hard, and put my skill and talent to use properly. I lead and show others how to do this job, which I believe is of the utmost importance.
I write this only after returning home and listening to the news product that they are airing now. I wish them only the best, but they seem to be a rudderless crew, Reading off press releases verbatim, and using minimal sound.
The crew that I hired left one by one after I did, disillusioned by the broken back of a once well run machine. They had talent, but they needed a leader. I only wish that the company had searched for an adequate replacement. I wish they had looked for someone who knew radio news, instead of going a cheap route. but, it’s tough to find someone who not only knows their business, but will also stand up to management when appropriate.
I am not a bitter has been. I am still going strong in this business and I intend to stay in it as long as it will have me. I intend to continue pressing for the values of good storytelling, great news writing, the use of sound to tell the story, and most of all integrity.
Most of the people who work for that company are dedicated and kind. They come to work every day hoping to serve the people of the state of Mississippi.
I only tell the story so that people know, the people who care about radio that is, a little bit about the evolution of that product as it relates to my career and as it relates to the grand scheme of radio in Mississippi.
The Magnolia State once had four years of great radio news. We sounded the best ( National award for Best Newscast in 2014) and it could be that way again if they find the right person to lead the team and if they are willing to step up as a company, as they once did.
Feel free to email or message me.
Marvelous story. Entertaining, informative, distressing, encouraging, thoughtful. And well written, as we'd expect.
I think we've talked about these state news networks in Nebraska and other places. They're very hard to sustain without some kind of partner, whether its a major market station, a college or university, or a state government. Without any of those things, all you have is spot revenue, and in a small state like Mississippi, it's not a lot of money. At one time, it was possible to have a free standing independent traffic & news service. That was the model for companies like Metro Traffic. Without a partner such as iHeart, that kind of thing is almost impossible to do now.
We have one here in Wyoming, CSNN.. the Cowboy State News Network. Owned by the guy who owns KFBC Cheyenne, WY. They survive on spot sales and seem to do ok. I forget how long the newscasts are and we run them on the station i work for... 3 1/2 minutes i think with a 1 minute spot break. thjey run liek 6am to 7pm. They also have the Cowboy State sports Network with the same kinda deal
The issue once again is funding. There have been active attempts to cut funding for MPB over the years, including a move last year to eliminate it completely. Most of MPB's attention is placed in education, rather than news. Any news coverage would be seen as political, so it becomes something to avoid.
Go figure, I returned to Mississippi in 2015. It's too bad we lost you.
If PRM (THINK RADIO?) would lighten up on the Liberal Crap... they might get more support !
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