Criteria of a good newscast...

[searadiofreak]

Wow, I had assumed that Van Amburg died years ago. I know Pete Wilson, also of KGO fame passed away about five years ago. If Amburg is still alive, then this smacks of Johnny Carson, totally going away from public eye after his last gig. BTW, Amburg had a cameo in the 1972 Robert Redford political-drama "The Candidate".

As for TV news, now more than ever the visual is critical. The internet demands that TV news become much more visual and interactive. However, what I see is TV news sets and graphics all looking alike these days. Whatever happened to each station showing a distinct style? I think this is still important.

http://richliebermanreport.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-ever-happened-to-van-amburg-kgo-tv.html
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[recto101]

Wow, I had assumed that Van Amburg died years ago. I know Pete Wilson, also of KGO fame passed away about five years ago. If Amburg is still alive, then this smacks of Johnny Carson, totally going away from public eye after his last gig. BTW, Amburg had a cameo in the 1972 Robert Redford political-drama "The Candidate".

As for TV news, now more than ever the visual is critical. The internet demands that TV news become much more visual and interactive. However, what I see is TV news sets and graphics all looking alike these days. Whatever happened to each station showing a distinct style? I think this is still important.

http://richliebermanreport.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-ever-happened-to-van-amburg-kgo-tv.html

[/quote]

Today TV and Radio all-news stations need a Youtube Witness to cover a story or a paid stringer to do the news.

 

[onairb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td_qGilgtdQ

Check this 1974 60 Minutes episode with Mike Wallace. Wallace examines why KGO ABC7 in San Francisco did Tabloid News over Cronkite style news that CBS Network and local O&O's did in the 1970's. Russ Coughlin the KGO News Director and GM in the 1970's said to attract ratings.

KGO was also known for its star anchor, Van Amberg, who anchored the newscast from the late-1960s until his abrupt firing in December 1986. Since then, he practically just disappeared. Word has it that, as of January 2011, he's still around...

http://richliebermanreport.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-ever-happened-to-van-amburg-kgo-tv.html

Amburg's last KGO newscast was at the end of August, 1986. His firing was announced on a Monday, but he was allowed to do one final week, and say an on-air goodbye on Friday.

 

[PirateJohnny]

I have worked alongside a few news departments in my years in broadcasting. I have edited video news stories and operated a satellite truck. My current job is master control, though. The news broadcasts I remember from my younger days, before I got in the business, were all about the facts. Newscasts today are treated more like show business than news business. Photogs and editors are being taught "MTV" style quick cuts and close-ups. I've seen stories with so many close-ups and quick edits I didn't know what the story was about. I've seen stories with no wide/establishing shots. I had no idea where the story was taking place. The road they mentioned was 20 miles long and the close-ups gave no clue where they were. I've seen stories run with crap for video just to have video instead of a talking head. Name/location supers don't air long enough to read them. I think a good rule of thumb is leave it up long enough for us (since we know what it says) to read it quickly three times. And edit the story with video long enough for a super. I've seen stories with an interview covered by b-roll and only 1-1/2 seconds of face-time for a name super. When I edited (video-tape) for a 10PM newscast a few years ago, I kept video up long enough to recognize it then I cut to the next video. A simple shot ran for less time than a complicated shot. It was easy to do with video tape (linear) editing, but non-linear editing today makes it possible for a story to be edited and never watch the whole thing in real time until it airs.
A big gripe is all the teasing. Don't tell me what you're going to tell me. Just tell me the news! The time taken up for teases could be used for two or three more stories in some cases. And if you DO tease something at the end of the A-block, don't tease an F-block story, tease a B-block story. I'll get tired of waiting for it or I'll think I missed it somehow. In the first network break at 7:15 for a local news tease don't tell me "We'll tell you what area towns need to boil their water, tonight at 10". I'll panic for almost three hours. (Yes, I have heard that one).
My biggest gripe about the changes i've seen is how newscasts now are presented more like big lavish movies, with graphics and b-roll video out the wazoo. I'd like to do a study group with two groups. One watches a current newscast with all bells and whistles and the other watches talking heads deliver the same content. Then I want to know which group comprehends the news better.

Advertisers wouldn't really care about that, though, so what's the use? As long as people watch, commercial time will be sold. We can't charge more for better comprehension or understanding of the news. And that's a damn shame.

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

My belief is that stations would do well to cut about half the crime stories out of their shows and do a lot more with local government, community development, education, etc. Find good reporters who can develop good sources in all those places and let them come up with the best story ideas. Then make sure they are good storytellers who have the time and resources to tell those stories in a visually compelling manner. Do that day in and day out. Build trust and connect with the audience through your storytelling and it won't matter who gets to the next fire first.. those viewers will be watching you anyway.

The station I work for (Houston's Fox O&O) has been going this route for about a year and viewers are responding...ratings for the 5pm newscast have nearly doubled and we've placed 2nd (in the 25-54 demos) for the last 2 ratings periods. 9pm is up as well, but not as much (I think primarily because of lead-in issues).

But our reporters turn well developed, well produced stories that get people talking. Do we cover breaking news? Of course...but we don't generally chase the "crime-of-the-moment" just to put a breaking news banner on it.

Yes, that gets covered too. On Tuesday, last week, we had a car chase AND a woman shot the mother of a 3-day-old baby, then kidnapped the infant. We did a live break-in on the car chase as it was happening, but it became a 30-second VO during the newscast. We did a live shot on the shooting at 5pm (scene/investigation was still in progress) and the reporter turned a package for the 9pm (live from the scene...one of the few times I've seen them do this since I started in September). Generally our lives shots are more tied to the story than simply being "live for the sake of being live" (For example, our business-beat reporter, a few months back, did a story on the booming brewpub/artisan beer industry with a live shot from the bar attached to the brewing company. Perhaps didn't add a ton to the story, but made it slightly more interesting than fronting it from the studio).

The other stations, in addition to the shooting, had live shots from the scene where the chase ended for their early newscasts.

The most ridiculous live shot I've watched recently was on the CBS station a couple days prior. A tire-sized hole opened up in the roadbed of one of the freeways (in an area that is under reconstruction), damaging several vehicles. TxDOT arrived fairly quickly and closed the lanes to start repairs, yet that station had a live reporter during it's 4 and 5pm shows to voice previously-recorded chopper video of the hole (and a few seconds of ground video of the repairs), labeled of course "breaking news".

 

[TVCOOL]

a newscast aired on either Fox News Channel and/or your local FOX station.

 

[JeeperOne]

a newscast aired on either Fox News Channel and/or your local FOX station.

Umm.....Sorry but FNC DOES NOT pale in comparison to the local FOX stations. Even the FOX O&O's are trying to distance themselves from the crap spewed forth on FNC by offering a product which they know will be successful in the eyes of THEIR audience - NOT that of FNC

Cheers & 73 ;D

 

[Mark Giardina]

For me the criteria of a good newscast starts with the anchor(s).

Just read the news and stop offering "cutesy" comments after each story. One noted national news anchor is famous for that.

Good field reporters and videographers are a must.

Any station with a revolving door policy when it comes to personnel is doomed to fail from the start.

There was one such TV station in the city where I live that went through staff on a regular basis and the station paid for it with poor ratings and mediocre reporting. Fortunately the light bulb finally went off in the heads of those at corporate and the guillotine policy went away. Now this station is not only competitive but offers a decent news product.

 

[firepoint525]

I watched a recent Sunday evening newscast on my local Fox station, and heard and saw nearly every mistake mentioned here. Dead air, mikes not turned on, video not starting on time, you name it.

One of my biggest pet peeves with them is that they leave their reporters "hanging" out there. A field reporter once finished her story, the anchor took over, but they stayed with the shot of the field reporter so long that she finally walked off-camera, probably unaware that she was still on!

They are also very bad about NOT cuing the field reporter that they are on-camera at the beginning of a story, so you see the reporter just standing there, holding the mike, staring blankly at the camera, and I'm screaming at the TV set, "tell him he's on!"

And they are VERY bad about teasing. I once saw (within the same hour!) SIX teases for a given story before they finally got around to it.

But I like when they tell me at what specific time they will get to a given story. They usually do this with their extended weather foreceast, but sometimes other stories as well.

 

[bmasters1981]

a newscast aired on either Fox News Channel and/or your local FOX station.

Umm.....Sorry but FNC DOES NOT pale in comparison to the local FOX stations. Even the FOX O&O's are trying to distance themselves from the crap spewed forth on FNC by offering a product which they know will be successful in the eyes of THEIR audience - NOT that of FNC

Cheers & 73 ;D

Exactly! That's what I was going to say. Here, FOX Carolina is really good, and my most liked station, but FOX News will never be a favorite of mine.

 

[crainbebo]

I watched a recent Sunday evening newscast on my local Fox station, and heard and saw nearly every mistake mentioned here. Dead air, mikes not turned on, video not starting on time, you name it.

One of my biggest pet peeves with them is that they leave their reporters "hanging" out there. A field reporter once finished her story, the anchor took over, but they stayed with the shot of the field reporter so long that she finally walked off-camera, probably unaware that she was still on!

They are also very bad about NOT cuing the field reporter that they are on-camera at the beginning of a story, so you see the reporter just standing there, holding the mike, staring blankly at the camera, and I'm screaming at the TV set, "tell him he's on!"

And they are VERY bad about teasing. I once saw (within the same hour!) SIX teases for a given story before they finally got around to it.

But I like when they tell me at what specific time they will get to a given story. They usually do this with their extended weather foreceast, but sometimes other stories as well.

That is horrible! Come on producers, get with it!

Just like I said, breaking news that happened five hours before is not good to title "Breaking News." Developing Story is more like it.

-crainbebo

 

[PTBoardOp94]

For me the criteria of a good newscast starts with the anchor(s).

Just read the news and stop offering "cutesy" comments after each story. One noted national news anchor is famous for that.

I think this statement describes all of the "big three" anchors from the day Charlie Gibson retired until Katie Couric was pushed out at CBS.  So obviously focus groups like the anchor chat...

 

[searadiofreak]

The local news tease thing is out of control, and it also is at the cable nets.

Tease, tease, tease. Then the actual story is only slightly longer than the tease. You see, the tease IS the story. Find an interesting premise, sell the audience that this WILL be interesting, and at the end under deliver. And some wonder why local news gets a bad rap.

 

[recto101]

I look at CBS Evening News Today and I see Scott Pelley attempt to ressurect the Cronkite era style of TV News today and at the same time I see Pelley Working hard to keep Mike Wallaces Legacy alive on 60 minutes.