For Jeff Macke, the difference between hosting a show on cable and hosting a show online comes down to the difference between filling space vs. filling need. The demands of a being tied to a specific time period doesn’t allow for the type of freedom being online does, where Macke can watch stories unfold throughout the day, producing segments as needed.
The former founding co-host of CNBC’s Fast Money and current Yahoo Finance investment reporter spoke with Mediabistro about the right way to challenge guests, how he anticipates audience needs and how a digital format changes the competitive landscape:
If your viewer is coming online to see you, you have to give them something that they’re actively selecting — that they want to see. You don’t have a passive audience that’s just going to drift across your stuff. We’re conscious of the fact that we’re competing against not two other financial news stations, but everything. Your competition, if you’re doing an online show, is pretty much every piece of digital content conceivable, which is an awful wide space.
For more from Macke, including what drives on-screen pundits, read, So What Do You Do, Jeff Macke, Author and Investment Reporter for Yahoo Finance?