ShopTalk When To Tell and When To Sell By Doug Drew on Nov. 12, 2009 - 12:00 AM Most producers have to write a pre-show tease or headline at the top of the newscast. Almost everyone does them the same way, usually three top stories, each with a piece of video, with wipes between each one. Usually it’s t ...
ShopTalk Latest Trends in Local TV News By Doug Drew on Nov. 6, 2009 - 12:00 AM With station budgets being squeezed, a lot of stations have put research projects on hold. That means a lot of newsrooms dont have the amount of information they normally have to make strategic decisions. In todays column I interv ...
ShopTalk How to Plan a Morning Newscast By Doug Drew on Oct. 22, 2009 - 12:00 AM The most important elements of a successful morning newscast don’t occur during the newscast, they occur before and after the show. An editorial meeting should be held each morning immediately following the newscast. It is i ...
ShopTalk Soundbites: Lessons from David Letterman’s Admission By Doug Drew on Oct. 8, 2009 - 12:00 AM How many newsrooms ran sound from David Letterman admitting he had sex with women on his staff? Letterman’s on-air admission provided a ton of great soundbites. Some really memorable sound! But most soundbites I see on local ...
ShopTalk The Dangers Of File Tape By Doug Drew on Oct. 1, 2009 - 12:00 AM One of the big stories in Los Angeles this week is the horrific weightlifting accident involving a USC football player. Stafon Johnson was bench pressing 275 pounds when the bar slipped and came crashing down on his throat. Lame b ...
ShopTalk People-Centric Newscasts By Doug Drew on Sep. 25, 2009 - 12:00 AM The headline from CNN.com’s coverage of the Georgia floods yesterday caught my attention: Drowning Mother: “Please come help me!” It was an incredible story about a victim of raging flood waters. Because CNN cent ...
ShopTalk National News in Local Morning Newscasts By Doug Drew on Sep. 24, 2009 - 12:00 AM The headline from CNN.com’s coverage of the Georgia floods yesterday caught my attention: Drowning Mother: “Please come help me!” It was an incredible story about a victim of raging flood waters. Because CNN cent ...
ShopTalk National News in Local Morning Newscasts By Doug Drew on Sep. 17, 2009 - 12:00 AM One of the most interesting pieces of information that came out of the latest Pew Research Study was about how viewers rely on television for national and international news: The poll finds that television remains the dominant new ...
ShopTalk Lobster Free Newscasts By Doug Drew on Sep. 10, 2009 - 12:00 AM The most successful stations in the country know exactly who their viewers are and select stories targeted toward that audience. Do you know who your viewers are and what’s on their mind? While each market, each station, and ...
ShopTalk Traffic and Weather, Don’t Rush! By Doug Drew on Sep. 3, 2009 - 12:00 AM Ask viewers in research what they are most interested in a local newscast and they will usually say weather and traffic. But traffic and weather are often poorly produced and often leave the viewer frustrated. Weather Probably the ...