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2009 Table of Contents
The Rundown

Successful television today

Table of Contents 1983-2008

TV News:
How They Covered It

President Murdered
Attack On America
Hurricane!
Drugs
Sex Offenders
Food Dangers
Prisoners, Victims
Commuter Survival
Win Elections
   
Cover Breaking News Live
   
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Peabody Winner:
Powerful Politician Exposed


WWL-TV anchor Bill Elder and News Director Joe Duke lead an expose of a high profile legislator in New Orleans the early 1990s. Refusing to be intimidated by threats, and reporting the story initially alone in the local media, the news team pressed on.
The list of allegations from former employees, patients, a bounty hunter and others was a long one. A prominent politician made millions by billing the state for drug treatment programs. Drug use was rampant drug at those treatment centers. Counselors were involved in sex with teenaged girls.

Reporting and Surviving
the 1989 Earthquake

It was the biggest earthquake to hit California since 1906.
Thanks to aggressive news departments, Bay Area residents heard the initial facts and saw the dramatic pictures within minutes. The images were unforgettable. A double-decker freeway collapsed upon itself. A roaring fire covered a city block.  A section of the Bay Bridge collapsed.

Viewers want to know where the money is going
The impact of the federal stimulus package is being tracked aggressively by WFOR- TV, Miami.
"As in any good investigation, the mantra is 'follow the money.' What other story could that apply to more than the stimulus money?" says Adrienne Roark, News Director.

Deteriorating Paradise: Station Fights To Save Region

The great barrier islands, bays, and salt marshes of North Carolina were threatened. The VP/GM of WRAL-TV, Raleigh, John Greene, shared with The Rundown the specifics of a major station project.

Summer Heat: Covering The Great Blackout Live
Fifty million people lost their electricity on August 14, 2003. In spite of incredibly difficult conditions, broadcasters jury-rigged equipment and devised creative solutions to stay on the air and serve their communities. Several executives discussed how they did it:
Ken Plotnik, New Director, WABC-TV, New York
Dianne Doctor, News Director, WCBS-TV, New York
Deborah Collura, News Director, WDIV-TV, Detroit
Jim Tortora, News Director, WIXT-TV, Syracuse
Adam Bradshaw, News Director, WHEC-TV, Rochester
Here are lessons they learned that could be incorporated into your own disaster planning.
Station Wins Court Fight For Mayor's E-Mails, Calendar
The business of how New Orleans is being run --- and how billions of federal dollars are being spent --- is a major issue in the post-Katrina era.
The news team of WWL-TV went to court to get the records that would show what the mayor has been doing. The answer from the city: Oooooops! Much of it has been erased and lost.
At one point, the mayor threatened to meet Executive News Director Chris Slaughter in the parking lot behind the station. Slaughter explained it all for The Rundown.
zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes) Choose Your News:The Ultimate Interactivity
A new franchise is taking interactive news to a whole new level.
News Director Randy Dixon explained how viewers are choosing their news and participating in an innovative newsgathering experiment at KATV-TV, Little Rock.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Columbine: Viewer Sensitivities Were Key
The live images were monitored carefully when two young men killed 12 other students, a teacher and themselves at Columbine.
Patti Dennis, KUSA-TV's News Director, told us, "We had pictures coming in from hospitals that I told them absolutely, positively, I did not want to see on our air. I forbid it!"

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Newscast expanded
at 10 p.m.

KOAT-TV, Albuquerque, expanded the 10 p.m. weekday newscasts to an hour, and quickly saw audience growth. The plan was explained by Mary Lynn Roper, President and General Manager.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Officers raiding meth labs: Many are ill from exposure
Former Utah narcotics officers, who put their lives on the line when they raided illegal meth labs a decade or two earlier, have died or are battling unusual illnesses.
The chemicals used to make the meth are deadly.
The story was investigated by the team at KSL-TV, Salt Lake City. Reporter Debbie Dujanovic found 58 police officers who had investigated meth labs in the previous two decades.
News Director Con Psarras explained how they put the project together, and told us, "We only found a few officers who didn't have a serious health problem. When compared to the average rates of illness and cancer among that age group, the statistics were indicative of a pretty big problem."
Of the 58 officers, 40 were sick or dead.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)High on meth, speeding, killing --- and still driving
A log truck driver kept on rolling, in spite of overloading his truck and causing a fatal accident. The driver was off the road for only about one week after the accident. KING-TV's Chris Ingalls found there was no penalty, no suspension of his license, nothing ---he just went right back to driving. There should have been three strikes against him. He was speeding. His truck was overloaded. He tested positive for meth.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Web Video Journalist Hired
A photographer has become talent and is producing stories for the Web site of WPRI-TV, Providence. He shoots, writes, and narrates the pieces. News Director Joe Abouzeid and his team explain how it works.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Financial Fitness
Boot Camp
  

A major project combining financial information and advice aired on WCNC-TV, Charlotte.   News Director Mary Alvarez and reporter Anna Crowley explained how it was executed.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Broken School Buses
Kept Rolling

Safety violations in the Indianapolis school bus fleet were so severe that the state police began an immediate investigation after they were contacted by WTHR-TV. News Director Carolyn Williams and investigative reporter Bob Segall explained how they executed their project.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Rare Interviews, SWAT Team Tapes Give Depth to School Shooting Anniversary Special
A deranged, armed drifter entered a Colorado high school. He took seven students hostage. A special on the hostage drama was produced by KMGH-TV, Denver.
It featured interviews with people who had never talked about it publicly.
"If we were going to do something, we wanted to do something significant and impactful, and that meant we needed to get a lot of players involved," said News Director Byron Grandy.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes) Make Your Station's Web
Site A Powerful Asset

Your station's reputation and brand do not automatically move from the broadcast to the broadband media. Here is advice on how to compete from top consultants and award-winning Web managers.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes) Protecting Crews and Gear From Unruly Crowds 
Jubilant fans of the Los Angeles Lakers set fire to two police cars and damaged news vans during an unruly celebration after the team's championship victory.   It didn't particularly appear there was going to be vandalism and violence.  But it grew.
At one point, a photographer told his reporter, "Run for your life!"

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Tornadoes Drive Record Web Traffic For Live Blogging, Viewers' Photos
Live weather blogging proved so popular that response far surpassed the initial expectations.
Valuable local information flowed in from people as they simultaneously received the specific details of the storm and connected with an authoritative source. The general manager at WIBW-TV, Topeka, Jim Ogle, told us, "As they interacted with us as the storm approached their area, they would write things like, 'You don't know how much it means to me to be able to hear this from you first person."

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Dog bite zones: Hot spots were identified
Anchor Artie Ojeda of KNSD-TV, San Diego, created a franchise of "zones" pieces, in which he built stories around public statistics, sorted the data and posted the numbers online by zip code or neighborhood.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Official cars: Should the mayor be riding in a gas guzzler?
The cars the politicians were driving on the public's dollar were investigated by reporter Bill Sheil of WJW-TV, Cleveland.



Woman Writes To Reporter
Kills Disabled Daughter, Self


It may not be common, but it is certainly not unusual for a nursing home patient to face medical mistakes, harassment, theft of personal items and even violence.
Here is the story of one reporter's challenges after a nursing home staff's allegedly abusive treatment of a handicapped woman ended in a tragedy.


Startling letter is checked out

An envelope marked "urgent" arrived in the mail for investigative reporter Dan Noyes of KGO-TV, San Francisco. A five-page note began, "This letter is an explanation in the deaths of my daughter and myself."

It was written by a mother, who was distraught over the treatment her disabled daughter had received in several Bay Area nursing homes. She said she killed the young woman and then shot herself. She explained her reasons for taking such drastic action. She pleaded for him to investigate.


For the whole story, subscribers, please go to our story archive. Thank you.

Some Insurance Companies
Are Cheating Their Customers


Hurricane Ike did an estimated $24 billion in damage last September. It was the third costliest hurricane of all time, exceeded only by Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina.
Some people on the Texas Gulf Coast haven't fully recovered a year later. Many property owners are still battling with their insurance companies over wind damage claims. Some insurers have been involved in deceptive, outrageous practices. These same things may be happening in other areas involving many types of storm damage.

Investigators at KHOU-TV, Houston, revealed insurance industry practices that are not only unfair to consumers, but also are in violation of state rules.


Hard-hitting investigative pieces have exposed weaknesses in the recovery effort.
"We have taken the power company to task for its slow response and for maintenance cutbacks that contributed to the number of downed power poles and extensive power outages. We challenged FEMA for its slow response. And we exposed unscrupulous contractors for trying to take advantage of the situation and line their pockets," says Connors.

"Insurance is a promise that if something terrible happens, your insurance company is going to be there to help you.
"But one company appears to be looking for ways to break their promise to their customers. The public needed to know about that."

Keith Connors
Executive News Director
KHOU-TV, Houston

Investigations: Fires,
Explosions, Toxic Threats

Here are four important safety investigations:

Salvage yards leak toxic substances
WBNS-TV, Columbus
When environmental laws aren't enforced, hazardous materials can flow out and endanger the community.

Runaway diesel engines
KHOU-TV, Houston
When trucks with diesel engines are left running, flammable vapors in an area can ignite causing a catastrophic explosion.

Outdoor gas leaks: No policy for evacuation
WABC-TV, New York
Your natural gas suppliers should have strict guidelines on when people are ordered out of a leak area, whether the gas is being smelled inside or outside.

Microwave fires
WEWS-TV, Cleveland
Ovens that were turned off, and not being used, have mysteriously caught fire.
Subscribers: Please find the full article in our archives. Thank you.
The State Of Your Money:
Hold Government Accountable

State workers and pols are sitting on expensive chairs in Indiana.
There was strong viewer response as the investigative reporter Bob Segall at WTHR-TV found officials purchasing new furniture even though the state had a warehouse loaded with excess material. Taxpayers were so outraged over wasteful spending that a second story on state agencies purchasing promotional trinkets scored well.

"People have their antenna way up. There is so much scrutiny going on over their own spending that these stories struck a nerve.
"People are angry about it. It garnered a lot of attention and a lot of talk."

Jim Tellus
President and
General Manager
WTHR-TV, Indianpolis
Subscribers: You can print out the full isue in pdf form in our archives. Thank you.
Help Your Anchors Become
Your Chief Journalists

The TV news anchors of today must transition to the role of chief journalist, if they --- and your newscasts --- are to remain successful in the future.
That's the opinion of the consultants at AR&D, and a major premise of their new book, "Live. Local. Broken News. The Re-Engineering of Local TV."
Subscribers: Here are some strategies you could begin to implement now.


TV News Investigation:
Huge Gap In Plane Crash Response

A plane crashed into a ravine near a runway in Denver. Firefighters were there very quickly and put out the fire. 115 people were onboard. Roughly 40 of them were injured. It was more than a half hour before the first ambulance arrived at the gate.
The ambulance problem had been investigated for months by news team members at KMGH-TV. Then the plane crashed, and the response weakness became more obvious.

"We had a real event, and we were lucky that nobody died. We were lucky that no one was severely injured. We were lucky that the plane crashed right next to the fire station at the airport. They got there and quickly put the fire out.
"What it did was to test the system --- and the system failed."

Jeff Harris
News Director
KMGH-TV, Denver

Subscribers: You can access the full issue in our archives. Thank you.
Repetition Is The Top Reason
Viewers Watch Less Local News

Eliminating repetition must be a priority as stations re-invent themselves this year.
"What we have learned from our viewers is that repetition is our biggest enemy right now. Local viewers are not engaged in our product when stories or information is repeated," says Deborah Collura, Vice President News, Post-Newsweek Stations.

The problem of repetition is more than just running the same package twice or a package in one show and a VO/SOT in another.
Larry Rickel, President and CEO of The Broadcast Image Group, believes that you are competing against all other possible sources of information. If a person thinks they know it already, they're gone.

One station that has an aggressive anti-repetition approach is WJXT-TV in Jacksonville. An independent, its staff produces eight hours of news a day. Vice President/News Director Maureen Ruddy-Baker explained to us how they do it.

Subscribers: You can print the pdf of the full 10- page article from our archives. Thank you.


Two Years Into Newsroom Of Future:
How They've Done It

Re-engineering a local news operations is one of the biggest challenges facing news executives. Here on how station executives and their staffs are coping with the pressures that are forcing dramatic changes.
Gannett made early start, and began the change two years ago.
New procedures were introduced, old models abandoned. Their changes began in March of 2007 --- well before the economic turmoil hit.
"At first, the staff looked at me like I had two heads. But I had 'been to the mountain,' and bought into the fact that this was exactly where we needed to be. This was before there was advertising pressure and the economic decline that has escalated the transition to warp speed," says Patti Dennis, VP News at KUSA-TV, Denver.
In this issue, this top news executive explains how they have changed newsroom procedures and technology.
The Place to Be:
Washington, CBS, and the Glory Days of Television

Roger Mudd
One of television's top political reporters --- perhaps the top political reporter --- shared the inside experiences of covering many major stories. Roger Mudd was a lead correspondent on campaigns and Capitol Hill during the 60s and 70s. He was also the prime substitute anchor for the network.
His memoir, based on his own notes and extensive interviews, tells of his 20 years in the CBS News Washington bureau.
His story provides many, many important insights for anyone interested in a career in television news. There are the details of newsgathering and bringing stories to air. There are specifics about getting along with management and competing with rivals.


Book is a valuable tool for staff development

Don't Get Distracted:
Stay Focused on Your Core Product

zzricke2.jpg (10911 bytes) An updated edition of a valuable newsroom resource has just been published.
Delivering viewer-centered information is the focus of The Producing Strategy, Version 2.0, by veteran consultant Larry Rickel and longtime successful anchor Ed Sardella.
Their premise: everyone in the newsroom is a producer. We must all be involved in strong storytelling and making the newscast a special experience for the viewer.

Don't abandon your power base while upgrading your new media, says Rickel.

As broadcasters move onto new platforms, it is more important than ever to stay focused on the role the TV newscast plays in your four-screen strategy.
Rickel and Sardella explain their theories, and the value of their book.


Advancing The Story:
Broadcast Journalism In A Multimedia World
zzadvan.jpg (8807 bytes) Broadcast journalism is a good starting point for multimedia storytelling. Two broadcast veterans explain how a person with television skills can expand their abilities an excel in the new media. Debora Halpern Wenger and Deborah Potter offer specific techniques and strategies for maximizing the advantages of each platform.


Television Newswriting Workshop
Advice and perspective from veteran network newswriter and critic Mervin Block. A top resource.

Newslab training workshops
NewsLab is an online resource center for television and radio newsrooms, focused on improving journalism. This organization offers workshops for newsrooms and journalism groups around the world.



Copyright 2010, Standish Publishing Company. This material is for your personal use as a subscriber, and may not be reproduced or transmitted to other parties of any kind.   


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The Rundown reported weekly on local television news, programming, and community service projects from 1981 to 2010. This material now fills a massive hard copy archive of more than 11,000 pages --- easily the largest record of hometown television's activities.  Key articles are available in our online archives.



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Rundown Archives

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Hostage Crises:
Do You Let Gunmen Control Your Air?

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When an upset, armed individual is threatening to kill someone, the police commanders supervising the emergency response and the news executives in charge of covering the confrontation have many sensitive decisions.  
Here's how broadcast executives have dealt with these dangerous emergencies.



TV Reporting:
Covering Police and Crime


Crime Statistics:
A Reporter's Guide

A useful reference has been created by the IRE. This e-book is in a pdf format.


Terrorism Threat: Manhole Covers Left Unlocked
Underground cables carrying electricity and computer data --- the lifelines for America's cities --- are exposed. WABC-TV's Jim Hoffer discovered that Con Ed has not locked its manhole covers --- despite Homeland Security recommendations.


zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)A Young Kennedy Dies
When John Kennedy, Jr. and his wife vanished off Massachusetts, hometown TV stations provided long hours of coverage, serving viewers anxious for any news of the president's son.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)The Crash of Flight 191:
Tragedy at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

The news crews had close access to the scene.  They were searching for accurate information, but had to be very careful about what they showed.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Winter Weather Hampers Rescue at Denver Crash
A Continental jet flipped and broke apart on a snowy runway at Stapleton Airport. The blizzard-like conditions which may have contributed to the accident made coverage particularly difficult.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Media In Montoursville: 
Trying To Be Very Sensitive
 
When TWA Flight 800 exploded in 1996, more than 20 victims were from one small town in Pennsylvania.  Newspeople tried to be sensitive to the grieving relatives, friends and townspeople.  At the same time, the reporters and photographers were dealing with their own feelings of sadness and shock.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)The White Bronco Chase
Accused of murder, O.J. Simpson travelled  along the highways of Los Angeles, and one of the largest television audiences ever watched it live.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Murders at School:
San Diego Shootings

Accurate information was difficult to obtain.  Students were interviewed with care.  

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Oklahoma City Explosion: Covering the Terror
That this could happen in America's heartland was unthinkable.  Even more astounding was the news that Americans had unleashed this violence on fellow Americans, murdering more than 150 innocent men, women and children.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Two reporters, four stories, one big award
The judges awarded a Peabody to the investigative unit of WFAA-TV, Dallas, for the overall quality of its work. The station won for four separate stories submitted by investigative reporters Brett Shipp and Byron Harris.
The Peabodys do not recognize categories, nor are there a set number of awards given each year. Although the entries were submitted separately, Executive News Director Michael Valentine said it was the caliber of the work by the unit as a whole that made it a winner.

zzsquare.jpg (2860 bytes)Students drinking contaminated water
Youngsters are being exposed to lead every day in Los Angeles. The surprising source --- the drinking fountains at their schools -- - was revealed by KNBC-TV's Joel Grover.



A canoe trip across wild, remote Maine was organized by WGME-TV, Portland and the Press Herald. News Director Kevin Lynch explained this big adventure.
Museum Broadcast Communications
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The MBC is a not-for-profit organization that has offered opportunities for public learning to a diverse population since 1987 in Chicago.
Its mission is to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform, and entertain through our archives, public programs, screenings, exhibits, publications and online access.


Live. Local. BROKEN News. The Re-engineering of Local TV offers strategies to survive the extraordinary changes underway in technology and audience media habits. These are the theories of the veteran consultants at Audience Research And Development.