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.
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.
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!"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!"
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."
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.
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.
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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."
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Keith Connors
Executive News Director
KHOU-TV, Houston
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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. |
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."
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Jim Tellus
President and
 General Manager
WTHR-TV, Indianpolis
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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."
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Jeff Harris
News Director
KMGH-TV, Denver
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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 |
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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.
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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.
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| Book is a valuable tool for
staff development Don't
Get Distracted:
Stay Focused on Your Core Product |
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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. |
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Advancing
The Story:
Broadcast Journalism In A Multimedia World |
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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. |
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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.
Search
Rundown Archives
Free
45-page Report
Hostage
Crises:
Do You Let Gunmen Control Your Air?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Murders at School:
San Diego Shootings
Accurate information was difficult to obtain. Students were interviewed with care.
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.
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.
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
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.
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