Stations Team Up
For Environmental Project

VOLUME XXI, NUMBER 26      JULY 2, 2001

The managers at two NBC O&Os have developed a joint project focusing on their area's most precious natural resource: the Long Island Sound.
Besides taking an ongoing look at the efforts to preserve this long body of water, it is giving viewers an interesting and unusual update on something many take for granted.

WNBC-TV, New York, and WVIT-TV, Hartford, have joined forces for a summer- long campaign to raise public awareness of the importance of the Long Island Sound, and the many environmental issues that threaten it.
Millions of residents in both New York and Connecticut use it for recreation or make their livings from it.

The idea for the joint project came from the general managers.
Tom O'Brien, former President and General Manager of WVIT (and current President and GM of KXAS-TV, Dallas-Ft. Worth), is a boater and fisherman, who has spent many hours on the sound.
"When we looked at some of the important issues facing Connecticut, a lot of them dealt with ecology and Long Island Sound preservation," he explains.
He points out the two stations basically cover the whole area involved. They are in a great position to work together.

O'Brien pitched the idea to Dennis Swanson, President and G.M. of WNBC, who quickly saw the merits of a joint campaign.
"We have done a number of projects on the sound, and it has been a priority for us since about a year ago when the lobstermen started having problems with lobster die-off," says Swanson.

There was a personal connection, too.
"I belong to the Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, and had just taken a trip up the Connecticut River to view the eagles. When Tom suggested the two stations could work together, it seemed like a natural," he says.
He felt that dividing the project geographically was clearly the way to organize it.
"Hopefully, it will be as positive for them as it has been for us," he says.

Swanson feels that many viewers are interested in the environment. It is also a big national issue right now with the Bush administration.
"Our timing is good. It is such an important part of our viewing area that it just made a lot of sense to us," he says.

The project isn't a "call to action" per se. The pieces are varied and informational.
"People can make better decisions when they are informed. Just as we carry debates so people can be more informed about the candidates, this is a chance for people to see what is going on with this great body of water," Swanson explains.
"There are a lot of issues and a lot of concerns, and hopefully this will give them a chance to be better informed on it," he says.

The two O&Os often work together on breaking stories, but this is the most ambitious joint project to date.

Each station contributes two news pieces per month.
An hour-long documentary is scheduled to run in July. It will be hosted by the morning talent from each station, Maurice DuBois from WNBC and Natalie Morales from WVIT.
"The goal is to make people more aware. We sometimes tend to take the environment for granted," says O'Brien.

Often people look at a natural resource just from their own narrow perspective, jealously guarding their special interest. This project shows how everyone uses and benefits.
"We're news organizations. We're trying to take a comprehensive approach to the Long Island Sound and the issues facing it --- positive and negative," says O'Brien.
"If we raise the awareness in both communities of the value of the sound, it is better for everyone," he adds.

Stories are visual and personal
"The stories transcend Connecticut and New York. We make them relevant to everybody," says Sheila Trauernicht, Executive Producer of WVIT.
"The content is educational, informational and inspirational. It is a good mix of the issues threatening the health of the sound, and also how people are enjoying the sound, including some of the neat things families can do," says Trauernicht.

The Connecticut stories are handled by WVIT's Bob Wilson. WNBC's Greg Cergol works out of the station's Long Island bureau.
Wilson is a scuba diver, and he used an underwater camera to show what's beneath the surface. In New York, the crew went underwater with a research vessel as it mapped the floor of the sound.
"You see things most of us will never see. You swim in it, and go fishing or boating, but most of us would never have a chance to see it this way if it weren't for this project," Trauernicht says.
"I had never seen a sea squirt before this story. Little did I know that they are an invasive species that is wreaking havoc with other species. It has been an eye-opener for everybody," she says.

Pieces to date have included:

Oyster fishermen.
The oyster fisherman have learned to plant as well as harvest.

Sound buoy.
Special high tech buoys record all sorts of data on the current, saltiness and temperature of the sound. Scientists use the data to study the sound.

Treasure hunters.
Modern day treasure hunters scuba dive just a few feet off shore searching for lost valuables using special underwater metal detectors --- rings, coins, old musket balls, etc.

Underwater farming.
Will seaweed (used for sushi wrappers) become a cash crop?

"If it is interesting to us, we know it is going to be interesting to the audience. We use that as a way to judge the topics," says producer Peter Facini.
"We've had interesting stories and beautiful pictures. The photographers have captured some great images for us," he says.
Going in, they knew what the important topics were.
"There are certain topics that come right to mind --- the die-off of the shellfish, the plight of the lobstermen and the oystermen, what's happening to the fish, and where the water is clean. These are things that even the layman deals with," he says.
They have come across other stories in the course of their research.

The universities are an important resource.
WVIT worked with researchers and scientists at the University of Connecticut to find unusual scientific projects that are underway. WNBC spoke with experts at SUNY Stonybrook.

"It's a terrific opportunity for us to step out of our role as daily news reporters and really make a statement. Our stations have dedicated the entire summer to this project, because we feel the environment and quality of life issues are important," says Facini.
"Our managers have given us the latitude to pursue it on a big scale. We can spend time on this, and not just give it two minutes on the evening news. We can come back week after week and tell the story of Long Island Sound through the entire summer," he says.

Facini says they are telling the story through the people.
"We're telling the story of this body of water through the eyes and the people who live near it, work on it, depend on it and care for it. We are telling it through their eyes and their individual concerns," he says.
Those concerns reflect the real issues at hand: if a lobsterman can't make a living, he can't support his family. If the water is dirty, people are afraid to bring their children swimming.
"The little stories are really the big stories," he adds.

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