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.

When Help Doesn't Arrive In Time  
Have a serious heart attack on the streets of Cleveland and the chances of being successfully recuscitate are slim.  WJW-TV's Tom Merriman broke this.   Meanwhile, they don't have enough ambulances in Cincinnati.  WCPO-TV's Hagit Limor reported that story.

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.

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!"

Murders At School:
San Diego Shootings
A teenager who perceived himself as picked on killed two students and wounded a dozen more.
Richard Longoria, KUSI-TV's News Director, told us, "We pulled back, not showing the faces of the (wounded) kids. You must think about how much you are willing to show."

Hostage Crises: Do You Let Gunmen Control Your Air?
When an upset, armed individual is threatening to kill someone, news managers face many sensitive decisions. Inmates take over a prison. A madman with a gun invades a bar that's popular with students.
Here's how broadcast executives have dealt with these emergencies.

Stay On Top Of
Security Threats

Chemical plants: Easy targets, poorly guarded
Chemical plants could become weapons of mass destruction. Major weaknesses in the security were exposed by WLS-TV, Chicago.
Investigative reporter Chuck Goudie made an analogy everyone could grasp: "Just as al Qaeda hijackers transformed jetliners into flying bombs on 9-11, federal authorities are alarmed at how easily a terrorist could transform your neighborhood chemical plant into a weapon of mass destruction."  archives/0249.htm

TV News Investigations:
School Systems Failing and Fraudulent
Help your viewers' children get a better education.
The parents and the taxpayers are paying the bills. Some schools are cheating their students. Education stalls when administrators conceal a dropout problem or take home computers provided for the classrooms. Safety issues range from unqualified, crazed bus drivers to in-school violence.

School security: Gaps are common
Children and their classrooms can be targets for anyone from an estranged parent to a sexual predator to even a person with some sort of terrorist agenda. A document purportedly written by Osama bin Laden encouraged his supporters to go after all Americans, especially women and children. In Detroit, WDIV-TV indicated areas for improvements.  archives/0309.htm

School districts should be focused on invested the money they have available into improving the education they are offering. There are controversies about how officials are spending taxpayers' funds.
In Phoenix, KPNX-TV devoted much of a 5 p.m. newscast to the current education funding crisis there. Vice President/News Director Mark Casey explained to us how they brought the project to air.
In Pittsburgh, WPXI-TV discovered expensive fuel contracts for school buses. Officials had locked in when the prices were much higher last year.
In St. Louis, KSDK-TV examined claims that a major firm contracted with school districts and then marked up office supplies.
In Tampa. WFTS-TV found about half of the children receiving the free or low cost federal food programs aren't eligible.

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

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 tells The Rundown what has been happening.

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.

Challenge Your Staff To Be
Active Participants In Change

Every station is at a different stage when it comes to re-engineering its news operation.
Most agree that those who will come out of the downturn the strongest are doing more than just cutting costs. They are developing a long-term strategy for success.
Here is how news managers in several markets are working on the transition with their staffs. In this edition, we hear from:
--- Adrienne Roark, News Director, WFOR-TV, Miami.
--- Mike Goldrick, News Director, WHEC-TV, Rochester.
--- Pat Livingston, Corporate News Director, Barrington Broadcasting Group

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

Re-engineering local news operations will be one of the biggest challenges facing news executives in 2009. Here is the first in an occasional series 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 week's issue, this top news executive explains how they have changed newsroom procedures and technology.

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Take Charge Thursday
Help Viewers Take Control

In response to job losses and the down economy, news managers at WNDU-TV, South Bend, have developed a regular franchise to help viewers take charge of their personal finances.
		Take Charge Thursday --- with detailed information on a specific financial topic --- is available every Thursday during the news block from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
"We began looking for what we could do to lift spirits and talk about positive things. "We wanted something that would empower people and would be tied into a specific day of the week," says News Director C.J. Beutein. Subscribers, for the full explanation of how they produce this franchise, please print your issue from our archives. Thank you.

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Help Viewers Get Jobs

People need advice on where to find openings and how they should prepare so they can stand out when they apply. Television provides examples and experts to offer practical help.

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Group Aims To Be Viewer Choice
For Economic Information

A yearlong viewer economic survival project has been launched by Hearst-Argyle.   Project Economy will appear throughout 2009 on air and online.
"The emphasis will be on localism, and our objective is to serve as the local source in our markets for economic news and information," says Brian Bracco, Senior Vice President, News for Hearst-Argyle.

Subscribers please print out the article in our archives. Thank you.
Or if you prefer to have it e-mailed to you, as many subscribers do, please let us know.

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Help Viewers With the Basics:
The Real Deals, Coupon Secrets

Investigating a viewer-submitted topic, and then giving people the scoop on what "The Real Deal" is, has turned into a gold mine of stories for WSYR-TV, Syracuse.

Consumer specialist Jennifer Lewke constantly receives tips, suggestions and questions that result in daily stories that run in all day parts.

"We have focused it on ripoffs, scams and things to watch out for. There are many desperate people who are looking for instant solutions to their financial troubles, and it has opened up more opportunities for the bad guys to go after them," says News Director Jim Tortora.
Also in this issue:

• Saving $400-$600 a month on grocery spending.
• Market encourages customers to graze and sample its food.
• A dramatic demonstration showing the fire hazard of I-beams made of composite wood.
• Cell phone video used for special
• Government pensions and payments revealed.

Subscribers:   Please print out your entire issue.  Thank you.

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Consultants Recommend Major Changes
In Newsrooms In 2009

As they have for many years, some of the nation's top television consultants have shared with The Rundown their insights and advice about what news executives must do immediately in the down economy.

Analysis from Frank N. Magid Associates
Survive Economically, Re-Invent The Business
Seize every opportunity, they say. In a down market, you may be able to grow your market share because your competitors have pulled in. Re-engineer your newsroom. Align your resources with the things where your advertisers see value and your viewers feel they are well- served.
Magid's full recommendations are online in our archives.

Analysis from AR&D
Re-Engineering Is The Business Imperative: Change is the New Normal
The veteran strategists at Audience Research & Development suggest that in 2009 you must make fundamental changes NOW. This is more than laying off five percent of the staff and converting to one-man bands. They say this is not time for a "ride it out" approach. Your primary objective should be to create much more content.
See an in-depth report on AR&D's views online.

Analysis from The Broadcast Image Group
Understand the Evolving Anytime, Anywhere Customer
You must be anywhere the viewers want news when they want it. Produce content with unique elements across all platforms. The Rickel team is also recommending newscasts need soul. Involve your customers in a conversation.
Many more Broadcast Image Group suggestions that you can use to improve your operation are available in our archives.

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Search The Rundown Archives

Please use the form below to search through the files in The Rundown archives section. Just type the ideas you're looking for separated by a space.

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Successful
TV News Coverage

Here are ideas for expanded projects that have drawn strong responses from viewers.

11 successful special projects
Help your viewers live longer and healthier lives

You have the power to potentially make a major impact on your viewers' health. Providing this vital information also increases your station's connection with the community.
Many successful projects have been explained by executives in The Rundown.

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.

Create campaign coverage that will stand apart
Being the only station to send a reporter to the president's Susquehanna county visit isn't enough.  Build a system that establishes your news as the place to turn.

Emergency responses must be competent and immediate if the public is going to be protected.
Lives can be saved and injuries prevented when news investigators expose gaps in law enforcement, firefighting, public health, and utilities. Officials may respond and correct the deficiencies.

Drugs disrupt and destroy everywhere
The impact of alcohol and illegal drugs is wide-ranging and often devastating. Many important investigations and information programs have been produced.

Help viewers avoid STDs, AIDS
The uninformed, careless person can easily contract diseases that cause everything from sores to cervical cancer and death.

Food sanitation and public health hazards touch many
Food-borne illnesses are often serious, sometimes even fatal. News investigators have exposed sellers intent on making a profit offering spoiled food or handling food in an unsanitary manner.

Learn how sex offenders operate, protect yourself and your children
Check projects that could help your viewers understand the threats they and their children are facing.  If they are aware of these hazards, they may be able to avoid them.

Covering prisons from tensions to perks
In theory, prisons are keeping violent individuals away from more victims, punishing, and even possibly rehabilitating some inmates for new lives. The issues are many and coverage ranges from riots to inmate rights.

Jobs and economic survival
Television news operations have helped viewers manage their assets, and have exposed outrageous executive behavior --- top managers operating in luxury as the workers are fired and retirees lose pensions.

School systems failing and fraudulent
At a time when every child is supposed to have an equal opportunity for a thorough and efficient education, there are places where the youngsters are cheated.  TV investigators have exposed many people and practices where those responsible for the schools deserve failing grades.

Help viewers survive highway hazards
Television stations have created many projects and stories that help viewers improve their commutes to work and watch out for driving dangers.

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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.

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Security hazard: Unguarded small airports Small airfields have a lack of safeguards. Open gates. No guards. No fences. Airplanes --- including substantial charter craft --- within easy reach. It could be an opportunity for a terrorist disaster. This was investigated by Jim Hoffer at WABC-TV, New York.  archives/0408.htm		Into Child Porn? No Problem, Have A Nice Day Most men who are arrested in Wisconsin for Internet sex crimes do not go to prison. Three years of cases were analyzed by WITI-TV, Milwaukee.

Copyright 2009, 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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