 Deteriorating Paradise: Carolina's
Bays
Station Fights To Save Region
 
In hopes of stimulating a clean-up and a preservation of
North Carolina's coastal environment, WRAL-TV General Manager John Greene started a
multi-faceted project in 1988.
Elements included:
--- Benchmark Documentary. The starting point. "Troubled Waters" aired on a
Tuesday night at 8 o'clock. This set up the project and explained the problem. It was
followed by a Town Hall discussion.
--- Public Service Announcements. Reaching out to viewers on a continuing basis. For this
campaign to inform and change habits, it had to take a substantial, ongoing time
commitment.
--- Infommercials. Educational messages supported by blue-chip North Carolina companies
interested in improving the quality of life in the state.
--- Resource Book. Detailed suggestions of what individual citizens can do each day to
make a difference.
--- School Posters. Informing children throughout the region.
Stations
Team Up For Environmental Project
In 2001, the general managers at two NBC O&Os developed a joint project focusing on
their area's most precious natural resource: the Long Island Sound. WNBC-TV, New York, and
WVIT-TV, Hartford, joined forces for a summer-long campaign to raise public awareness. It
included news reports and an hour-long program.
The pieces were varied and informational, it wasn't specifically a call to action.
"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," said WNBC's Dennis Swanson.
"The goal is to make people more aware. We sometimes tend to take the environment for
granted," said Tom O'Brien of WVIT.
Covering The Murder
Of A President
Shocked reporters dealt with their own grief, mass confusion, and the silence of official
sources to inform the nation that John F. Kennedy had been shot to death in Dallas.
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.
Changing the culture: A 24-Hour web
channel
Web sales more than doubled in one year at WIBW-TV, Topeka. General Manager Jim Ogle
shared with us the strategy that is working for his team.
Winning
Strategies --- RTNDA 2008 Regional Website Awards
A cross-section of the winners from various market sizes and regions shared their insights
on why their sites were selected. These were techniques that were helping them succeed.
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.
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." archives/0249.htm
Give
viewers a voice: The people speak
Widespread dissatisfaction with elected officials and voters' anger marked the 1992
election. The managers at WIXT-TV, Syracuse, developed a project to tap into that sense of
disenfranchisement.
Pick
debate winners instantaneously
If you can learn something about which candidate viewers feel did the best in a debate you
will be offering information beyond a simple summarization of their carefully rehearsed
statements. Innovative projects were explained by Jim Boyer, News Director of
KOMO-TV, Seattle and Natalea Brown, News Director of WJZ-TV, Baltimore. Here are
ideas that are alternatives to the usual mix of campaign officials, professors, and
man-on-the-street interviews for debate reactions.
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Hurricane!
Hurricane Andrew Live
1992 |
Covering Hurricane Ike:
On Air, Online, On PDAs, On Cells |
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The Houston television stations became information powerhouses as Hurricane Ike
neared, delivering news and information on all platforms. |
Executives at KHOU-TV told us they see themselves as running
a content company, and are not just a TV station.
"We are a provider of local information and local content. We are going to put it out
wherever we can," said Susan McEldoon, President & GM, KHOU-TV.
News Director Keith Connors wanted the service to be as a dependable as a utility. |
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Hurricane Hugo: Killer Storm
September 10-22, 1989: Hurricane Hugo generated a
20-foot storm tide in South Carolina. Hugo battered Charlotte, North Carolina (which is
about 175 miles inland), with gusts to near 100 mph, downing trees and power lines and
causing massive disruption. |
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Legacy of Katrina: Plan For The Very
Worst
The broadcasters who endured the storm offer advice on how to be ready for
a natural emergency that is much worse than has been planned for. |
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Katrina
How They
Lived Through It And Kept Serving Their Public
Hurricane
Katrina Drives Online Usage To New Plateaus
Covering
Hurricane Katrina's Aftermath
Hurricane Rita: Evacuation
chaos lessons
The evacuation of two million people from Houston and Galveston as Hurricane Rita
threatened the Texas coast showed just how chaotic a mass evacuation of a major city could
be.
"When people are scared, they tend to make hasty, ill-informed decisions. We set out
early on to make sure the tone and tenor of our coverage was right," said Executive
News Director Keith Connors of KHOU-TV.
Preparing
for Gilbert:
Hurricane on the Texas Gulf Coast
Planning ahead is the key to the entire coverage. Everything from stockpiles
of extra water to secure microwave locations must be set in advance.
Gilbert was an extraordinarily powerful storm that hit in 1988.
Here's how news managers got ready for it.
Hurricane Floyd,
Extensive Flooding Presented Newsgathering Challenges Afterward
First Hurricane Dennis battered the Outer Banks and portions of the
mid-Atlantic not once, but twice in 1999. Then, Hurricane Floyd
threatened the region with its high winds. Although it had dropped from the powerful
Category 4 it was as it approached, it was a huge hurricane as it made
landfall.
Floyd dumped an extraordinary amount of rain on eastern North Carolina. Flooding was
at record levels, and the rivers and bays stayed full for days afterward.
For days, news operations presented extended on air coverage of the aftermath.
Many roads were impassable. Power was out. Life was disrupted. Public health was
endangered.
Hurricane
Isabel: Expanded Coverage,
Simulcasts, Call-ins, Fundraisers
When Isabel came ashore on the Outer Banks in 2003, it was only a Category 2 hurricane,
but the large storm still did extensive damage and left millions of people without power.
The storm surge pushed up nine feet of water in areas along the Atlantic and Chesapeake
Bay. Baltimore officials say some areas got the kind of surge experts predicted they'd get
in a Category 4 or 5 storm that was a direct hit.
Here is how broadcasters prepared for and recovered from Isabel.
TV
Ahead of Weather Service Predicting Charley's Path
Meteorologists at broadcast and cable news operations in Florida saw a change in Hurricane
Charley's track several hours before the National Hurricane Center modified its forecast.
Evacuations and warnings are often based on the weather service's advice.
The television teams tried to warn of the hazard without criticizing the
Hurricane Center's slower response.
Don't Get Distracted:
Stay Focused on Your Core Product
 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.
Please continue here, Rickel and Sardella
explain their theories, and the value of their book.
 Learn Successful Television
Reporting
A top reporter explains how to produce memorable stories.
KGO-TV's Wayne Freedman has won 44 Emmys.
We feel that this
book is a must buy for reporters or students who are serious about their careers.
 Latest edition
of Investigative Reporters Handbook is available
The newest version of this indispensable reference includes
examples investigative reporting and easy to find Internet address lists to help in
computer-assisted investigations.
Online talent
service opens to non-represented talent
Collective Talent, the
online talent resource by Michaels Media, has opened its service to non-represented
talent.
When the service was first unveiled, it was designed to be supported
primarily by talent agents.
That approach made sense because the majority of talent in larger markets are represented
by agents. The biggest agencies can represent several hundred people.
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
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Weapons
Of Worry: Missed By Security
Despite the ongoing effort to improve security in the schools and to prevent terrorist
attacks in the public arena, there are weapons that seem to be beyond the current
controls. In Miami, WFOR-TV revealed there are many weapons that can be slipped past
security. archives/0427.htm
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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. |
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Potential
terrorists are crossing the border with Mexico
People from countries on the Terror Watch List are entering the U.S. illegally from
Mexico, and the government appears to be doing little about it. Waves of people were shown
by KVOA-TV, Tucson. archives/0436.htm |
Copyright 2008, 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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Up Today!
The Rundown has reported weekly on local
television news, programming, and community service projects since 1981. This material now
fills a massive hard copy archive of 7,000 pages --- easily the largest record of hometown
television's activities. Key articles are available in our online archives.
When A
Flooding Disaster Strikes: Who's in Charge?
In Sacramento, KCRA-TV news documented serious weaknesses in the emergency response
system in the state. Here's how they executed this major project.
Marathon Coverage
of San Antonio Floods
Thirty inches of rain fell on South Texas. Rivers flooded over their banks. Homes were
destroyed. Thousands of people had to flee.
News organizations covered the story and provided vital survival information as the water
threatened day after day.
Covering Live
the Big Snow Storms
The
Blizzard of 1993
Television news operations battled the snow, cold and wind to report on power outages,
highway hazards and the storm's impact.
TV's
Early Warning of Tornado Saved Many Lives
In 1999 in Oklahoma, 43 people died and more than 1,500 homes were destroyed. The
toll would've been much higher without TV's warnings.
Warning
System Calls People In Path of Hurricanes, Tornados
Television stations in Tornado Alley have found success with an automated weather alert
system that notifies people by telephone or e-mail. WeatherCall is a pre-recorded weather
warning for flash floods, severe thunderstorms, tornado and hurricane warnings. It's
worked well for Randy Dixon, News Director of KATV-TV, Little Rock and Carlton Houston,
News Director of KTUL-TV, Tulsa.
Earthquake
of '89:
TV Provides Vital Details
It was the biggest earthquake to hit California since 1906. A double-decker freeway
collapsed upon itself. A roaring fire covered a city block. A section of the Bay
Bridge collapsed.
Emergency
Preparedness: Make Sure Systems Don't Fail
Here is how broadcasters prepared for the big earthquake in San Francisco, and what
they learned when the building shook and the power went off.
Seattle Earthquake:
TV Newsrooms Were Ready
A mid-morning earthquake surprised the Seattle area. The shaking was captured on
videotape several places as photographers or fixed cameras were rolling when it began.
Station executives had planned for such an emergency, and the planning worked well.
Drought and the Challenge of Covering
the Western Forest Fires
Three million acres burned before the peak of the fire season.
The techniques the news managers used in Colorado and Arizona could be applied to many
other large scale emergencies where thousands of people are impacted by a threat that
keeps shifting and growing.
UM
Weather Forecasts
This site provides access to thousands of forecasts, images, and a large collection of
weather links.
Latest
Storm Information
National Hurricane Center
updates and path projections.
Today's
Dangerous Weather
Latest briefing from disastercenter.com
Tampa
Bay Hurricane Guide
Comprehensive advice and
information from WTSP-TV,
St. Petersburg Times.
Red Cross
Hurricane Advice
People will do much better if they know about the health hazards and have prepared for
them.
Storm Event Database
The world's largest active archive
of weather data, according to NCDC.
Hurricane
Floyd background
at disastercenter.com
Reports, photos, maps.
St.
Petersburg Times
Hurricane Gallery
Here are photographs and articles
that show just how powerful
hurricanes can be.
You can get Jay
Barnes' hurricane history books at amazon.com
North
Carolina Hurricanes and Florida
Hurricanes are available.
Help Viewers Cope With
An Earthquake
Reporting on an earthquake just after the building has shaken, with clocks falling off the
wall and regular electrical and phone service disrupted, takes a newsroom team prepared in
advance to respond fully.
Resources
The Perfect Storm
The Halloween 1991 northeaster was a storm of enormous intensity.
The fishing boat Andrea Gail sank carrying its six-man crew with it. An Air National
Guardsman died when his rescue helicopter had to ditch in the raging seas after it ran out
of fuel while trying to aid a sailboat.
The story was told in the non-fiction Perfect
Storm by Sebastian Junger.
Rip Currents
Some 80% of rescues by lifeguards at America's surf beaches are due to persons being
caught in rip currents.
Stockton Coastal Research
New Jersey beaches documented at length by a project at Richard Stockton College.
Covering The Murder
Of A President
Shocked reporters dealt with their own grief, mass confusion, and the silence of official
sources to inform the nation that John F. Kennedy had been shot to death in Dallas.
Schoolhouse Outrage:
Filthy Bathrooms
Schools in Southern California were checked to see how sanitary --- or unsanitary --- the
bathrooms were. KCBS-TV investigators spent three months and visited
more than 50 buildings, some of them more than once. Many bathrooms were locked or
unavailable to students. Many were missing essential supplies.
Roughed Up At Recess: Violence On The
Playground
Teachers stood by doing nothing while bullies beat up other children on the school
playgrounds. News team members at WITI-TV, Milwaukee were surprised that it was so
blatant and out of control. They
followed up with a project that offered solutions for parents and educators.
Room 104:
The Overcrowding Crisis
By focusing on students and teachers, an initially boring subject was brought to life.
Viewers could see how children are shortchanged when the instructor is simply lucky to
keep control, never mind teaching and helping individuals having problems. This was a
duPont winner for WABC-TV, New York. |
