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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.

Help people survive in hard times
Viewers were urged to help tackle hunger in a campaign created by WFMJ-TV, Youngstown. The details were explained by News Director Mona Alexander and General Manager John Grdic.

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.

Use topical investigations to increase sampling
Veteran consultant Tom Dolan advises taking key stories that viewers already know something about and then developing more information, better angling and more enterprise on those stories.

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.

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.

Strengthen your politics online: Website gives stations depth
Your station's website can be an effective vehicle for providing extensive political information that can be accessed by viewers/users when they have an interest in the campaigns. The NextGenPolitics website was developed initially by Hertz Research.

Pick the debate winners with instantaneous ratings

The Rundown October 20, 1986

After each high profile televised confrontation, the question that viewers argue over is "Who won?"

Using computer technology, typical viewers can chose winners and losers. This is a distinct alternative to the usual mix of officials, professors, and man-on-the street interviews for debate reactions.

Instant analysis in Seattle

In Seattle, KOMO- TV's News Director, Jim Boyer, created a focus group of 50 neutral voters who continuously rated the candidates on a computerized feedback system throughout a Senate debate.
He used a local technology firm's "Consumer Choice Analyzer System" --- featuring hand-held units --- to grade the performance of the candidates during the presentation.

The staffer who assembled the audience for the station's regular afternoon talk show found 50 people to be the debate audience.
"They all had to be registered voters and they had to be either neutral or only slightly in favor of one candidate or the other. I didn't want any partisans," Boyer said.

The audience sat in a conference room and graded the debate as it happened.
During the 30-second rebuttal times, the voters were asked who had won that question. They'd lock in their responses.
While the candidates were answering questions, the watchers manipulated the machine indicating whether they were persuaded by what they were hearing.

When they'd hear the question, they would lock in whether they thought the question was very important or not. This showed what the hot issues were.

The computerized report card

In the report on the project, the second by second responses were displayed on the screen so viewers could see whether the candidates were making points.

As it turned out, the station's focus group thought the Republican incumbent won the debate. But when asked, 'If the election were held tomorrow, who would you vote for?' the majority said they'd vote for the Democratic challenger.
"They said the incumbent was smooth and knew what he was talking about. But, in the final analysis they said they liked the challenger better because he was a nicer guy," explained Boyer.

The news manager felt it was a much more accurate reflection of how the candidates performed than most debate analysis.
"It was an absolute scientific poll of those 50 people --- we knew exactly how they felt. We didn't say it was anything other than that," he stressed.

Hurricane!
The news executives and staffers who were there explained how they served their viewers, and survived.

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.

Attack On America
At first it appeared to be a terrible aviation accident at the World Trade Center.  It turned out to be much more.  Here is how it was covered by the news teams on the scene.

Security gaps are many
Long before, and then after, the terrorist attacks of September, 2001, several television stations conducted investigations into lax security at airports and other major public facilities. Most of these reports were prepared after the 2001 attacks. In some cases, the broadcasters were credited with helping to make positive changes.

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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.

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.

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.