Inside TV News: It All Begins With The Writing

Reporting on Local Television News Since 1981
If there are things you need but can't find, please let us know

Reporting the Murder of
President Kennedy
CBS News correspondent
Dan Rather was there.

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.

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.

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.

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!"

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. An innovative project was explained by Jim Boyer, News Director of KOMO-TV, Seattle.

Child molesters walk free on probation
One-third of those who sexually abused a child won probation and were released to roam the community in Houston. An analysis of court records found the lenient treatment these predators were receiving. KHOU-TV, Houston.

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!"

Devil's Night Arson: What Do You Report When You Are Anticipating Trouble?
Detroit had been plagued with extensive fires in previous years. Now the year has passed. It is time for the troubles again. You can't ignore it, but you don't want to stimulate anything with your early news coverage.

A Reporter Starts Out

It All Begins With The Writing

CBS news correspondent Charles Kuralt was interested in writing and reporting from the time he was a boy in North Carolina.

		He was twelve when he won a writing contest sponsored by The Charlotte News. He spent several days on the road with the town's minor league baseball team.
In college, he worked on the campus newspaper. From there he caught on with the News, reporting and writing a people column.

		The story of Kuralt's journey from Charlotte to the top of television news is impressive. He tells his version of it in his book You can still find used copies available.

Getting hired
The call from New York

One Sunday afternoon in March 1957, Kurault stopped looking for daffodils in his backyard, and went in and answered his phone.

The man on the line said he was John Day, calling from New York. He said he was director of news at CBS. He said he had read about my winning a prize for newspaper reporting, the Ernie Pyle award, and wondered whether I had any interest in writing for radio.

"Well, sir," I said, "I've always admired you people at CBS, but I don' t think there's enough going on down here in Charlotte to write about for radio."
"I don' t mean there," the man said. "I mean here. Would you like to come to New York to talk about a job?"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Well," I said, "I suppose I I would, yes."
"Can you come tomorrow?" he asked.
"No," I said, "I have to go to work tomorrow. I have to work on the state edition tomorrow, see, which means they'll be expecting me at six thirty. You understand The Charlotte News isn't a real big paper and they'll be shorthanded if I don't show up."
The man on the other end of the line chuckled and said, "Sure, I understand. How about later in the week?"
"Well, I'll ask for a day off," I said. "Could I call you tomorrow or Tuesday?"
"Sure," he said. "The number is PLaza 1-2345. Ask for me."

I was very much impressed by the phone number. I thought CBS must be the big time, all right, to have a telephone number like that.

My wife came in from outside to see who had called. I told her it was CBS News in New York, maybe offering a job. She said, "I bet it was Emery Wister kidding you about having the big head over that Ernie Pyle award."

Emery Wister sat at the desk next to mine in the newspaper office down on Fourth Street. He was a good reporter, but fun-loving. He was capable of a trick like this. I could just hear him the next morning telling everybody how I'd said I couldn't come to New York right away because I had to work on the state edition.

I picked up the phone and asked for New York information. When the operator came on the line, I said, "What's the number for the Columbia Broadcasting System, please?"
After a pause, she said, "PLaza 1-2345."
At least that much checked out, and the next morning Emery Wister didn't say a thing. I asked Tom Fesperman if I could have Friday off.

The young North Carolina newspaper reporter won the job.
He subsequently impressed Edward R. Murrow and others. He was transferred to the young television news operation, writing for the evening news anchored by Douglas Edwards.

First On Camera "Reports"
Chinese New Year, Marilyn Monroe

Television news kept expanding. There were opportunities.

He was given a chance to report on a celebration in New York. He met photographer Al Gretz on Mott Street.

In my best imitation of the way I thought Murrow would have done it, I delivered into the microphone a sober lecture on the traditions of the Chinese New Year.
I finished and Al turned off the light. I asked him, "What do you think?" He said, "I couldn't hear what you were saying in all this racket, but you sure looked grim. I think this is supposed to be fun."
I said, "Maybe I'd better think of something else to say." We stood there in the middle of the street while I thought.
After a while, Gretz said, "If you will watch the camera and keep anybody from knocking it over, I think I will just have a quick drink in that bar over there."
Paper lions went dancing by, blaring bands passed, confetti fell from the rooftops, strings of firecrackers exploded. The minutes ticked away. I stood in the street alone, trying, and failing, to write a script in my head. I was blowing my first assignment. I might never have another one. I needed a typewriter and a little peace and quiet.
Gretz came back from the bar. "Ready?" he said. "Sure," I said. The light came back on. As I looked toward the camera and opened my mouth to say something, anything, a cherry bomb exploded at my feet with a deafening bang. I jumped and exclaimed, "Wow, that one nearly got me, Al!"
They used thirty seconds of film of the Chinese New Year celebration on the late local news that night, including this much from the reporter on the scene:
"Wow, that one nearly got me, Al!
They were my first words on the air for CBS News.

My next appearance was even shorter and even sillier. Marilyn Monroe came to town with her husband, Arthur Miller, to promote a new movie. A camera crew and I elbowed our way through a mob of other reporters in a hotel ballroom until I made it to her side. She was wearing a low-cut gown with sequins all over it. She was gorgeous and perspiring. The camera rolled. A surge of the crowd pushed us tightly together.
I said, "Good afternoon, Miss Monroe."
She smiled and said huskily, "Oh, isn' t it hot in here?"
Grinning foolishly, I wiped my forehead and said, "It sure is!"
She turned away, looking for a way out of the crush, and I couldn't reach her again. That was my interview with Marilyn Monroe. it went on the air in its entirety.

Soon, Kuralt was an on air reporter. He covered Nixon and Kennedy campaigning, turmoil in the Congo and Russian premier Khrushchev's visit to the United States. It was on to the conventions, Vietnam and eventually his distinctive pieces filed from on the road in America and anchoring CBS' Sunday morning news magazine.

Remembering Charles Kuralt


Nearly 100 people who knew Kuralt were interviewed about his life and reporting. The oral histories were gathered by Ralph Grizzle. He edited the vignettes and set them in chronological order.

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.

Sign 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.

Tips To Improve Your Writing
Writers and editors at the Providence Journal share their reflections and lessons learned about reporting and writing. Here are detailed articles that are well worth reviewing by anyone seriously interested in reporting today.

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.

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.