I've been think more and more about the future of TV news, and local TV stations in general, but that thinking has been focused on two arenas: what happens next, and what happens way down the road in the future.
Tonight a different question occurred to me: what happens in the mid-term? SO TV stations continue to lose money for the companies that own them and those companies have few options: change their revenue models, sell the stations, or go bankrupt.
Changing the revenue model is a possibility, but most local TV stations are owned by big companies that don't adapt well to change, and the changes needed for these stations to weather the coming economic storm are going to be too drastic for most consultants to admit and too hard long-time news directors to implement. The existing structure for TV stations, and TV newsrooms in particular is built on a very particular style of news that simply isn't selling anymore. See the post on what TV news and coffee have to do with each other for why this painful collapse was brought about.
So, changing the revenue model is exceeding unlikely, so the next possibility is to try to sell those stations. There are a couple of major problems with that, the foremost being that people don't buy failing businesses with revenue negative business models. Not to mention, the people who have the money required to meet the likely asking price of these businesses would be wiser to sit on that money in the short-term than to risk it in this down economy.
That brings us to the last possibility: bankruptcy. Even if bankruptcy is filed, and the stations land on life-support for a while...eventually they will go dark as new investors fail to materialize.
I wonder, then...what happens after that? Are we going to see local markets where local media is done away with, and the nation becomes a group of consumers of network-only broadcasting? Do the nets simply pipe their signal to the local TV master control rooms, and sell advertising through the New York office? Do local newsgatherers form online collectives, breaking stories online and collecting big payouts only on the rare day they come across a piece that 'blows the lid off' some big local story that pushes traffic to their site?
There's a good reason why "news from where *you* live," and all those other platitudes we've been fed for decades as local news consumers are cliche. There *is* a desire for local product...just not the product being offered, and not sold in the way it's always been sold. Local TV stations have made their money by selling a product you can't hold to produce a result that can't be easily verified based on the premise that they were the only way to reach thousands of potential local consumers. Thanks to technology there are countless ways to reach people in your community, and do so in a more targeted, verifiable, and cost-effective way.
What does all this mean? How do you re-make the model of a business that hasn't had to change for decades? How do you re-tool TV news from a product that appears an exercise in virtual sameness across local stations into something worth watching? How do you uproot the sense of entitlement that was showered on our industry by advertisers from 20 years ago into a hungry, aggressive, adaptable fighter that's willing to scrap for every tiny piece of that increasingly shrinking pie?
There are more questions than answers, as they say, but the days when decisions need to made are increasingly closer at hand. The big newspapers are stopping the presses, newsroom staffs are being told to stay home, and the future looks much worse.
What happens after all the dust settles? As strange as it may sound...I really hope to be on the other side, bacuase that's when the real excitement is going to begin. That's when the kind of people who brought television to the world will get to be part of a new revolution. TV wasn't always a foregone conclusion: it took people with the ability to see the amazing potential that lay waiting at their fingertips to plow through problems as they arose, and find solutions to problems nobody else had ever faced. It's part of why the "originals" at CNN are such a tight group: they got to fight this battle together.
A new battle is coming, and it's not the kind of thing that's palatable to people who have grown comfortable with the certainty of a stable paycheck and a guaranteed bonus. It's the kind of thing that doesn't have a guarantee of any kind on the other side...but it offers a chance to really change things. It's a chance to be a part of the next new saga of TV and TV news.
I don't know how or where I'm going to get to be a part of it...but I know this much: I'll be there. There's too many people in the world disgusted and made cynical by jobs they hate. Working in TV is a job I love...perhaps more than just about anything else in my life, and no matter what it takes I want to be a part of it.
Not despite the fact times are going to be hard...but because of it.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A day in Savannah
I got to Savannah around 5pm...I was really excited about getting to the hotel. I got a great deal on Priceline, and wanted to know exactly what I was in for $79/night. The result? AWESOME!
I'm right next to City Hall - the picture to the left was taken from my room - *and* I can see the river from my window (although I kind of have to crane my head a tiny bit.)
They told me that they can park my car for me...for $18/day. They do valet only, they told me...and parking is tricky in these parts. I later discovered that there is a lot next door that I can park in for free until 8am, and then renew my parking spot for 5 hours for $3.50...kind of seems worth waking up at 8am to save $15...especially since there are so many other things to spend that money on.
I dropped off my bags, and realized that I was a little short on clothes. I suddenly realized that I'd *planned* on bringing several shirts that I had hanging on hangers...but I left those hangers in the closet and only brought the bag I'd packed. So...I had plenty of underwear, jeans, shoes, socks, and everything EXCEPT for shirts. I'd noticed a cool second-hand clothing store (named 'The Clothing Warehouse') on my drive in, and tracked the place down and asked the guy there for some suggestions. I soon walked out with a couple changes of clothes to last me well for the next couple days of eating and drinking.
I was told to head to Jekyll Island because there's an amazing restaurant at the end of a pier there that serves amazing crab. I'm from Maryland, and telling me that there's a place to get fresh crab is all you need to say...so, obviously, that was my next stop.
Unfortunately, I didn't realize that Jekyll Island is a 90 minute drive from here...but, the promise of delicious crab at the end of a quaint pier was too much to ignore.
I worked my way down I-95 and finally got to Jekyll Island. I'm sure the place is picturesque, but it's really hard to tell in the dark...but I didn't care. I only barely noticed the ratty little barbecue joint as I drove in towards the island. I followed the directions on my TomTom and got closer and closer to the fabled unnamed restaurant at the end of the pier.
On arriving at Jekyll Island I met the toll-taker who looked crestfallen as I told her what I was in search of. She was able to give me directions but had some bad news. I drove to make sure...and she was right.
The "Rah" Bar is closed on Mondays...as are most restaurants on Jekyll Island. Suck.
I remembered that little BBQ place I saw on my drive in, and the thought of tasty, smoky, sweet barbecue really started to make my mouth water. I remembered that column of smoke rising from the place, and realized that my proximity to Brunswick, Georgia almost ensured that I was in store for a really great meal.
However, as I arrived at that little barbecue place, I noticed the plume of smoke was gone...as were any cars in the parking lot. I parked and went to the front door...the sign read that they closed at 8pm. It was 7:58 by my clock...but the place was abandoned, locked, and empty.
I hoped that the TomTom would be able to help me find some sort of barbecue *somewhere* in Brunswick...but, don't be fooled. Brunswick, Georgia closes at 8pm...except for one place: The New China Restaurant. I hadn't eaten almost all day...and there's nothing better than salty Wonton soup and super-sweet tea when you're desperate for food.
I made my way back to Savannah and got back to the hotel, and realized (after parking) that there were two bars just across the street. I walked into 'Moon River' and asked when last call was. I was told it was half an hour ago...then asked what I wanted drink. The place was still stacked with at least a dozed suit-clad big-spending conventioneers...and the bartender was not at all anxious to kick *them* out...so his patience was my gain. I got a drink and a shot, and settled next to a girl in a hockey sweatshirt reading the New York Times.
She was homely and seemed Canadian...but she was really from New England. She used to be a US Marine, but now works at a funky lunch place...and is studying historical preservation. Her skill at conversation was obviously adapted from her training at recruiting agents...so it was a lot of pushing for details and little rapport-building.
I closed my tab, and wandered my way down Whitaker street and found a couple people sitting in a dimly lit bar sipping on drinks and listening to recorded jazz music. The place was named "Circa 1875"...I'm guessing that's from the date on the liquor license posted on the wall. I grabbed a Stella Artois and talked to a couple of sous-chefs from the area. We did shots (them Jameson, me Firefly) and talked about the area, places to eat, and how the economy is treating everyone. I learned that a restaurant named Garibaldi's may be the pace to go for local seafood...and, on my way back to the hotel, found out that Paula Deen's restaurant is just two blocks from here.
I've got a rough itinerary for tomorrow...but I guess we'll see what happens...time to go to bed.
I'm right next to City Hall - the picture to the left was taken from my room - *and* I can see the river from my window (although I kind of have to crane my head a tiny bit.)They told me that they can park my car for me...for $18/day. They do valet only, they told me...and parking is tricky in these parts. I later discovered that there is a lot next door that I can park in for free until 8am, and then renew my parking spot for 5 hours for $3.50...kind of seems worth waking up at 8am to save $15...especially since there are so many other things to spend that money on.
I dropped off my bags, and realized that I was a little short on clothes. I suddenly realized that I'd *planned* on bringing several shirts that I had hanging on hangers...but I left those hangers in the closet and only brought the bag I'd packed. So...I had plenty of underwear, jeans, shoes, socks, and everything EXCEPT for shirts. I'd noticed a cool second-hand clothing store (named 'The Clothing Warehouse') on my drive in, and tracked the place down and asked the guy there for some suggestions. I soon walked out with a couple changes of clothes to last me well for the next couple days of eating and drinking.
I was told to head to Jekyll Island because there's an amazing restaurant at the end of a pier there that serves amazing crab. I'm from Maryland, and telling me that there's a place to get fresh crab is all you need to say...so, obviously, that was my next stop.
Unfortunately, I didn't realize that Jekyll Island is a 90 minute drive from here...but, the promise of delicious crab at the end of a quaint pier was too much to ignore.
I worked my way down I-95 and finally got to Jekyll Island. I'm sure the place is picturesque, but it's really hard to tell in the dark...but I didn't care. I only barely noticed the ratty little barbecue joint as I drove in towards the island. I followed the directions on my TomTom and got closer and closer to the fabled unnamed restaurant at the end of the pier.
On arriving at Jekyll Island I met the toll-taker who looked crestfallen as I told her what I was in search of. She was able to give me directions but had some bad news. I drove to make sure...and she was right.
The "Rah" Bar is closed on Mondays...as are most restaurants on Jekyll Island. Suck.
I remembered that little BBQ place I saw on my drive in, and the thought of tasty, smoky, sweet barbecue really started to make my mouth water. I remembered that column of smoke rising from the place, and realized that my proximity to Brunswick, Georgia almost ensured that I was in store for a really great meal.
However, as I arrived at that little barbecue place, I noticed the plume of smoke was gone...as were any cars in the parking lot. I parked and went to the front door...the sign read that they closed at 8pm. It was 7:58 by my clock...but the place was abandoned, locked, and empty.
I hoped that the TomTom would be able to help me find some sort of barbecue *somewhere* in Brunswick...but, don't be fooled. Brunswick, Georgia closes at 8pm...except for one place: The New China Restaurant. I hadn't eaten almost all day...and there's nothing better than salty Wonton soup and super-sweet tea when you're desperate for food.
I made my way back to Savannah and got back to the hotel, and realized (after parking) that there were two bars just across the street. I walked into 'Moon River' and asked when last call was. I was told it was half an hour ago...then asked what I wanted drink. The place was still stacked with at least a dozed suit-clad big-spending conventioneers...and the bartender was not at all anxious to kick *them* out...so his patience was my gain. I got a drink and a shot, and settled next to a girl in a hockey sweatshirt reading the New York Times.
She was homely and seemed Canadian...but she was really from New England. She used to be a US Marine, but now works at a funky lunch place...and is studying historical preservation. Her skill at conversation was obviously adapted from her training at recruiting agents...so it was a lot of pushing for details and little rapport-building.
I closed my tab, and wandered my way down Whitaker street and found a couple people sitting in a dimly lit bar sipping on drinks and listening to recorded jazz music. The place was named "Circa 1875"...I'm guessing that's from the date on the liquor license posted on the wall. I grabbed a Stella Artois and talked to a couple of sous-chefs from the area. We did shots (them Jameson, me Firefly) and talked about the area, places to eat, and how the economy is treating everyone. I learned that a restaurant named Garibaldi's may be the pace to go for local seafood...and, on my way back to the hotel, found out that Paula Deen's restaurant is just two blocks from here.
I've got a rough itinerary for tomorrow...but I guess we'll see what happens...time to go to bed.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Being a journalist means being a marketer too?
Just finished 'The End of Journalism as Usual' by Mark Briggs in the Nieman Reports, and he makes a fascinating point about the future of journalism.
He references the blog Techcrunch and says that after just two years their coverage of technology has eclipsed the readership of similar coverage by the New York Times and bay area news outlets because they focused on their marketable content; directed it at a market segment that wanted it, and sold advertising to that market.
To some journalists the idea of thinking of targeted content and marketing detracts from the purity and truth-seeking that brought them in to journalism in the first place. However, Briggs issues a response to that line of thinking:
He references the blog Techcrunch and says that after just two years their coverage of technology has eclipsed the readership of similar coverage by the New York Times and bay area news outlets because they focused on their marketable content; directed it at a market segment that wanted it, and sold advertising to that market.
To some journalists the idea of thinking of targeted content and marketing detracts from the purity and truth-seeking that brought them in to journalism in the first place. However, Briggs issues a response to that line of thinking:
Digital entrepreneur Elizabeth Osder visited the University of Southern California last fall and spoke frankly to journalism students about this new environment, according to a summary posted by Online Journalism Review. She presented the following recipe for entrepreneurial journalism:What do you think? Do you think learning the additional skills required to make being a journalist a viable business is necessary, or does it take away from the purity of the job?
Start with the impact you want to have. Figure out what audience you need to assemble to have that impact and what kind of content is needed to do that. Then price it out: How much money do you need to do it?
After one student complained that this felt too much like business school, Osder defended the new approach as bringing to them a necessary discipline. “It forces you to be relevant and useful versus arrogant and entitled,” Osder replied.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Buffalo Plane Crash
A couple quick thoughts on the tragic plane crash in Buffalo from Thursday:
For as connected and technological as our society is, it's amazing to me that
the mainstream media didn't pick up on this story for well over 90 minutes. The story was covered by local affiliates, specialty websites, and Twitter well before the major networks even touched it. Why?? That's a question those networks will work to answer in the coming days and weeks
Miles O'Brien was let go by CNN late last year as part of a reorganization effort. To get into whether that was a good or bad decision is something for other people to answer...though I will say his thoughtful perspective on the incident is sorely missed in network coverage of this disaster.
For as connected and technological as our society is, it's amazing to me that
the mainstream media didn't pick up on this story for well over 90 minutes. The story was covered by local affiliates, specialty websites, and Twitter well before the major networks even touched it. Why?? That's a question those networks will work to answer in the coming days and weeksMiles O'Brien was let go by CNN late last year as part of a reorganization effort. To get into whether that was a good or bad decision is something for other people to answer...though I will say his thoughtful perspective on the incident is sorely missed in network coverage of this disaster.
Friday, February 13, 2009
F*** My Life
It's Friday, which means it's time for something a little off-the-wall and amusing.
FMyLife.com is a website
of people complaining about unfortunate things that happened to them. It's a sort of one-ups-man-ship competition based on who had the worst experience. The content varies in terms of subject matter. Some of the posts are sexual in nature:
Today, I was having sex with a girl. After we finished she proceeded to tell me she already had a boyfriend and that his penis was larger then mine. FML.
some are disgusting:
Today, I bit into a cereal bar and thought the inside was oddly damp. I took a look at it and saw a maggot worm wriggling around. Its friend was in my mouth. FML.
some are sad:
Today, I called my dad to inform him I was coming home from college for the weekend. Expecting him to be excited, he responded with "why?" This weekend was my birthday. FML.
and some are just plain pathetic:
Today, this guy took me to Denny's on a first date and used a 2 for 1 coupon. It was expired. I paid. FML.
A good bit of the content is NSFW, but it's guaranteed to provide a little chuckle (or at least make you feel a bit better about yourself.
(thanks to Jason Reid for the suggestion)
FMyLife.com is a website
of people complaining about unfortunate things that happened to them. It's a sort of one-ups-man-ship competition based on who had the worst experience. The content varies in terms of subject matter. Some of the posts are sexual in nature:Today, I was having sex with a girl. After we finished she proceeded to tell me she already had a boyfriend and that his penis was larger then mine. FML.
some are disgusting:
Today, I bit into a cereal bar and thought the inside was oddly damp. I took a look at it and saw a maggot worm wriggling around. Its friend was in my mouth. FML.
some are sad:
Today, I called my dad to inform him I was coming home from college for the weekend. Expecting him to be excited, he responded with "why?" This weekend was my birthday. FML.
and some are just plain pathetic:
Today, this guy took me to Denny's on a first date and used a 2 for 1 coupon. It was expired. I paid. FML.
A good bit of the content is NSFW, but it's guaranteed to provide a little chuckle (or at least make you feel a bit better about yourself.
(thanks to Jason Reid for the suggestion)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Twitter fight!!
If you're a TV assignment editor like me (especially in local news), then you've definitely encountered a public relations call or two.
Here's the drill: the PR person wants you to do a story on the product or service they are publicizing, and you want to do stories about things that are unbiased and newsworthy. Rarely do those two roads meet...though, to be fair, sometimes they do.
Normally the call will consist of some poor, underpaid intern who's been handed a script and told to call hundreds of TV stations in the country they have on a list...that person doesn't particularly care about the product or service, nor can they speak intelligently about the subject. They just want you to downlink whatever feed is going out so the company they're representing gets advertising without paying for it.
This isn't to say that there aren't smart, savvy, helpful, friendly, and awesome PR people in the world (I've known several)...but it *is* to say that they are the exception to the rule.
A time when those excellent PR people can come in handy is when you need comment on something from an expert in a REALLY SHORT TIME FRAME. TV news works fast, and calling back the next day isn't good enough...especially in local.
So, reading this outburst from a media guy towards a PR person, I can start to understand where he's coming from. She (in his mind) had all the time in the world when she needed him to do some story about her product or service...but when he needed her to help out with comment on something, she was nowhere to be found.
However, where he handled it (on Twitter) and the way he went about it (by being a jerk and using a lot of profanity) are just downright stupid.
Check it out for yourself.
Have you been on either end of this kind of phone call? Does he deserve to be called out like this (especialy since he took down the offensive messages soon after sending them)? Leave me a comment and tell me what YOU think!
Big thanks to my coworker Gary Bender (@GLBcnn) for pointing out this story.
Here's the drill: the PR person wants you to do a story on the product or service they are publicizing, and you want to do stories about things that are unbiased and newsworthy. Rarely do those two roads meet...though, to be fair, sometimes they do.
Normally the call will consist of some poor, underpaid intern who's been handed a script and told to call hundreds of TV stations in the country they have on a list...that person doesn't particularly care about the product or service, nor can they speak intelligently about the subject. They just want you to downlink whatever feed is going out so the company they're representing gets advertising without paying for it.
This isn't to say that there aren't smart, savvy, helpful, friendly, and awesome PR people in the world (I've known several)...but it *is* to say that they are the exception to the rule.
A time when those excellent PR people can come in handy is when you need comment on something from an expert in a REALLY SHORT TIME FRAME. TV news works fast, and calling back the next day isn't good enough...especially in local.
So, reading this outburst from a media guy towards a PR person, I can start to understand where he's coming from. She (in his mind) had all the time in the world when she needed him to do some story about her product or service...but when he needed her to help out with comment on something, she was nowhere to be found.
However, where he handled it (on Twitter) and the way he went about it (by being a jerk and using a lot of profanity) are just downright stupid.
Check it out for yourself.
Have you been on either end of this kind of phone call? Does he deserve to be called out like this (especialy since he took down the offensive messages soon after sending them)? Leave me a comment and tell me what YOU think!
Big thanks to my coworker Gary Bender (@GLBcnn) for pointing out this story.
(Original source: http://search.twitter.com/
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Candyland versus Mario
I've mentioned before how awesome Steven Johnson is, but I think this particular blog post exemplifies how adept and fascinating Johnson's worldview is.In this guest spot for Boingboing he discusses playing video games with his kids, then trying to introduce the games he played as a youth (Battleship, Candyland, and Sorry! for example) to his own children. The generation gap becomes rapidly apparent...and argues even more forcefully that kids today aren't dumber than those of previous generations (though they may not be in the best shape ever - childhood obesity has doubled over the past 20 years). In fact, the torrent of media that they endure on a daily basis has made them exceptional at multi-tasking and quite media savvy when it comes to advertising and biased messages.
It used to be that the advertisers tried to be one step ahead of the consumer, or that they always underestimated their intelligence. What's going to happen when those consumers haven't started high school, and easily see through the thinly-veiled product propaganda of most of today's Madison Avenue?
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