Some On-Air Changes Taking Place at Your NewsChannel 3
I just read about some on-air changes taking place at NewsChannel 3. You know, the one owned by the NYTimes . Something about the traffic person quitting and an interim news director making some changes. Oh wait, what's this. Oh, it's the NYTimes station in Norfolk, VA! I'm sorry. I hope no one minded that I hyped a non-local, non-story here on my blog. After all, it is February and I'm just trying to drive up my hits on this website.
Seriously, the article from VARTV.com specifically mentioned a change ordered by the interim news director at WTKR. Nancy Nydam who has some big market experience (not sure in what capacity and am too lazy right now to look it up) replaces ND Jeff Parsons who left to work on internet broadcasting in Minnesota. Anyway, Ms. Nydam's first order of business: She axes the awkward sounding "Live in the (community) mobile news room and replaces it with just "Live".
I don't know if they still do that silliness here in the Memphis market. I bet when the former ND at WREG implemented catch phrases such as "mobile news room" and "breaking news center" and "flying mobile breaking news center" (okay, I made that last one up) that consultants were giggling and buying each other drinks over the fact that they had helped change the face of news. Those catch phrases rolled off the tongue like peanut butter. Anyway, it's nice to see that someone saw the light and put a stop to the nonsense. I guess the really funny part is that five or ten or twenty years down the road, news people will look back and admit it was a silly notion. They will have finally caught on to what the rest of us already think about those catch phrases.
Seriously, the article from VARTV.com specifically mentioned a change ordered by the interim news director at WTKR. Nancy Nydam who has some big market experience (not sure in what capacity and am too lazy right now to look it up) replaces ND Jeff Parsons who left to work on internet broadcasting in Minnesota. Anyway, Ms. Nydam's first order of business: She axes the awkward sounding "Live in the (community) mobile news room and replaces it with just "Live".
I don't know if they still do that silliness here in the Memphis market. I bet when the former ND at WREG implemented catch phrases such as "mobile news room" and "breaking news center" and "flying mobile breaking news center" (okay, I made that last one up) that consultants were giggling and buying each other drinks over the fact that they had helped change the face of news. Those catch phrases rolled off the tongue like peanut butter. Anyway, it's nice to see that someone saw the light and put a stop to the nonsense. I guess the really funny part is that five or ten or twenty years down the road, news people will look back and admit it was a silly notion. They will have finally caught on to what the rest of us already think about those catch phrases.
posted by Joe Larkins at 4:18 PM
7 Comments:
Joe,
Why is it the new thing is to have a "live action, in progress, overhead flying, hoop jumping, bring on the lions, flying noise in the background, can't talk but mumble, wall to wall, jet ranger", traffic report?
Whatever happened to the simple: Hey people! there's a wreck at so and so location. Stay Away from there.
Channel 3 must have an awfully large budget these days to afford 2 traffic reporters. Guess that's why they have a 3 -4 minute segment on Anna Nicole everyday.
SHEESH!............JD
I have seen the promos for NewsChopper 3 but I haven't seen the actual traffic reports so I don't know if they started using the chopper for traffic reports in the morning just leading up to and during the February ratings book. The chopper is expensive with an hourly rate around 500-bucks and I know that most of these operations have a set number of hours they can use a chopper without going over budget. Aerial shots tend to be more dramatic during the daylight hours (unless it's a big fire) and this time of year it's still dark around the 6pm news. So they may have shifted the chopper to the mornings in an effort to get the most bang for their buck.
Don't be surprised to see some scaling back of the use of the chopper after the book is over.
I know when I anchored the morning show, we really pushed the chopper during one book and the day the ratings ended it was as if the chopper never existed.
For pure information and cost effectiveness I would think the Highway Cams from TDOT would be most effective but they aren't sexy and everybody has access to them.
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I like the chopper traffic reports if done right which they aren't in this market. they need to be little longer, filled with personality and using maps and only one person. My understanding is the chopper reporter is actually a desk person at 3 so probably no extra cost. If they only do it during sweeps then they're dumb. you can't dangle something in-front of viewers then take it away and expect them to stay. either commit or don't do it.
Be aware that this latest deleted comment was mine. I'm having to go through the back door these days to log on to blog-spot. I fear I ill have to move this blog in the very near future because of log-on and other technical issues.
There, I did it again.
Don't watch Channel 3 anymore, had to read that the young female in AM
is named Corrie Ventura because she speaks so fast I cannot understand anything she says. Have gone to Fox News National. Live in Memphis and love Midtown but can no longer stomach the grossly inciteful,notoriety exploitive type news which is used for ratings and monetary gain. Biggest Pet Peeves are Andy Wise and Markova whatever her name is. Hope you find out whatever you want to do. Good Luck.
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