| CHAPTER 17 | |
 |
Producing News on TV |
Producing is what brings order out of chaos. A television news program is, at its core, simply a collection of news stories along with specialized segments. A well-produced show brings some measure of order and logic to what are otherwise unconnected bits of information.
Viewers frequently remark that one station’s news looks much like another. Given a reasonably consistent definition of news, the more hard, breaking events on any given day, the more likely that competing stations will look alike.
Most days, however, there are relatively few “must run” stories. So “slow” news days tend to highlight the different approaches that at least some stations take.
Many stations have an explicit news approach and philosophy. It might be an emphasis on consumer, investigative, standing up for the underdog stories; it might be “live and late breaking”; it might be something else. What’s typically at issue is a general approach to news and the kinds of stories that a station especially seeks out. Some stations take a harder edge, some put music behind stories, while others would never allow that. Some stations handle most significant stories with a live element; some stations frequently bring reporters on the set or live in the newsroom; some stations work at giving their video an edgier, gritty feel.
It’s useful for everyone in the newsroom if the station articulates a news philosophy so that everyone understands what the station is trying to do and how it plans to accomplish that goal.
OVERVIEW
The average television station produces more than five hours of local news every weekday. Stations will commonly run two or three hours in the morning before the network morning news programs start at 7 A.M. That means starting local news at 4:30 or 5 A.M. Then there are local “cut-ins” during the network morning news programs. Many stations run news for a half hour at noon. Then late-afternoon news starts at most stations by 4 or 5 P.M. and commonly runs to 6:30 P.M. or 7 P.M. Depending on time zone, tradition and/or philosophy, the network news usually comes on at 5:30 P.M. or at 6:30 P.M. Then stations commonly run 30–35 minutes of news at 11 P.M. in Eastern and Pacific time or 10 P.M. Central and Mountain time.
Those are typical times for stations that run news and are affiliated with ABC, CBS or NBC. Fox affiliates are most likely to run news an hour earlier than the late news: 10 P.M. in Eastern and Pacific and 9 P.M. in Central and Mountain. That newscast might run for either half an hour or an hour, depending on market, news tradition, competition or other factors. The number two news time for Fox affiliates is in the morning, followed by early evening. While almost all (around 95 percent) the stations affiliated with ABC, CBS and NBC run local news, about half the Fox affiliates run local news. Considerably fewer CW or independent stations run local news, but if they do, they tend to follow a schedule closer to Fox affiliates.
Along with the roughly 750 local stations that originate local news, another 225 stations—mostly CW and independents—also run local news that they get from one of those 750 stations.
As this is written, there are former network affiliates—now independents—in San Francisco, Phoenix and Jacksonville, Florida—that run a substantial amount of news throughout the day, but those are exceptions to the general rule that independents run little or no local news.
Currently, the biggest growth in local news is actually among Spanish-language stations, generally affiliates of Telemundo or Univision. Hispanic stations tend to run news early and late evening, but schedules and amount vary considerably.
Obviously, the cable news channels run news all day long. In addition to the national channels—CNN, Fox, MSNBC and CNBC—there are a number of regional and local cable news channels running news 24 hours a day.
AUDIENCE
The audience available for each newscast varies by time of day, and how they watch the news varies as well.
The biggest growth area in TV news is in the morning. That’s been true for several years, and overall, morning news is rapidly becoming the top time for TV news. Less clear is how the audience watches morning news. The presumption is that people turn on the news in the morning and go about their business—more listening than watching, much like radio news. That may be changing, but the research isn’t definitive yet.
The noon audience is primarily made up of three groups: retired, unemployed and housewives. Overall, the audience tends to be older (because of the large number of retired people watching), and the audience tends to sit and watch the news rather than doing a mixture of other activities.
The blending of other activity and news tends to be the norm in the early part of the early evening newscasts. The time before the 6 P.M. news tends to be busy in most households with kids returning from school or play, dinner preparations and so on. Newscasts at that hour tend to skew female. At 6 P.M., the news audience jumps as a lot more people return home, turn on the news and focus more on it, and the audience is more balanced by gender.
The late news audience is again balanced male–female (although some research suggests it skews male) and, at the end of the day, viewers tend to focus more on the newscast (rather than doing other things along with watching). For many stations, this is the most important newscast of the day. Not because of content but because of money. Even though the 6 P.M. news may have more people watching, the late news tends to have a younger audience that more advertisers want to reach, so the late news tends to have the most expensive local news advertising rates of the day and to bring in the most money for the station.
Audience Flow
Never underestimate the power of inertia. Even with the remote control, the channel people have been watching has the advantage as people move from one half hour of viewing to the next. Lead-in is critical.
That means that whatever channel people were watching when they went to bed is the one that comes on automatically in the morning, although that’s not the case with some cable systems. People may well change the channel, but the late-night winner has a leg up in the morning. A popular game show will bring a large base to the noon newscast (the Price Is Right is tough competition), and popular talk shows in the afternoon provide a boost to the first late-afternoon newscast. The late news follows network prime time, so whichever network is particularly strong (or weak) in that last show before the news determines the potential base for the late news. As this is written, NBC has been weakest in prime time, putting NBC affiliates at a disadvantage for the late news.
Why can’t people just switch? They can, and they do. But whatever prime-time program people are watching determines which news promos they see, so the late news on that channel has an extra shot at convincing people to stay with the channel they’re on. Then there’s inertia.
What about people using a DVR (digital video recorder) to record and watch news when it’s more convenient? The latest figures (Nielsen, 2011) show that 38 percent of U.S. homes have a DVR, but only 9.3 percent of total TV viewing is from a DVR. And it’s seldom used for news, since news has such a short lifespan.
NEWSCAST STRUCTURE
All newscasts contain news and weather, and that news includes a blend of stories and story types (see Chapters 2 and 12). Sports and special segments appear in select newscasts.
Early-morning newscasts (before the morning network news) frequently skip sports unless there’s something unusual, and special morning segments tend to be limited to large and major markets. Stations will run local, national and international news, and weather. Traffic, too, if it’s a big enough city. The morning news is actually a series of mostly repeated newscasts. Depending on the station and market, the news cycle could be 20, 30 or even 60 minutes, largely repeating with some updates and minor changes after each interval.
Once the morning network news starts, the local station will simply supply local cut-ins: roughly five-minute newscasts each half hour with just local news and weather.
In the early afternoon, before 6 P.M. or the network newscast, local stations will generally run a mix of local, national and international news along with weather and, if applicable, traffic. Generally, there will be no sports, but expect to see health news, which tends to be especially popular with women.
The 6 P.M. news is commonly the local newscast of record. Expect to see local news, weather and sports. It would be unusual to have national or international news, since the network newscast is on right next to this newscast.
The late-evening news summarizes, overall, the news of the day, so you’ll see local, national and international news, weather and sports.
News, Weather and Sports
In a typical day, when there is not extraordinary local news, the audience is probably most interested in weather, then news, then, way back, sports. Generalizations are risky and not without exceptions, but that’s the way it works.
So why don’t stations start with weather? Well, sometimes they do. If the weather has been exceptional, stations will almost always start the newscast with weather. If the weather is ordinary, then stations start with news, as much to tell the audience that “this” (whatever the top story is) is the most important local news that it has. In some measure, it’s a reassurance that the world is largely the way we left it when we last checked the news.
Note that the first commercial of the newscast doesn’t usually come until at least eight or nine minutes after the start of the newscast. Note also that the weather almost always comes shortly after the quarter hour. Note, too, that sports comes at the end of the newscast. Television is way too researched for accidents. This is programming for ratings.
Television station ratings are conducted by the Nielsen Company and are tracked in 15-minute intervals, although people meters are likely to change that eventually. If you take a look at a ratings report, you’ll see that stations get a rating for 6 P.M., for instance, then 6:15 P.M. and then 6:30 P.M. and so on. In order for a station to get credit for 15 minutes of viewing, someone (or, technically, the household) must watch the station for at least 5 minutes of the 15-minute block of time. On a theoretical basis, that means the same person could show up as audience for three different stations. In practice, it doesn’t work that way.
The reason a station runs its longest block of news at the top of the show is that a viewer is unlikely to change channels while the news itself is on. Once a station goes to a commercial, at least some people may hit the remote and check out the alternatives. As long as that first commercial comes after at least 5 minutes, the station will get credit for the 15-minute viewing block.
Weather comes shortly after the quarter hour because stations know that it’s another major draw for the audience. Stations run weather just after the quarter hour in order to get credit for another 15 minutes of viewing.
Sports comes at the end where it won’t do much damage. Considerably fewer people follow sports, and a few stations have dropped sports as a defined unit in the newsroom, having regular reporters handle specific sports stories just as they handle other news. Part of the thinking behind dropping sports, or at least cutting it back, is that sports fans have so many other options for getting information, like ESPN, that they no longer need the sports segment of the news. On the other hand, while the sports audience is relatively small (except in some markets), it tends to be rabid, so dropping sports completely could be a risky venture. My research on this (I ask the question periodically as part of the RTDNA Surveys) suggests that there’s no mass movement to cut back on sports.
Special Segments, Franchises and Features
Along with the standard news, weather and sports, many stations run special segments. In a large city, traffic reports are common in the morning and late-afternoon newscasts. They might be delivered by the anchor, a reporter at a traffic center or a helicopter reporter.
Probably the most common beats that stations assign to reporters include health and consumer (and education, which doesn’t usually translate into special segments). Many stations run health reports in the 5 P.M. newscast. Some of those are done by the station itself; others are purchased from one of the several companies that supply health news either for a fee or in exchange for the station running ads that the company supplies or both.
A lot of stations run a consumer feature, although placement varies from one station to the next. Those segments are usually done locally with a particular reporter specializing in that area.
Some stations also produce regular features on child or pet adoption, food, gardening, entertainment reports and reviews, and a wide variety of specialty areas that stations have developed. Some of those run daily, some weekly, some in between.
Stations also purchase a variety of special interest segments that they use to fill out newscasts. “Mr. Food” is a common noontime feature. Consumer Reports, Better Homes and Gardens and some other publications and companies produce TV features. There are even companies that produce special series for use during sweeps (ratings periods).
BUILDING A LOCAL NEWSCAST
From a structural or form standpoint, the producer has a mix and match of readers, voiceovers, VO/SOTs, packages and live shots (see Chapter 12). Chapter 2 discusses story types from an assignment perspective.
From a news standpoint, anything is possible. Keep in mind that, as noted earlier, certain newscasts only contain certain elements.
We have trained the audience to expect the top story at the top of the newscast. Barring staggering major national or international news, that’s going to be a local story, regardless of the newscast. The strongest story should get the audience’s attention; it sets the tone for the newscast; and it introduces the anchors. Many stations also start with what’s called a “cold open.” That means that the beginning of the newscast starts with natural sound or a bite from the top story, followed by the anchors talking about the story and, perhaps, introducing a live report. Then what?
First, let’s back up. Newscasts are broken up into blocks, separated by commercials. The exact number of blocks of news and other information tends to vary by both newscast and station—determined, ultimately, by the number and placement of commercials. Some stations number the blocks—typically four or five in a half hour—some use letters (A, B, C, etc.). The first block includes the top story, usually includes the most meaningful events of the day and is the longest block. Remember, it has to go eight or nine minutes to capture audience and ensure rating credit. The second block, a much shorter one, also contains news, commonly contains station franchises (like health or consumer stories) and promotes the weather coming up. The second block also varies depending on events and the time of day. For instance, in the late-evening news, the second block might well concentrate on national and international news. The third block is primarily the weather. Weather is ultimately local, so a local events calendar or local arts or music events might go well there; or severe weather from elsewhere around the country; or a lighter local news story. The fourth block is primarily sports. Because sports appeals to a relatively small part of the audience, it might be useful to add into that block some stories that might have a wider appeal, especially ones with strong and promotable pictures. The fifth block may contain the kicker (a light story run at the end of the newscast) and a look ahead to the next newscast. The kicker should be a highly promotable story—preferably local and with video—that helps keep the nonsports audience through the sports. After the first three blocks, there’s a bit more variety in approach from station to station.
So in putting together a newscast, it’s not just an open pit into which stuff gets poured. There’s a prescribed outline into which the day’s events must fit, and good producers think about where each story might go when the assignments are set in the morning meeting (see Chapter 2).
There’s been a trend away from starting the newscast with a traditional newscast open, promoting the anchors. More and more, stations start with the top story in order to grab the attention of the viewer. The old newscast open frequently runs later in the block. Also to attract interest, stations tend to try to start each block with a strong video story—rather than a simple reader.
Determining flow within each block depends on the events of the day. Are there stories that logically flow out of or somehow connect to the top story? If the top story is a strike at a major local business, do you have other local business/labor news to go afterward? You also need a strong lead for the second block, so think about what will go there. Promotion for blocks three and four concentrates on weather and sports, respectively.
As producer, you also need to pay attention to story form. Reporter packages tend to slow down the pace of a newscast because a package means a lot of time, relatively speaking, on one story. Readers and voiceovers tend to pick the pace up because they’re usually shorter. So you need to spread out different story forms so that you don’t run package after package after package and then reader after reader after reader. Some stations like to have what’s called a “high story count.” Doing that requires fewer and shorter packages. That means you should have given all of this some thought when stories were assigned earlier in the day.
The producer also determines which anchor will read which story. Generally, in a dual anchor situation, the producer will have each anchor read about the same number of stories, although many stations have a “lead” anchor who will typically read a little more and is more likely to lead the show and introduce the top story. Note that producers usually don’t have anchors simply alternate stories. That would create an annoying ping-pong effect in news delivery.
Just to give you an idea, here’s what a newscast lineup might look like:
6 P.M. NEWSCAST
The 6 P.M. newscast (pp. 200–201) runs a total of 26:50 (after subtracting commercials just before and just after the newscast). Of that, 12:56 is news, 3:34 is sports, 3:01 is weather,: 45 goes to intro, teases, bumps and close, and 6:34 is commercial time.
The 11 P.M. newscast (pp. 201–202) runs a total of 31:12 (after subtracting commercials just before and just after the newscast). Of that, 13:16 is news, 3:30 is sports, 3:00 is weather, 1:36 includes intro, teases, bumps and close, and 9:50 is commercial time.
The newscasts (above) came from different stations, and you can see some differences in approach to commercials and teases.
Chapter 23, TV Script Form and Supers … Glossary, includes notes on standard newscast abbreviations and a typical format for newscast supers.
Determining the newscast lineup isn’t the end of the job; it’s really just the beginning. The stories in the lineup are there based on what you, as producer, think they’re going to be. Stories change, and that may affect their placement. Your lineup, determined hours (preferably three and a half to four hours) before the newscast, assumes that news won’t break out between then and airtime. News has a pesky way of breaking out whenever, and a good producer has to be ready to completely change a newscast in order to respond to events of the day—even at the last minute.
Then there’s the flow within the newscast. Reporters and writers should put together each story in the best way possible. In the end, they also have to flow one after the other as well as possible, and it’s up to the producer to ensure that flow. That commonly means rewriting story lead-ins so that they logically flow from the previous story. Logically flow. If they don’t or can’t flow logically, just move on. A forced “transition” that basically says the next story has nothing to do with the previous one is a waste of time.
Newscasts these days are all about live reporting. Audiences have indicated that they like live reporting, and even while many people in the business feel that they too often go live for live’s sake—from a site where nothing has happened for hours—the audience seems surprisingly forgiving where live is concerned.
Live reporting increases the producing challenge because it clearly offers an opportunity for problems and surprises. Technical problems could kill a live shot; events could make a live shot dangerous or inappropriate; a live camera is an idiot-magnet for spectators who have too little happening in their own lives, and there’s no telling what someone may do in the background or to the reporter; and then there’s simply controlling the total time spent in reporter talk and/or reporter-anchor crosstalk.
In the end, the producer’s primary job is to get on the air on time and get off the air on time while running all the commercials in between. Those are not optional. But everything else is potentially up for grabs and remains that way until the newscast is over.
For some, producing a newscast is seven hours (or so) of normal news work, a half hour of panic, and a half hour of chaos. The more productively those seven hours are spent, the less likely you’ll face either panic or chaos.
SUMMARY
Producing is what brings order out of chaos. The average television station produces more than five hours of local news every weekday. Different newscasts appeal to different audiences and, therefore, contain different elements, although news and weather are in all newscasts. Newscasts generally start with the top story, and a newscast is divided into blocks, each of which contains certain material. The length and timing of the blocks are designed to achieve maximum ratings.
KEY WORDS & PHRASES
producer
newscasts
ratings
blocks
franchises
audience flow
newscast structure
EXERCISES
A. Record a half hour or hour of a morning TV newscast. Write down all the stories, elements, story forms and which anchor reads each story or lead-in in the newscast. Note when the station went to commercials (and for how long). What can you tell about the thinking that went into the producing of the newscast? Did the producer work to tie stories together? Did the producer mix up the different story forms?
B. Record another half hour newscast (5 P.M. or 6 P.M. or late news) and compare that one with the morning show. How are the shows different in terms of content? Can you see different approaches to the producing itself?
C. Take the material in one of the newscasts you recorded and see if you can rearrange the material in a way that improves the newscast. Why do you think it’s better?
D. Using any edition of your local newspaper, assemble a half-hour newscast based on the material available in the paper. Explain why you did what you did.