I like news promos that have a sense of humor. A simple idea, well-executed works, too. But that’s not enough. They have to be memorable and make viewers curious. That’s what happened when I saw this promo from WCCO, the CBS O&O in Minneapolis. So I reached out to Casey Kespohl, WCCO’s CSD, for some […]
I like news promos that have a sense of humor. A simple idea, well-executed works, too.
But that’s not enough. They have to be memorable and make viewers curious.
That’s what happened when I saw this promo from WCCO, the CBS O&O in Minneapolis.
So I reached out to Casey Kespohl, WCCO’s CSD, for some background on the spot.
(Casey can be seen in the promo pushing the vacuum cleaner.)
“That’s great that you enjoyed the promo,” says Kespohl. “We do have a very talented creative crew who isn’t afraid to try new things and think outside the box, and they’ve helped us to be very successful.”
WCCO’s Mid Morning started on March 30 and is anchored by Jason DeRusha and Kylie Bearse. It’s not the first 9 a.m. newscast in town.
Mike Caputa, WCCO’s news director, says Mid Morning will have “all the news, weather headlines, everything that’s happening there, but some additional features designed to showcase things going on around town.”
I asked WCCO’s morning producer, Bess Ellison, how she views the show’s content and how the new 9 a.m. newscast was going so far.
“During the 9-10 a.m. hour, viewers will get a good glimpse of all the top stories, what’s happening in the weather and find out about places and events around our community. We are also taking time to go into depth about the issues and stories that are trending. Instead of just a quick 30-second story, we have a panel of our anchors/reporters that weigh in on those topics and provide insight from their expertise and experiences. I think the variety of content helps set us apart from our competition.
We are two weeks in now and everything is going better than I ever could’ve imagined! It feels like we’ve been doing the show for years.”
Rick Ellis wrote a review of WCCO’s Mid Morning, saying: “It would be interesting to open up the show a bit internally. Do a webcam desk segment with someone from the website. Talk to a producer or assignment editor about a story or two that are being worked on for stories later in the day. It’s the type of thing that’s casual without being lightweight. And while I’m happy there’s not a live audience, it might be fun to occasionally have live acoustic/folk/roots music for the bumper music.
“All of this is a long way of saying that Mid Morning is a new hour that at its worst is going to be a solid addition to WCCO’s lineup.”
To read the entire review, click here.
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