I’m guessing that when Dax Dobbs outlined the shooting schedule to the promotion/production staff for the new morning news campaign for KVUE, there was some moaning from the staff at the Tegna ABC affiliate in Austin, Texas. I don’t know exactly what time they all had to be on location ready to shoot, but it’s […]
‘Old-School’ TV Commercials And News Promos
Young television writers and producers working in local TV news or marketing or at production houses and ad agencies have probably heard the old-timers talk about the bygone days of shooting on film and videotape. The word “on” there refers to the image actually being on a piece of film or videotape. In my early […]
WTXF Tells Irish Viewers ‘Cead Mile Failte’
It’s OK, it’s a common greeting in Irish that means “A Hundred Thousand Welcomes.” And it was the station’s way of announcing that it will be airing the St. Patrick’s Parade on Sunday, March 13, from noon to 3. “We are so excited to be celebrating Irish and Irish American culture in our region by […]
Q&A With WABC Promo Manager Kristie Gonzales
I saw this, where else, on Facebook, and thought I’d share it with you. Kristie Gonzales is the promotion and digital brand manager at the ABC O&O in New York, WABC. She previously worked at stations in California and North Carolina. Andy Bechtel writes a blog about writing and editing and teaches at UNC-Chapel Hill. […]
KELOLand, Covering News In America’s Largest Viewing Area
What’s a typical day like covering local news in America’s largest viewing area by geography? Expect you might have to drive 350 miles — one way. You might start out in one state and end up in three others. You could begin your day in the newsroom then find yourself in the mountains at over […]
Adam Driver Drives ‘Saturday Night Live’ Laughs
Adam Driver was the Saturday Night Live host for its first show in 2016 on NBC. According to the entertainment website, The A.V. Club, Adam Driver “exhibited a winning ability to be a big, energetic goof, which was plenty endearing.” Driver is the actor known for playing the villain Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The […]
New PBS Drama Features Civil War Nurses
Mercy Street, the first American drama to air on PBS in more than a decade, starts airing Sunday night at 10 ET. The six-part series follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposing sides of the Civil War — New England abolitionist Mary Phinney and Confederate supporter Emma Green. The Green family’s luxury hotel […]
CNN Documentary Takes A Leap With BASE-Jumping Duo
There are two ways to view people who jump off mountain tops or skyscrapers and fly down to earth at incredible speeds and then avoid certain death at the last possible moment by deploying their parachute. One view is to admire their courage, their skill and then marvel as you watch them soar through the […]
After 30 Years, ‘Eyes On The Prize’ Returns
I remember thinking it was the most riveting television program I’d ever seen, and that it demonstrated the very best that the medium could be. Eyes on the Prize returns to television this Sunday night at 8 ET on the World Channel. The World Channel delivers the best of public television’s nonfiction, news and documentary […]
Breaking News Keeps Interrupting ‘Ellen’
If you’re just an occasional viewer of Ellen Degeneres’s talk show, maybe you’ve been fooled, hood-winked, tricked or pranked. For just a moment anyway. Often, in the middle of a show, a “Breaking News” graphic flashes on the screen accompanied by urgent, scary-sounding music. From a news desk, a reputable-looking news anchor looks into the […]