WMAR, the Scripps-owned ABC affiliate in Baltimore, will air news stories in every newscast today about Maryland veterans in honor of Veterans Day. Starting at 4:30 this morning, the station is providing extensive coverage of local Veterans Day ceremonies, and an in-depth look at veterans healthcare including medical advancements the VA hospital is making to […]
WPVI Philadelphia Flying High With ZooBalloon
TV stations have been known to get creative to gain visibility in their markets. In Los Angeles, one station towed a banner above Southern California’s beaches to deliver a literal over-the-air message about its morning news. A station in New York turned a commuter train into the diner on Seinfeld to promote a new time […]
November Sweeps: Online Preditors And Secret Cell Phone Tracking
Predators know how to “groom” children online — find them, lure them and exploit them. And these predators come from all walks of life. KIVI, Journal’s ABC affiliate in Boise, Idaho, talks to the investigators inside Homeland Security to learn how they do it. Another scary bit of news: your cell phone can be used […]
More Local TV News Political Spoof Ads
Yesterday, we showed you how the anchors at WHO-TV in Des Moines spoofed the political ads we’ve all been subjected to over the last several months. That post got this comment and link: They (WHO-TV) weren’t the only Iowa station to provide political ad relief to their viewers. KWWL [Cedar Rapids] did it as well, […]
November Sweeps Spots From Chicago And Mobile
Football is a violent game. Yet, millions of young Americans suit up and play. Lately, there’s been a lot of attention focused on concussions, and rightly so. You would assume that every player at every level would have the best equipment available when they step on the field, especially their helmets. But in this promo […]
WHO Des Moines Spoofs Political Ads
While TV stations, and their owners, are loving the estimated $1.2 billion that political ads generated this election, viewers hate them. I’m glad the elections are over just so I don’t have to endure the constant parade of negative political ads on TV, especially during the news. If only the politicians could spend all that […]
‘Mad Men’ Spoof Is Smokin’ And Hilarious
One of the guilty pleasures of watching AMC’s Mad Men, the drama that depicts life at an ad agency in the 1960s, is its historical authenticity. People smoking at home or work, three-martini lunches or drinking at the office, and how the sexual mores of the time are depicted. It wasn’t the ’60s, but the […]
November Sweeps: Pickpockets And Satanic Killings
All during the November sweeps, we’re showing TV stations’ special reports promos and the news stories they promote. Here’s a spot from WTXF, the Fox O&O in Philadelphia, about how pickpockets can steal the most valuable information in your wallet without even touching you. Post by FOX 29. FOX 29 News Philadelphia | WTXF-TV And […]
KYW Promo Adds 100 People To Weather Staff
If KYW, the CBS O&O in Philadelphia, ever wants to produce a promo to introduce the newest members of its weather department, it might be the longest one ever shot. That’s because more than 100 people signed up as Weather Watchers to help track weather conditions after the station began running a promo recruiting them. […]
November Sweeps: Boozing Fire Chief And Train Wrecks
Sometimes, writing the promo for a special report your station is airing during sweeps is easy. You just let the story sell itself. Like in the case of this promo sent by James Bartone, the senior writer/producer at WPRI, the LIN-owned CBS affiliate in Providence, R.I. He chose not to labor over writing lines of announcer […]