The ABC Owned Stations launched their new, responsive-design websites last week. The sites are cleaner, less cluttered, with bigger, sharper images and more video. The sites also include a new “Map My News” feature, which allows users to click on stories they see spread out on a map, plus more of a focus on weather. […]
FINAL May Sweeps Spotlight: KIRO Seattle Investigates
We hate them, we love them; we quote them and question them. Sometimes, they make us happy; sometimes they make us cry. However, for those in the local TV news business, we can all agree they rule our lives. Happy end of May sweeps everybody. Thanks to everyone who sent links of examples from their […]
WFIE Evansville Markets Severe Weather Coverage
On May 9, severe weather struck the Evansville, Ind. area. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Brandon Ridge, the creative services director at WFIE, the NBC affiliate in town, and his staff put together this proof-of-performance (POP) spot and explained how the station covers severe weather. “Here at 14WFIE we start talking about severe weather chances days […]
May Sweeps—Seattle’s KIRO Investigates
More examples of May sweeps spots and the stories they promote from KIRO, the CBS affiliate in Seattle. In this 30-second spot, KIRO uses an unmarked news vehicle with a hidden camera to record drug dealing at some local businesses. Plus, how a new design for ATM machines if giving patrons a false sense of […]
Marketing in a Tragedy — ‘Proofing’ Tornado Coverage
This past month, we’ve seen a lot of tornadoes touch down with devastating effect across the country. In late April, an EF4 tornado with winds near the top of the 166-200 mph range killed 15 people in Arkansas. It’s at times like these that TV stations literally saves lives by warning residents to take cover […]
May Sweeps: WPSD Paducah’s Warning for Parents and Children
We hear about children being abducted almost every day. Sometimes, it’s someone they know. But mostly, they’re strangers who have somehow been able to entice little children to go with them. And for those children, the end result nearly always breaks our heart. Is there a sadder story then when we hear about a child […]
Last Call for May Sweeps Spots
We shared May sweeps spots and the stories they promoted this month from stations all across the U.S.: Jackson, Miss.; Medford, Ore.; Lafayette, La.; Seattle; Wichita, Kan.; New York; San Francisco; and Indianapolis. Why isn’t your station represented and highlighted? There are just a few days left in May sweeps, so why not share the […]
We Interrupt This TV Program to Save Lives—When Safety Trumps Everything Else
This week, viewer complaints about programming interruptions due to tornadoes led news anchor Nancy Naeve of KSFY, the ABC affiliate in Sioux Falls, S.D., to chastise viewers on the air. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghxXWWR9z9U And in Wichita, viewer complaints about a TV station there interrupting normal programming led news anchor Michael Schwanke of CBS affiliate […]
WPVI Philadelphia Special Promotes Cultural Diversity
This Saturday at 7:30 p.m., ABC-owned WPVI Philadelphia, will air an episode of Visions 2014, a half-hour program that it presents three times a year. The focus this week is on Asian Pacific heritage to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month in May. (To read another article about how KING, the NBC affiliate in […]
Seattle’s KIRO Exposes Handicapped Parking Fraud
KIRO, the CBS affiliate in Seattle, goes undercover to catch able-bodied drivers using disabled parking placards. A new law that goes into effect in July will raise the fines and make some citations misdemeanors for cheaters. In the meantime, as one official said, “cheaters will be cheaters.” Here’s the promo from KIRO’s creative services director, […]