WXMI

While initially it was big news—how could news people do the news from home?–the idea has become old hat, second nature, as staff have gotten used to having pets climb on their keyboards or kids eating crackers interrupt their reports. I want to share your story about how you and your station are covering the news from home remotely. Send me your examples, your stories, your thoughts. Contact me, phone and email at the top of the column.

I follow more than 500 TV stations’ Facebook pages and what I see every day are countless examples of news coverage about the coronavirus. All necessary, all important. But what I want to share are examples of the more practical posts on how to cope with the disruptions, and the measures some are taking to help each other.

This week, Social Scorecard is in West Michigan’s largest city, Grand Rapids, just 30 miles east of Lake Michigan, to find out what WXMI is serving on Facebook to make it the most engaged. The secret ingredients are an appetite for food and short, easily digested videos.