Newsfix

[sevfiv]

Forgive me if this has been discussed already - I know there's a thread about changes at 39 but I came across this article from earlier in the month about KIAH's intent for later in the year and thought it was...interesting:

According to people who have seen the pilot of the NewsFix format produced at Tribune's WPIX New York under the directon of Chief Innovation Officer Lee Abrams, it casts off the familiar anchor-reporter paradigm and replaces it with a lot of animated graphics and man-on-the-street sound bites.

Story continues after the ad

In one story, the narrator refers to terrorists as "bozos." In another, a clip of fictional boxer Ivan Drago from Rocky IV is mixed into a story about the West getting tough with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. There are even clips from cartoon shows like Ren and Stimpy and animations from the JibJab website.

The pilot starts with a map of the Houston area with scattered icons representing the news stories to come. As the narrator introduces a story, an icon animates to reveal a series of clips with natural sound and sound bites to tell it. The video then squeezes back to a graphic screen, the narrator introduces the next clip and another icon comes to life.

Weather is handled with a split screen. One half shows dripping water; the other displays text, while a soothing voice delivers the forecast. Sports receive a similar split-screen treatment, with scores side-by-side with game highlights.

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2010/08/02/44159/sneak-peek-at-kiahs-anchorless-news

Of course, more recent news is that of Abrams' email issue:

Abrams, Tribune's chief innovation officer and godfather of the anchorless "Newsfix" newscast that Tribune plans to launch on KIAH later this year, was suspended indefinitely this week after sending employees an e-mail that included nudity and profanity as part of a newscast parody — the sort of newscast, he has said, that Newsfix is designed to eliminate.

Tribune chairman Randy Michaels said in a note to employees that Abrams, 58, "recognizes that the video was in extremely bad taste and that it offended employees. But, this is the kind of serious mistake that can't be tolerated; we intend to address it promptly and forcefully."

Gerould Kern, editor of the Chicago Tribune, said Abrams' e-mail was "completely inappropriate to be sent out in a workplace setting." It appeared within a week of a New York Times story that described Tribune's management team as encouraging a "frat house" atmosphere.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/7249292.html

And check out the current job postings:

PRODUCER/EDITORS FOR TV NEWS REVOLUTION IN HOUSTON: The TV revolution is upon us and the new Tribune Company is leading the resistance. We're recruiting a solid team of anti-establishment producer/editors, "preditors", to collaborate on a groundbreaking PM news format unlike anything ever attempted on local TV. Don't sell us on your solid newsroom experience. We don't care. Or your exclusive, breaking news coverage. We'll pass. Or your excellence at writing readable copy for plastic anchor people. Not interested. Sell us on this: Your fiery passion to help re-invent the '80's rooted, focus-grouped, yuppie anchors and a news desk, super Doppler ultra weather style. Your personal relationship with the internet, blogs, video-sharing, iPads, Droids, Blackberries, Blueteeth, Facebook & Twitter, and all things Modern Culture. You're in sync with the pulse of the streets, not the PC, Capital "J" journalism world. You live and breathe content. You know the difference between "buzzworthy" and "B.S.". You know your way around Final Cut Pro and easily embrace new production technologies. Your greatest communication tool is a keyboard, your writing is "bleeding edge", and you realize that when it comes to the written word, less is more. You can survive and prosper in a modern, high brilliance standards "rock 'n' roll" culture where your supervisors are fearless and your peers are A-game "imaginators" with the highest of execution standards. You're an earbud wearing, app downloading, rss reading, podcast playing, text messaging, flip-flop wearing professional of any age or sex, with a real-world education, interests that are anything but mainstream, and the ability to translate your bent outlook onto the TV screen. You "Get It". The creatively challenged, old-school TV News types and anyone lost in the '80's should move on to the next "help wanted" ad. If this excites you, talk to us, shoot us your resume, your POV on TV News, links to your FCP editing and writing samples (whether they aired or not) and anything else you think might help sell you as a key member of this exclusive team. KIAH-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace. Please list source of referral. No phone calls please. Send resumes to: KIAH-TV, 7700 Westpark Dr., Houston, TX 77063 or apply online: PRODUCER/EDITORS

SOUND DESIGNER: FOR REVOLUTIONARY TV NEWS CONCEPT KIAH IN HOUSTON will be launching a sound intensive News concept that'll focus on wide screen sound. Think Soundtrack. It'll be a combination of recorded music from AC/DC to Zamfir, natural sound, original sound, effects and literally ANY sounds we can gather to better tell our stories. It would be good if you: Have multi genre scope and maybe even encyclopedic of music styles, artist and songs. Are well versed in today's sound technologies. Understand theater of the mind. Have a knack for matching stunning sound with stunning images and video. Have no experience in TV. OK--not a deal breaker, but we need someone who thinks more movie or even old time radio than TV. Think in stereo. Some musicianship is good but not necessary. If this is you, we need to hear from you. KIAH-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace. Please list source of referral. No phone calls please. Send resumes to: KIAH-TV, 7700 Westpark Dr., Houston, TX 77063 or apply online: SOUND DESIGNER

WEB PRODUCER: WANTED: A brilliant and passionate producer for a soon-to-be launched TV News concept. NEEDED: A person who: Knows that many TV news sites are generic and uninspired and has the ideas, talent and energy to create something remarkable. Can thrive in a Rock n Roll culture that balances technology with mind blowing 21st Century creative. Has both strong designer and content skill with a finely tuned eye and ear. Can develop a pretty radical TV concept into an equally radical web presence. Can work with nerds who'll help facilitate content brilliance. Knows that "another news site" ain't gonna get it done. Into living in Houston Texas, 'cause that's where we are. THE FUTURE: Unwritten. If you have the goods---tell us. KIAH-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace. Please list source of referral. No phone calls please. Send resumes to: KIAH-TV, 7700 Westpark Dr., Houston, TX 77063 or apply online: WEB PRODUCER

http://www.39online.com/about/station/jobs/

[LTAWACS]

Sounds like something that would air on the TV station in the movie "Idiocracy". Fascinating.

[editor]

I wrote an article about this a couple of months ago for another pubilcation. I've also talked to a bunch of people involved in the process about it.

The good news is that it probably won't happen. The two people who were backing this are no longer with the company, as part of a much larger, much messier corporate implosion. I don't see it moving forward anymore. Not until the Tribune Company gets things straightened out at its corporate headquarters. That could take a year.

[LTAWACS]

I must ask... do you think this a good thing or a bad thing... in the long run... say... 10 - 20 years from now... do you think this would enhance or detract from our general population's overall IQ.

[editor]

I must ask... do you think this a good thing or a bad thing... in the long run... say... 10 - 20 years from now... do you think this would enhance or detract from our general population's overall IQ.

I think it's kind of pointless. The people who don't like TV news have already left. Newsfix is an attempt to re-gain viewers that never existed. The money would be better spent catering to those people remaining who actually want to get their news from TV.

In addition to it being a bad idea, and the people who were almost solely responsible for pushing this project being fired, I've heard that the lawyers won't give it a green light.

You see, the people who thought this was a good idea are from the "shock jock" school of radio, and have zero experience in television. Well, on the radio you can sample other people's audio with almost no reprocussions. However, translating their shock jock vision to TV means lots of video clips from copyrighted sources. And people WILL sue over those. Every time.

I think 20 years from now there will be, hopefully, fewer options for news. But those options will be better quality. Instead of having dozens of television news channels, we'll have one or two, plus a small group of general-purpose news web sites (or the equivalent). These will be supplemented by many smaller organizations that cater to specific niches or geographic areas.

I think (or rather hope) that in 20 years there will be less distinction between tv/radio/newspaper. Most major news organizations are working hard to make this happen. "The Chronicle" won't be a newspaper, it will be a brand. And you'll get the Chronicle-branded news in your car, on your tablet, or your mobile device. Whatever is most convenient for you.

20 years ago there was a serious mental distinction between broadcast and cable channels in most people's minds. Today that doesn't exist for more than half the population. They don't think of KTRK as a "local" channel and Discovery as a "national" channel. They just know they're two channels with different content streams. I think the same blurring will happen between televison, radio, and newspaper. In fact, I don't understand why the whole tv/radio division still exists today. It's slowly going away in some markets, but not fast enough.

I would like to see newspapers go away. I hope that the revolution the iPad started will be sustained and instead of newspaper boxes dispensing physical papers, we will be able to plonk 50-cents into one and download the day's paper into our mobile device. I know of a number of newspapers that are gearing up for this eventuality, but they're keeping their plans and infrastructure in the background because it would give the unions skidmarks.

A lot of people don't understand that the majority of what holds back the future isn't the media companies. It's legacy deals that they're stuck in, or contracts that they are legally obligated to uphold long after their usefullness is gone. For example, that's the biggest thing that held the full New York Times back from being on the iPad. It wasn't because the editorial side of the company didn't want to provide the content, or make the app successful -- it was the printing side, and the printers unions. The editorial side's philosophy was that the iPad version of the Times should be cheap to encourage lots of people to subscribe to it. The print side of the paper balked at this, and insisted that the electronic version should cost almost the same as the print version for no reason other than to keep up its revenue stream.

Many companies are locked into internal divisions like this, just because they're old, or because the people at the very top are used to doing things a certain way and change doesn't benefit them. When I worked at KHOU, the biggest complaint I heard repeated from management over and over wasn't about the station or the company not wanting to progress, it was that the people at the very top were all still newspaper people, who didn't understand television, and tried to run the television side of the company like it was a newspaper. (KHOU is legally owned by the Belo company, but

effectively owned by the Dallas Morning News.)

Another company I worked for owned dozens of television stations across the country, a huge television production studio in Hollywood, had its own satellite transponders, and a television operation in the nation's capital for beaming news across the country in an instant. When it started a 24-hhour regional cable news channel, was it run by the company's local TV station, which had the #2 news in the market, and was carried on satellite to 72 million households across America? No. The cable news channel was run by the newspaper. And when the company started an internet division with clients like the Oscars, was it placed in the Hollywood studio? No. It was run by a newspaper in the midwest.

It's going to take a half a generation for the bad decision makers at the top of these large media companies to retire and be replaced by people who understand the changes going on. It's not fast enough for technology. It's not fast enough for the general public. But it's the current reality, and just something we will have to deal with. The only thing worse is putting news and media in the hands of the tech companies. Every time this has been tried, it has failed. Living in the heart of dot-com-ville, I know a lot of people in the tech industry. They just don't understand media. They think they do. They think they can reinvent media by writing code that "democratizes" content. But that's now how things work. They try to apply mathematical formulas to people. People are sqishy and wet. They don't usually make sense. Media is about people. And if you can't manage people, whether they're reporters or audiences, then you can't be the media.

I'm sorry... what was the question?

[lame_excuse]

moo, the show is okay. Not enough local news, but whatever.

[Retama]

When I'm up late working on a project and have THIS on (because I like the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents reruns) I catch NewsFix and it is awful. There is an unartful archness about it as they try to not look like they are so aware of themselves. Fake hip at its worst.