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Anchor in trouble for FB posts

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!, Mar 25, 2016.

  1. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    I'll echo everything Exmediahack has said here, particularly about how it can get in the way while trying to work on the show. My anchor is new to the area. A good chunk of our time right before the show and during breaks is spent with him double-checking pronunciations for any local streets, cities, or anything else he's not 100% about. He's going to look like a dope if people are watching that. We'll also discuss stories to drop for time in the second block, and no one needs to hear him tell me "No one gives a shit about the Pope."

    Honestly, these days it's career suicide to suggest to a TV manager that any sort of Facebook engagement may not be brilliant.
     
  2. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    I'm wondering when they'll start Facebook Live-ing the exec personnel meetings and discussions of layoffs. Hey, let the people give their feedback on that, too.
     
  3. dixiehack

    dixiehack Well-Known Member

    Granted newspapers aren't any brighter about this stuff, but wouldn't the station rather have people watch the regular feed with the commercials that are paying for everything?
     
    exmediahack likes this.
  4. Donny in his element

    Donny in his element Well-Known Member

    The goals, I assume, include:

    1. The witty FL banter during breaks encourages station followers skimming their Facebook feed to turn on the newscast.

    2. Second screen engagement. I'm already watching the news, but instead of channel surfing during commercials, perhaps never to return, my TV is locked in and I stick around because I'm getting behind the scenes stuff on my tablet.

    3. Loyalty and awareness. I like these people. They're real people. They're familiar to me. They're like me. 9 News is now all I watch.

    4. Faux metrics.
     
  5. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    And per usual, the metrics don't involve the most important people involved (the anchors, the behind-the-scenes people, the station) earning a dime.

    Facebook will make some cash, though.

    Just like how most publications don't make money online, but the ISPs rake in cash and do with it as they see fit.

    Not exactly apples to apples, but the point remains.
     
  6. I Should Coco

    I Should Coco Well-Known Member

    I too appreciate the info from our TV folks. Good luck with the ever-increasing demands on your "down" time.

    It could be worse ... they could do Facebook Live with the copy desk. The hours of nonstop entertainment would include:
    1. Belches, farts, curse words and lame jokes. "That's what she said!"
    2. Obscure references to classic rock album deep cuts.
    3. Cell-phone cameras focused on armpit-stained T-shirts, sweatpants and overhanging guts on the weekend shifts.
    4. Illegal consumption of fast food, Coca Cola and M&Ms at the desk.
    5. The realization that random chance and desperation fills the news pages, not some attempt at imposing our Muslim agenda on the world.
     
  7. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    This is exactly it. They believe -- and they're probably right -- that virtually no one sits in front of the TV watching the news without having their phone or iPad in hand.
     
  8. exmediahack

    exmediahack Well-Known Member

    They already do for many of us. I have a station phone.
     
  9. exmediahack

    exmediahack Well-Known Member

    This is what my boss insists. People will watch this while watching our actual product.

    Perhaps.

    One bit of evidence did come back of note this week. The ratings for the one show that DID do FL (a weekend morning) did double year-to-year this February -- not small numbers like a .3 to a .6 -- it jumped a couple of points on the prime demo. I wonder if the people who liked FL enough felt more compelled to write in the call letter on their Nielsen diaries.
     
  10. exmediahack

    exmediahack Well-Known Member

    This was already floated but we all agreed that our EP, who often says "fuck" during breaking news or sometimes calls unfriendly callers a "cu--" once they hang up wouldn't be best represented by a newsroom feed.

    As for Number 4, the owner of that station in Las Vegas passed way last year. At Channel 3, eating at your desk was immediate termination.
     
  11. exmediahack

    exmediahack Well-Known Member

    That's been my thinking as well. I'm very active on social media and see that as a skill for positive branding and to help bring people to the newscasts, where the audience is measured and the ads are seen.

    Yet FL is also a decision that doesn't really require any skill. I guess that's what pisses me off. Spend a long time cultivating a social media base when you just have to hit a button and not be a jackass instead.
     
  12. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    That might be next. Except in many newsrooms, the "copy desk" might consist of one guy muttering to himself.
     
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