Know Your Newsroom – Page 6 – Survive Your Job In Television News

How To Execute the 15 Minute Lead Concept

A successful newscast not only retains the lead-in audience, it continues building audience all the way to the end. That is winning. Make no mistake, if you can do this you will keep your job even if you are the 4th place station. Once viewers tune in and stay, a producer and anchor’s job is more secure. If viewers feel the need to “check in” halfway through, you have even more job stability.

Successful veteran producers know that this is done by “spreading the wealth.” Hence, the 15 minute lead concept. The name of this concept is a little misleading though. For less experienced journalists lead means first. That usually becomes, the first story in the news block. Too many times I have seen this lead to a strange design of newscast blocks, that tried to manipulate meters, but actually set producers up for failure.

So let’s redefine the term “lead” for this concept. When you think lead, think “must see”, “can’t miss” and “gotcha!” This is an important distinction for many reasons. First, it helps you “build up” sections of your newscast for the “big moment.” Remember, great newscasts come across as conversations. There are natural lulls and high points in conversation. One producer I know explains it like this: “Watching my shows is like hopping on a roller coaster. You will get moments to catch your breath, but you will also get plenty of stomach churning action.”

Let’s build on that idea. When you get on a roller coaster half the fun is the ride up that first hill, knowing that a big thrill is just over the crest. When you think of it that way those “pacer” stories have a lot more meaning don’t they? You have to keep building up to the big moment. Teases are a lot more important also.

Too often when consultants and news managers preach about the ”quarter leads” they only want to know what those chunks are. They miss a big part of the concept. Some of these chunks can happen at the end of a block. They cannot all be the same type of big moment. You want a thrill ride to be a stomach tickling, heart pounding, close your eyes and take your breath away experience! Each one has a different feel. Same idea when applying the concept to producing. You can’t just take 4 big stories of the day and throw them in at those meter points. You must remember you are having a conversation. Distinct types of topics make a difference. Viewers expect different types of stories at different points in their interaction with the anchors.

Case in point, where these “quarter hour leads” play in rundowns and definitions:

• Top of newscast: The first lead is biggest impact story of the day.

• 15 minutes in: Depends largely on your station’s news philosophy. This might actually fall closer to 20 depending on day part and if you have a weak spot in viewer retention.

• 30 minutes in: Depends on your day part but the story needs to have “today” relevance.

• 45 minutes in: Again depends on your station’s news philosophy and it’s pledge to viewers. Depending on day part, that “big moment” may actually happen closer to 50.

You cannot take throwaway vo’s and slap them in, leading up to that final “15 minute lead.” The viewer cannot sense he/she is on that hill, click-clacking up to the top of a final hill and a final thrill. This is the area I see mis-designed most often in rundowns that follow the 15 minute lead model. The viewer stuck with you for a long time. You need to reward that loyalty. Therefore, each story has to count. This conversation needs to end on a high note. By this I do not mean a water skiing squirrel! I mean something really worth hanging around to see. Something that will make a difference in that viewer’s day. Perhaps it’s a great consumer story, way to save time or maybe a smart phone app that’s going to make their life a little easier. You can also “go human.” Introduce them to someone in your community that will make them proud they live there.

Because of the extra importance of that last quarter hour, how you tease throughout the newscast has to be looked at closely. Too often producers executing a 15 minute lead concept, focus on the next 15 only in their tease structure. You are designing a rundown with a ton of compelling content. So your teases need to scream: “Hang on, we have a ton of great stuff to talk about!” Do not be afraid to tease more than two things. But, your teases need to rock, every line, every time. You are building up a great conversation, full of high notes. Teases cannot be the lulls in conversation. (The “lulls” are occasionally more information-type, perspective moments, where viewers can gain more insight, without emotion tied to it.) A truly well executed 15 minute lead concept, focuses heavily on tease structure. In fact that structure is as important as the design of each lead itself.

Which brings us to one final point. These leads are not just long packages you tease a few times. Showcasing counts! These are areas where you need to think “3 screens.” These are areas where you add extra information so viewers can walk away with valuable nuggets of knowledge. And I’m not just talking about inside the package. You build up the lead, let viewers experience the thrill ride, then reward them for watching. This has to happen 4 times, effectively, to win the 15 minute lead concept. In a sense you are creating sidebar topics, each quarter hour as part of a great hour long conversation viewers won’t soon forget. If that doesn’t smack of “Gotcha!” and also lead to ratings gains, nothing will.

What is a producer’s newsroom? The answer could redefine TV news.

An EP recently asked me to write an article on this subject. So what makes up a producer’s newsroom? There’s a traditional answer and a more big picture answer. Let’s start with the traditional answer. In a producer’s newsroom, producers have the most control over content.

Often in these newsrooms, producers come into editorial meetings with a defined idea of what the top stories are and assign crews. That’s not to say that reporters do not pitch stories, but often producers are required to pitch stories and have a rough outline right away. Reporters are often brought into editorial meetings to be told what their story is. Furthermore, when judgement calls are made about how to handle situations, producers get final say.

But let’s think bigger picture. Why would newsrooms call themselves producer shops? Let’s break down what the goal is for newsrooms that call themselves this. They usually have ambitious mission statements or news philosophies. Some examples: On Your Side, Holding the Powerful Accountable, Coverage You Can Count On and (call letters) Investigates. By the nature of these slogans, these stations MUST source build. If they do not break new content or at least new angles, then they do not live up to the philosophy. Can producers source build? Sure, but frankly you have to get out and mingle with people to really get deep sources. This means reporters and anchors are every bit as important in driving content. The emphasis on “producer” is as the creator of original content. So a “producer’s newsroom” is a newsroom where all the journalists collaborate to produce compelling content, that is original and/or emphasizes community impact. This also involves a lot of showcasing, so you will find very strong line producers in these newsrooms. You also will find great storyteller reporters.

A true “producer’s newsroom” needs to have a heavy emphasis on showcasing the information in compelling ways, so that the viewer is well served. It should have an ambitious slogan and truly live up to it. The managers should create a truly collaborative environment where every journalist, whether a producer, reporter, photojournalist, video or assignment editor has a say in what the stories will be and how they will be presented. This will make the newsroom more representative of the community and help better serve the viewer. In these newsrooms, when calls are made about how to handle situations, there often is a clearer answer because of the defined slogan. If not, management tends to make the call on a case by case basis.

One of the most read articles on “Survive” was “Producer Driven Does Not Mean Absolute Power.” Many newsrooms call themselves “producer’s newsrooms” or “producer driven” simply because they give producers more power and their opinions more weight. But the emphasis on producer needs to be broader scale than the person who puts together the newscasts. For newsrooms to remain relevant in the community, they need to have a variety of journalists weighing in on the stories and the impact they can have.

In a time when many question whether television news will remain relevant or if social media will take over as the top news source, the definition of “producer’s newsroom” needs to be taken seriously. The term producer really needs to be looked at. If defined as “creator of compelling relevant content” the newsroom will change dramatically. Newsrooms that de-emphasize the role of reporters and anchors really tend to struggle with relevance and original content. Showcasing also suffers if the reporters and anchors are not invested in the information. A true “producer’s newsroom” needs to be a place with a well defined slogan, rooted in watchdog journalism with an emphasis on investigative and showcasing. This will create relevant stories, with characters, powerful images and crucial information viewers need to know each day. The reporters will come across as genuine and invested in the community they serve. The line producers will go home gratified because the information they helped generate actually impacted people each day as well. By redefining “producer’s newsroom” TV stations across the nation can reinvent themselves and reconnect with the communities they serve. May the title no longer reference a power struggle in newsrooms, but instead focus more on the collaborative efforts a newsroom puts forth each day to best serve it’s community. I truly hope all TV newsrooms become this kind of “producer’s newsroom.”

One crew, and breaking news. How to save your content, when chasing what’s new.

Managers want to know the decision producers fear most? It’s pulling their only crew off a clear lead, and sending them on a breaker, that might just turn out to be nothing. In newsrooms today the mantra is “New, now!”… “New, now!” You cannot miss a breaker without getting a tongue lashing.

Managers forget they get the benefit of hindsight. Being in the moment, with things less than clear, can lead to decisions that later make you think “How on earth?” Especially since, most of the time the producer with 1 crew is the least experienced producer and who usually, if we are all truly honest, cannot get the on-call manager on the phone to talk through the scenario.

So let’s give these some guidelines to these producers who are bravely trying to serve two masters (owning breaking news and also owning the lead) with one crew:

Get your work done early

Have a backup lead plan

Location, location, location

Know it’s 50/50

First and foremost, if you only have one crew, you HAVE to get your newscast put to bed early. You need to be the “second crew” option in order to send the first crew chasing breaking news. By this I mean, if you need to send your crew on a breaker, you might have to be the one who takes the elements the crew had for the lead and puts them together in a compelling way, as a potential backup lead. To spell this out very clearly: You need to set aside time not long before your newscast to be able to write a last minute, lead level, package. And you will need time for that to be edited. So the writing up until you get to the booth style, has to stop! (See time management). If it means getting to work earlier, suck it up and do it. Managers hint at this. Some cannot legally say it. But the truth is you have to do this if you want to keep your job and prove that you are worthy of moving up to newscasts that have more than one crew.

While you are cranking your newscast out early, you need to be creating a backup lead of some sort. You need to have a lead option in case you have to pull your crew off of the main lead right before air. The biggest reason producers panic about moving that 1 crew is that they will be yelled at for not having a live shot and/or owning the lead. First, owning the lead does not just mean putting your one crew on the story and telling them to go live. You can pick a story with a lot of impact for your audience and showcase it. You can do this early in your shift, so that if you have to pull the crew to chase a breaker, you can move this story up to take the place of the lead.

Really good producers also have a backup plan in place for the main story their one crew is assigned to at the start of their shift. The plan makes sure the story is protected no matter what. Maybe that is pulling all the information for the reporter story, so your anchor can write a quick package if necessary. Maybe it’s building elements around the live shot, so if the crew gets moved and their part of the story is busted down to a vo/sot, it still feels like a big story. Bottom line is that a story important enough to put your only crew on, needs to be protected even if the crew “goes away.” Your job as a producer is to have a backup plan for that story mapped out early in your shift because it is obviously worthy of making air.

When deciding whether to pull that crew for breaking news, a huge factor in your decision making should be location. If the breaker is 45 minutes or more away from the heart of your DMA, you need to think hard about pulling the crew for the story. You may need to chase that breaker another way, be it stringer video, calling in a photographer or dedicating your AP to working with the desk to get all the information you can and then setting up a phoner with a map graphic. Do not get stuck in “molds” when considering how to cover breaking news. Look at what you can realistically do. Get the information on the air, the best way you can.

By the way, location should also play a role in what story you plan to send your crew out on in the first place. When you only have one crew, you really need to be strategic. You cannot prevent your ability to cover the “new, now” stories in your DMA by sending a crew one or two hours away from the heart of your DMA. Let’s go back to the stuck in a “mold” idea. All leads do not have to be live vo/sots or packages. All leads do not have to be large chunks. Sometimes the best story is just coming in as a map, and you need to do it off the top and add elements as they come available throughout the newscast. That is owning the lead. That is owning breaking news. That is serving those two masters. If you have a killer story, that would make a great lead but is too far away for the only crew to cover, showcase it another way, even lead with it if you want. Put your reporter on another compelling story, that has a reason to be live. You get two wins! You are also ready to jump on it and own it if a breaker happens. Be selfish. Demand that you get all of the good stuff. Just be creative about how to do it. Your viewers deserve that. This is especially true if you are doing a weekend newscast. You do not have to share. Embrace that, do not focus on what you don’t have. Just creatively get what you want. All of it.

Finally, do not fear making a decisive decision. Know you will likely be 50/50 when it comes to chasing breakers. You have a high probability of getting a nasty call from the ND if you chase a breaker that turns into nothing, or don’t chase what looks like an iffy breaker that turns into something good. You do not have a crystal ball. You will have to trust your gut and go for it. If you follow the other guidelines just listed, you will have solid reasons to justify your decision. Best part, you will not be as afraid to go for the breaker because the newscast is protected by your backup planning. Producing is all about anticipating the changes and executing flawlessly. Do that and you will not sacrifice content, only enhance it!

The Demo Reel Dilemma

Two seconds. That’s my personal news director record for the least amount of time viewing a reporter applicant’s demo reel. “That’s not fair,” you say! Well, trust me, the guy had NO business applying for any TV job, let alone a reporting spot in a top 15 market.

Then there was the reporter candidate who decided to start his resume reel with a boring 3-minute package. Seriously, what was he thinking? Didn’t anyone tell these people a news director has the attention span of a 5th grader? Didn’t someone warn them that a TV boss gets hundreds of demo reels for one reporting or anchoring job?

That brings me to my point: getting someone to click, then watch, then be impressed with your demo reel is not easy. It’s tougher than ever. Too many emails. Not enough hours in the day. Too many people sending bad material. So the reel, I mean real, dilemma is this: what can you do to up your odds?

I can’t speak for all news directors, but for me (and many that I know) the best advice would be don’t overthink this! You need to showcase your best work, and do it quickly. Start with a montage of your best standups, live shots and anchor clips. About a minute-long montage is fine. Anything longer than about 1:30 starts getting very repetitive. And some talent think they have to show an entire standup. That’s wrong! You want your montage to be fast-paced. Let the ND see you in different situations—on the desk (if you anchor), in an active live shot, doing a creative standup, answering a question from an anchor, etc. Quick clips. Some may be full standups, others may be chopped for time. Also try to include a variety of stories—hard news balanced with some lighter moments so we can see your smile or hear your laugh. The key is to put your very best material at the top of that montage. If a news director sees marginal quality at the top (including bad lighting or audio), he or she will click the stop button within 30 seconds.

After your montage, pick a great package or two to show. But again, make it your best work—is it an example of excellent breaking news coverage? An enterprise piece you did? A very good sweeps story? If it’s a pkg on the shooting-of-the-day with a cop bite and a neighbor who looks like he’s on dope, don’t include it! Be highly critical of what you’re including on your reel. Check everything—spellings on your supers, lighting, audio, editing.

And finally, wrap up your reel with other content. For example, you could show more of your anchoring with longer clips. Or a full live shot if it’s something you’re really proud of. Or maybe you want to end with that 3 minute sweeps story you did. Just remember, most NDs won’t watch more than a few minutes of your reel unless you’ve caught their attention at the top, they like what they see so far, and they want to check out more of your work in-depth. Total time for your reel? 5-8 minutes is plenty.

Lots of anchors and reporters also ask whether they should have one reel or two, if they do double duty (such as weekend weather anchor who reports 3 days a week). There’s no black and white answer—I’d like to see one reel where you show me how versatile you are (multi-skilled = more chances in today’s TV job world). “Wow, she reports and anchors and even does weather!” But you may also want to create separate reels so you can apply for specific jobs. A weather reel for weather-only jobs and a combo reel for other opportunities.

Do what feels right to you, but remember, YOU have to be your toughest critic. Watch your edited reel and pick it apart, then have a trusted TV co-worker or friend watch it and give you honest advice. Make sure the top of that resume reel is your best stuff. The goal is for that news director to watch the first 30 seconds and then say “Hmm, I like this person… let’s watch a little more.”

Steve Kraycik is a Talent Agent with MediaStars. He has 29 years of TV news experience and spent a decade as a news director in top 20 markets. He’s also the Dir. Of Student Television at Penn State University. You can follow him on Twitter @TV_Agent_Steve.