I spend a fair amount of time cruising various station Facebook pages while watching TV in the evening (cable, streaming, DVR). I know it’s quite a life I lead. Really, it’s ok. It gives me chance to second screen – sometimes third screen - to see what’s happening around the country and what people are [...]
Some of you might say this blog is from Captain Obvious. But I figured I would write it anyway to maximize the enormous digital opportunity on Christmas. We’ve learned that Christmas Day is a huge digital day. Folks are getting new phones, new tablets, wearables and other connected devices. And as the wrapping paper is [...]
Maybe it’s me. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations … that stations take on their digital products in an aggressive, relevant and meaningful way. But after all, it is the future (and the now). This weekend showed that many stations are still living in their traditional analog world, focused on TV and missing a digital opportunity to [...]
The GM woke up from a nightmare. In a cold sweat, all he/she could think about was something from the nightmare, when the network affiliate relations representative said on the phone: "We've enjoyed our relationship for the past 50 years, but when our contract expires we won't be renewing it." The conversation continued: "Who will [...]
Come on. Really? Reporters taking selfies at murder scenes? Smiling reporters in front of tornado damaged homes? News teams posing with guns pointed at the camera with a smile on their faces. A producer posting a tweet hoping police will use real bullets on protestors. A post from a newsroom with wrong information because they [...]
"Watch our morning news and you could win a trip to England." "Watch our 6 pm news and you could win a cruise." "Watch our 11/10 pm news and you could win a mortgage or a $1,000 a week." Topicals have now been replaced with spots that remind me of car sales folks. Come in, [...]
We’re not talking about spies, James Bond look-alikes or the NSA. Nope. It’s a little known tool on Facebook. Facebook continues its exponential growth as an important tool for newsrooms to alert users of breaking news and weather — especially weather. Our research shows users increasingly depend on stations to provide weather information, especially severe [...]
You can almost hear it. That clicking sound. It’s getting a bit louder every day. Can you hear it? Listen carefully. If you have spent time at an airport, a mall, or waiting in line to pay at the grocery store, then you’ve probably seen it or even been part of it. It’s the sound [...]
These days TV station managers understand how valuable and important Facebook is to reach users and viewers. But many find it a challenge to keep up with Facebook’s constantly changing rules and guidelines. Well, fair warning, Facebook is making another change that will impact your news, sales and promotion departments. Facebook wants to handcuff marketers [...]
Sometimes a dose of reality can be pretty sobering, and scary. We’ve all heard about the cord cutters in the trades, but you don’t often get a sense of how real it is. I’m in the OLDER demo. I must have my cable channels along with my Netflix. I don’t have Hulu plus, and while [...]
