A good friend of mine struggles to figure out her computer and phone. In her world, files disappear and mysteriously move never to be seen again. When she explains her latest frustration, people are curious: Why does she have these problems when some of us facing the same thing bungle along and figure out a [...]
I hadn’t even planned to attend my caucus here in Iowa this year. But when a sudden change in my travel schedule put me at home Monday night it seemed like a good way to spend the evening. Driving to a local elementary school I was stuck in a stream of cars coming out of my [...]
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 [...]
What's the first touch point for your brand on a daily basis? For increasing numbers of local television stations, that answer is "an app." More than many newscasts and probably way more than your website, the app is a growing point of contact for consumers. So who is producing app content in your newsroom? Chances [...]
Most people don’t shock easily anymore, not after a decade of beheadings and school shootings and families murdered in their homes and wall-to-wall coverage of airplanes intentionally being flown into mountains (or vanishing altogether). This week, as we learned the details of the murder of WDBJ’s Allison Parker and Adam Ward, we felt shock. And [...]
Imagine if viewers tuned in to your newscast and saw a complete hash -- random soundbites, video from news conferences, click-bait video, a reporter’s story from two days ago and a weather forecast recorded six hours earlier -- all jumbled together for no apparent reason. Well, guess what? That’s probably what they get from your [...]
I love the Fourth of July. It’s become the second most important holiday on our family calendar, behind only the Christmas/New Year week, which is often more work than fun. But Independence Day, in addition to forcing us all to take pause and consider our freedoms, is about family, tradition and fun in the sun. [...]
One of the interesting things about starting a new job is learning how the team works as a unit. As I wind down my first week at CJ&N, I’m delighted to report that the spirit of creative collaboration thrives here. This group works together to attack challenges and issues with a freedom of thought that [...]
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 [...]
