By Steve Schwaid, CJ&N VP of Digital Strategies We’re clearly in the midst of summer TV doldrums. On broadcast and cable on any given night, it’s an assortment of reruns, reality and a smattering of summer shows. Broadcast and cable viewership looks like it’s down or flat. But the streaming services? They thrive during the [...]
By Steve Schwaid, CJ&N VP of Digital Services Summer. Finally. With no big political conventions, national elections or Olympics, this could be a “calm” summer for local newsrooms. Time to take a breath, recharge and look ahead. It’s also a great time to refocus on your station’s digital apps. In many shops, the news app [...]
By Steve Schwaid, CJ&N VP of Digital Strategies Recent Facebook security issues provide stations with an opportunity to digitally connect with their users and viewers. Beyond day-to-day coverage of the privacy issues, this is the time for stations to showcase the trust and privacy of your own digital platforms. Local news rates as one of [...]
As the dust settles on the latest Facebook privacy debacle, there is no question people are more and more concerned about what Facebook knows about them and is sharing with others. Many of us have shared, liked, tagged and commented on some of our most private thoughts, our political opinions and pictures of friends and [...]
Have you seen HQ? I’m talking about the app called HQ. Actually, I hadn’t seen it until my 34-year-old son showed it to me last week. It seems to be hot among millennials. Chances are GMs, station managers and news directors will say the same thing I did: Why didn’t I think of that? The [...]
Maybe it’s just me. But I don’t get it. Why do some TV stations continue making Facebook their primary platform for breaking news and especially breaking video instead of their own platforms? Why not make sure the content gets on the station’s revenue platforms? Facebook is a marketing platform. Sure, use it to tell people [...]
When was the last time you opened your station’s news or weather app and actually used it? Was it... When you first downloaded it? A month ago? Last week? Or you don’t remember? I’ve learned that stations don’t do enough quality control. Here’s an example. We have a client station that has one of the [...]
“Can you hear me now?” Remember the Verizon ad? (As if pop culture will ever let us forget it). When it comes to your news mobile app, let’s change it to, “Can you see me now?” Can you see the images, weather maps and graphics I just put in your Facebook feed on your cell [...]
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 [...]
