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Aug. 21st, 2011
No Gripes Without Alternatives
Aug. 21st, 2011 04:10 pmThe other day I voiced my discontent with TV news at the national level. So, you ask, how would I do things differently, if I had the power? Well, I'll tell you:
With the advent of digital broadcast, it is now possible for a network to have a dedicated 24-hour news channel on over-air broadcast rather than cable. So that's the vehicle I'd choose, rather than a half-hour condensed program. That format alone is a horrible limitation, especially in the mass media world we have now.
The big three TV networks have a powerful asset that they don't use often enough: the local affiliate news teams. My channel concept would be completely reliant on--and devoted to--them.
120 cities across America, including the Nation's Capital, all the State Capitals, and 69 cities chosen not just because of their population but their location. Each affiliate in that city gets guaranteed blocks of three minutes to present their best stories of the moment. How many blocks per day would depend on whether the affiliates are willing to work 24/7 and the need for updates.
120 cities * 3 minutes each = 1 news cycle. If this is smartly constructed, the channel's operation can be highly automated with little need for management from the central network. No national talking heads/hosts/pundits. You can cover a lot of local news in three minutes, and a lot of what is happening nationwide with 120 cities. And this would bust open the awful "echo chamber" that currently exists in network TV news.
With the advent of digital broadcast, it is now possible for a network to have a dedicated 24-hour news channel on over-air broadcast rather than cable. So that's the vehicle I'd choose, rather than a half-hour condensed program. That format alone is a horrible limitation, especially in the mass media world we have now.
The big three TV networks have a powerful asset that they don't use often enough: the local affiliate news teams. My channel concept would be completely reliant on--and devoted to--them.
120 cities across America, including the Nation's Capital, all the State Capitals, and 69 cities chosen not just because of their population but their location. Each affiliate in that city gets guaranteed blocks of three minutes to present their best stories of the moment. How many blocks per day would depend on whether the affiliates are willing to work 24/7 and the need for updates.
120 cities * 3 minutes each = 1 news cycle. If this is smartly constructed, the channel's operation can be highly automated with little need for management from the central network. No national talking heads/hosts/pundits. You can cover a lot of local news in three minutes, and a lot of what is happening nationwide with 120 cities. And this would bust open the awful "echo chamber" that currently exists in network TV news.
