LocalNewser dispatches from the frontlines of local news

Memo to News Staff

To:  Newsroom Staff

From:  Your News Director

Re:  Immediate Changes

I know many of you have expressed concerns--and I share them--about the future of our newsroom, given corporate's continued cutbacks and the resulting layoffs.  I wish I could promise you that we've turned a corner, and all of your jobs are safe.  I can't.  My job isn't safe.

None of us can count on this line of work anymore, as the very framework of our relations with the network, and with local advertisers have changed.  I don't expect things will go back to the way they were.  This is a one-way trip, and while I remain confident that our product is the best in the market, and you all are the best at what you do, the economic changes in our business demand that we change the way we operate.  As a result, you've all been asked to do more with less, and for that, I continue to be very grateful.

I can't get the guy at the Buick dealership (is there still a guy at the Buick dealership?) to start spending the way he used to.  And the network sure isn't delivering for our late news the way it used to.  I've read the same things you have in the trades about the network getting out of the affiliate model altogether, and taking its act--and its content--to cable.  That's above my pay grade, I'm afraid.

Here's what I can do--and I'm doing it today.  I'm changing our priorities and hopefully, making far better use of your time.  We won't be wasting your talent anymore, and I hope our new priorities will instill in all of you a sense of getting back to the things that attracted you to this business in the first place--making a difference, improving our city, and beating the pants off the competition.

So, starting with tonight's 6:00 newscast (producers, we'll meet shortly to go over the new rundown) here's what you will no longer see us do:

1.  National News Just Because It's on the Feed

If a big story breaks at newstime, we'll cover it.  Obviously.  If a massive story demands our attention, we'll cover that as well.  But the fire in St. Louis (even with the pretty pictures) and the icy road wreck in Utah, well they've been talking about those stories for hours and hours on cable, and that's not what we're here for.  From here on out, if my people aren't working the story, we're not airing the story.

2.  Traffic

We'll stick with our traffic coverage in the early morning, but after that, we're out.  If you need us to tell you that there's rush hour traffic at five or six o'clock, well you're probably not a viewer that advertisers have any interest in.  Further, those highway shots always look alike, and they take time from real news.  That said, if we ever have a traffic-free rush hour, we'll cover the hell out of it, and we'll get to the bottom of it.

3.  Sports Highlights

Yes, we do still have a sports department.  And I'm happy to report that starting immediately, they're back on the case of covering actual, honest to God local sports.  However, that does not mean wrapping up how the local pro teams did tonight--or God forbid--last night.  No. We're putting our sports resources into the field to bring home original sports reporting.  And no, I don't mean fluff features that accomplish nothing but boring a group of free-pizza-eating local Emmy judges.  I mean real reporting.

We're telling our sports team:  the lead story of our newscast is yours.  Just take it.  Bring us a story nobody else has, and we'll put you in the A block.  (And no, before you ask, we won't reassign "hard" sports stories to "news" reporters.)

4.  The End--For Real This Time--of the Waterskiing Squirrel

Look, animals are cute, and I love YouTube as much as the next news director.  And sure, funny videos are easy to slot in as teases.  But do you really think anybody needs us to show them the hot YouTube video they saw online three days ago?  It reinforces a belief that we don't get it, that we're out of step.  The waterskiing squirrel dates to a time before YouTube. Now, well, we have YouTube, and that's where those videos belong, not on our newscast. Yes, producers, this means the end of the line for the anchor chat cute kicker.  Consider it dead. Ditto national weather VOs or apple orchard video leading into weather.  Dead.

5.  Tie-Ins.

Look, the network's not exactly our BFF anymore.  One could even argue we need couple's counseling.  But for now, we're still committed to the network for national news, primetime, morning and sports.  But it's not in our best interests to turn our local newscasts into ET or AccessHollywood.  If the network wants to promote a new show, have at it.  But we no longer need talkbacks with the cast and crew, and sorry, kids, that means the junkets are over.  (I realize this will force a full re-think of our midday newscast.  In fact, I'm no longer convinced we need a midday newscast.  Who's got a better idea?  What can we do with that time that might be valuable and worthwhile?  Bring me a good idea and I'll let you run with it.)

6.  "Localizing" National or International Stories

Could it happen here?  Of course it could.  But it didn't.  If it does, we really should cover it.  If it happened in Detroit, let's let them have their fun and we'll cover the news that actually happened here.  Does that make sense?

I think giving up all of these tried and true time fillers will, obviously, open up a lot of time in our newscasts. I want each and every one of you, whether you're a reporter, an anchor, or a technical director, to suggest stories.  Not stories you saw in the paper (folks, we've got to break that habit, especially since we can't count on having newspapers to pull stories from..we've got to learn to do it ourselves) but stories that are interesting, important, and above all else, local.  We are the absolute authorities on this town, and when something happens here, we need to be the place people go to understand it.  The other guys can explain Twitter to seniors and go "around the world" of news in 60 seconds.

We'll only win--and survive--by being the best at one specific and extremely important thing: covering real news in this town.  Our newscasts are going to look a lot different tonight.  I hope people will notice not what's missing (they can get it all easily elsewhere) but what's filling the holes:  honest to God local news, told with creativity and brains.

So put down this memo and get to work.

ADDITION #1:  Car Chases (In-Town or Out-of-Town)

Look, I'm not going to lie.  I can't help myself, I love them so.  I don't care if it's always L.A., and you've all seen me tear out of my office like a madman when we get one here in town. But I gotta be realistic about it. They just aren't all that newsworthy, you know?  And blowing out the entire five o'clock news just to watch a guy in a van?  Can't justify it anymore.  But we will stream it on the website.

[Hat Tip:  David Bergeman]