Journalism

TV stations, including those in Los Angeles, have had to adapt quickly to the new normal of programming news while adhering to government mandates designed to stop the spread of the virus. While TV audiences continue to tune in to CNN and MSNBC for the latest national updates, they are also relying on broadcasters closer to home to apprise them of what’s going on specifically in their communities.

Gray’s InvestigateTV brings the pandemic story home, creating an impressive tool — an interactive COVID-19 Tracker that collects positive test results in every single county in the United States, updates the data every day, and makes the information easily accessible. Just mouse over or search the map, find your county, and you can see how many cases per capita have cropped up there.

Readers desperate for information are more reliant than ever on local media as the coronavirus spreads across the U.S. They want to know about cases in their area, where testing centers are, what the economic impact is. Papers say online traffic and subscriptions have risen. But newspapers and other publications are under pressure as advertising craters. They are cutting jobs, staff hours and pay, dropping print editions — and in some cases shutting down entirely.

Nate Johnson, NBU Owned Stations’ director of weather operations, says the group’s naturally techy meteorologists made a smooth transition to doing their forecasts from home. Viewers have been grateful for the domestic snapshots and fleeting returns to pre-pandemic life they’ve gotten in the process.

Milwaukee will still host the convention, which is now scheduled for the week of Aug. 17. Republicans are sticking with their plan to meet in Charlotte, N.C., a week later to renominate Donald Trump.

Mark Lukasiewicz:: In recent years, ‘live’ and ‘breaking’ have become even more dominant, and somewhat devalued, buzzwords of the business. And that has marked a substantial further surrender of journalism and journalistic values in television news.

David Zurawik: “Sounds of coughing and moaning throughout the room. Corridors overflowing with gurneys bearing COVID-19 patients, some in postures of distress. Sheets of plastic taped to walls, makeshift borders aimed at protection and some semblance of privacy. This is what ground zero looks like in the war on COVID-19, according to a CNN report that aired Monday. I believe we need to see more of these images from media outlets of the horrible truth shown here.”

Fox-owned WAGA in Atlanta has transitioned smoothly to a remote working environment for most of its staff. Its GM and news director say lots of advance planning and regular all-hands virtual meetings are helping a coronavirus-driven diasporic station stay together as a unit. Above, the station’s temporary studio outside its building.

The veteran news leader returns to Spokane, Wash., after stints in Sacramento, Seattle and Charlotte, N.C.

Over the last few years, a wave of unionization has swept local newsrooms and digital media outlets. As the coronavirus sweeps the country, forcing media companies to enact drastic cost-cutting plans, unionized newsrooms are putting the power of collective bargaining to the test.

Rashida Jones, an NBC News executive whose oversight of special programming has put her more in demand in recent months, has been placed in charge of MSNBC’s daytime schedule. Her appointment comes after she has organized several big-headline programs during a punishing news cycle that has included town-hall events, political debates and special reports centered on the 2020 election and the coronavirus pandemic.

The ongoing coronavirus crisis has universally disrupted newsrooms, and most local TV news directors expect the disruption to be long-lasting. A special edition of the RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey details the impacts of COVID-19 on local TV news stations throughout the country as they strive to provide their communities the best coverage possible, but struggle with production challenges and potential economic effects.

Coronavirus lockouts turns slick glamour to amateur hour as broadcasters and show hosts migrate to basements and guest bedrooms.

David Muir’s World News Tonight has been the top-rated show in all of American television for three weeks this month, averaging nearly 11 million viewers per night. Amid the devastation in New York City, Muir is still anchoring the show every night from an almost-empty ABC newsroom. He’s hosted three primetime specials on the pandemic, including one on Monday night that featured an interview with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Jerry Martin, Graham Media-owned KPRC’s wry VP and GM in Houston, has a reluctant pragmatist’s approach to his station’s coronavirus pivot: “Keep playing the game like it’s going to get worse.” (Al Torres Photography)

General managers are showing their true quality in these extraordinary times, putting public service and concern for their staffs above all other considerations.