NewsTechForum 2018

After closing out a successful sixth NewsTECHForum in New York, TVNewsCheck presents videos of the many sessions, presentations and case studies so that if you couldn’t attend, you can get caught up now.

Broadcasting’s top tech practitioners are focused on improving the speed and use of metadata. ABC’s Tish Graham: “Whether it needs to be a linear piece, or it needs to be OTT or some type of digital piece, we need to build the backend systems and automate them as much as possible to be able to move that content wherever it needs to go, and to be reliable.” And metadata is also essential to find content in an archive or to direct OTT distribution, plus efficient use can also lower overall storage costs. (Photo: Jill Altmann)

Despite the many advantages of new IP tech for covering news from the field, especially during disasters, savvy broadcasters know it’s also valuable to have some tried-and-true gear in reserve. “If there’s another Superstorm Sandy, I would be very grateful that I still have satellite trucks, and I would be grateful that I still had satellite phones, even if I haven’t fired them up in five years,” says Peter McGowan of WCBS-WLNY New York. (Photo: Jill Altmann)

ASU’s Frank Mungeam: TV stations “can have all kinds of great delivery, and the technology can get better, but it could expose the weakness of our underlying content. We have to start by working backwards from the audience, understanding what this new ecosystem is and the quality of some of the programming that we’re competing with on Netflix and Hulu.” (Photo: Jill Altmann)

Creating more long-form, “nuanced” journalism is a way for local stations to grab younger viewers in an era where there is a growing dissatisfaction with the national news media. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)

The winners of TVNewsCheck’s first Social Media Excellence Awards describe how their stations have been able to monetize various experiments in targeting social media audiences that go beyond just repeating what’s in their news broadcasts. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)

Valari Staab is leading her NBC and Telemundo stations into the future with heavy emphasis on finding the best in new technology and synergies that allow her local journalists to develop more locally produced, original content for the stations on a multitude of platforms. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)

NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations group, after rolling out a new plant in Philadelphia without an SDI router that uses as much IP as possible, will be creating a virtualized architecture for KLBR, its Telemundo station in Las Vegas, in which most of the back-end equipment used to run the station, including news production, will be located at a data center in Dallas. And then there’s the new facility NBCU is building in Boston, which will include six control rooms and six studios and accommodate four separate NBCU businesses. A big driver is increased support for the 2110 IP standard from the broadcast vendor community. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)

“You can no longer just be a broadcaster,” says SmithGeiger’s Andrew Finlayson. “You have to go beyond that.” In addition to offering content across digital and social media platforms, broadcasters, particularly TV stations, need to create and promote the usage of mobile apps, both for entertainment content and local news. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)

An Alabama meteorologist used Facebook Live and satellite imagery to pinpoint weather information for viewers affected by Hurricane Michael. Because of his creative efforts to serve the viewers during a difficult time, Josh Johnson of WSFA has won the Social Media Excellence Awards’ top distinction — the Innovator Award.

WBTV’s Kristen Hampton took top honors in the talent category in TVNewsCheck’s inaugural Social Media Excellence Awards. Charlotte viewers appreciate her authenticity, she says. “That’s pretty much all me.”

Fox’s WTVT Tampa won first place in the large market category in TVNewsCheck’s inaugural Social Media Excellence Awards. Its news director reveals how the station uses the natural beauty and character of the area to heighten user engagement.

Hearst’s KCCI Des Moines, Iowa, took top honors in the small-medium market category in TVNewsCheck’s inaugural Social Media Excellence Awards. Its social media producer explains how the station captured a “beautiful moment” to lift it above the pack.

To honor innovative, creative and effective use of social media, this year’s NewsTECHForum on Dec. 10 will present the first Social Media Excellent Awards to WTVT Tampa, Fla.; KCCI Des Moines, Iowa; Josh Johnson of WSFA Montgomery, Ala.; and Kristen Hampton of WBTV Charlotte, N.C. After accepting their awards, winners will participate in a panel discussion moderated by Kim Wilson of Social News Desk.

At TVNewsCheck’s annual NewsTECHForum on Dec. 11 in New York, Michael Depp will moderate a discussion among four broadcast experts on how to make the most of OTT content, tech and monetization.

At NewsTECHForum on Dec. 10 at the New York Hilton, Matt Danzico, NBC; Emily Kassie, The Marshall Project; Matt Pearl, Tegna’s WXIA and Frederic Roux, Dalet North America, will show and discuss examples of their, or in Roux’s case, his clients’ groundbreaking work.

At TVNewsCheck’s annual NewsTECHForum on Dec. 11 in New York, consultant Hank Volpe will moderate a discussion among four broadcast tech experts on best practices in field production; communicating with the newsroom;and acquiring video anywhere, any time and anyhow, along with getting the content back securely and economically.

Valari Staab, president of NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, will be interviewed by TVNewsCheck Editor Harry Jessell on Monday, Dec. 10. They will talk about her station group’s significant investment in overhauling its technology; its expanded investigative and consumer coverage, and increase in the amount of bilingual coverage.

Marcy Lefkovitz, VP of technology and workflow strategy at the Disney/ABC Television Group, will moderate the panel “Live News Over IP” featuring Brad Plant, director of technology and operations at NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations; Tony Plosz, VP of engineering and operations at WCAU and WWSI Telemundo62 Philadelphia; and Matt Keiler, VP North American Sales at TVU Networks.

A panel of leading technologists from Disney/ABC Television, E.W. Scripps, Tribune Media and Graham Media moderated by Andrea Berry will talk about how AI, IP, augmented reality, ATSC 3.0 and other new and emerging technologies will influence news workflow in the near future during a session at TVNewsCheck’s annual NewsTECHForum on Dec. 11 at the New York Hilton.

Andrew Finlayson, EVP digital and social media strategies at SmithGeiger, will look at how broadcasters can attract younger audiences with technology, opening a conference gathering news, technology and digital executives.