Talking TV

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from Jan. 6, Scripps Sports President Brian Lawlor talks with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp about the E.W. Scripps division formed to leverage its Ion network to draw leagues away from regional sports networks and on to OTA. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Alyson Fouse, creator and showrunner of Bounce’s new sitcom Act Your Age, discusses the enduring value of classic sitcom tropes and why diginets are a great place to debut new comedies. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Blake Sabatinelli, CEO of Atmosphere TV, explains how to make good TV deliberately for background consumption, and how his company has turned its network of FAST channels into a lucrative business at bars, restaurants and other venues. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Peter Bergman and Susan Walters, veteran actors on CBS’s The Young and the Restless, reflect on the show’s longevity, evolution and future as it marks its 50^th anniversary on broadcast. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

John Hane, president and CEO of BitPath, shares an update on how far along the ATSC 3.0 consortium is toward building a national network that will support leasing data services and get cash registers finally ringing for broadcasters. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Tony Katsur, CEO of the IAB Tech Lab, shares how he’s trying to solve for universal reconciliation, universal audit, audience interoperability and creating strong anti-fraud mechanisms in CTV among an ambitious list of other priorities in 2023. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Angelika Albaladejo and Jessica DeLeon are two former print reporters currently going through the Google-sponsored Journalism Journey Initiative to transition their skills to TV at E.W. Scripps stations. They share the tougher parts of the transition, the fresh-eyes advantages they bring to TV and how other former print reporters may follow in their stead. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

About That, the flagship news show for the newly launched CBC News Explore FAST channel, pairs a smart, conversational approach to storytelling with broadcast-quality production values. Host Andrew Chang explains how it does so with a tiny staff and big ambitions for reframing TV news. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Andrew Heyward, a research professor at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School and co-author of a new report, Beyond Objectivity, explains the problems with aiming for “objective” news and what alternate goals newsrooms would do better to pursue. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Amanda St. Hilare, an investigative reporter and news content manager at Fox-owned WITI Milwaukee, found a healthy balance between her demanding career and personal life. In her management role, she’s now trying to do the same for others. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

After months of building a newsroom from scratch, CBS’s WWJ Detroit flipped the switch on its first newscasts last week. Adrienne Roark, president of CBS Stations; Brian Watson, VP and GM of WWJ; and Paul Pytlowany, its news director, make the case for how its community-based approach to reporting will differentiate the station. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Keith Dawkins, president of the Harlem Globetrotters, talks with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp about the team’s return to TV with Play It Forward and how the beloved, near-century-old franchise is connecting with new generations across multiple media. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

The talk show genre has far from played itself out and there’s still room for more comers says Michaela Pereira, whose eponymous new talker debuts from PPI this fall. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Gary Brown, owner and CEO of Talent Dynamics, talks with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp about on-air journalists’ continued pursuit of a better work/life balance, anchors’ salary and leverage prospects and the industry’s ongoing shortage of producers. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Scripps Sports President Brian Lawlor talks with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp about the new E.W. Scripps division formed to leverage its Ion network to draw leagues away from regional sports networks and on to OTA. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Marco Di Giacomo, CMO of Amagi, about why he believes all broadcasters need to be on FAST channels post haste, the growing revenue opportunities there and where artificial intelligence will play a role in improving their UX and popularity.

Toni Knight, founder and CEO of WorldLink, says that station GMs need to be thinking strategically about direct response advertising as they downshift out of a lucrative political year. She shares the view from the DR side in conversation with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

True crime podcasts tap a deep line into audiences’ psyches and have great potential for local TV news in both audio and video forms, says Scott Weinberger, co-host and creator of the Anatomy of a Murder podcast and executive producer/creator of Discovery ID’s On the Case with Paula Zahn. He talks with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp about how to do them right. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Andrew Craft, senior digital journalist with Fox’s LiveNOW streaming channel, shows TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp how to multitask as producer, director and anchor while on the air for hours at a time.

Tegna’s Verify investigative team has won a following of 100,000 and growing on TikTok, where a younger demographic has been drawn to its simple reportorial mission and authentic voice. TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Verify’s Ariane Datil and Casey Decker about the dos and don’ts of making TikTok work for news. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Fox Weather celebrates its first anniversary this week, and TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with meteorologist Amy Freeze about a year that saw $15 billion in storm damage across the U.S., lessons she and her colleagues have learned in covering major weather events and how climate has become an important part of the reporting narrative. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from Aug. 26, TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Joe Murphy of Deep Brain AI, a technology company that’s creating digital copies of TV news anchors for outlets in China and South Korea, about how the tech works, the ethical issues around it and the likelihood that we’ll be seeing digital anchors on U.S. screens. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from Aug. 19, 2022, TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Erin Kennedy and Megan Glaros, who followed their layoffs as an anchor and meteorologist, respectively, at Chicago’s WBBM with the video podcast Broken News. Their show pulls back the curtain on local TV to reveal the sexism, punishing schedules and career unsustainability they encountered and its aftershocks in their lives. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp speaks with talk show host Tamron Hall about how her show is hitting a post-pandemic groove and her work with the NAB Leadership Foundation as its newly named industry ambassador. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Paul McGonagle, VP and news director of Fox-owned WTTG Washington, about two new shows that will bring the station up to over 80 hours of original weekly programming, how they manage that volume and hacks for hiring quality people in a tough market. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Patrice Courtaban, EVP of global growth and development for TV5Monde and CEO of TV5Monde U.S. about the multinational broadcaster’s growth plans in the francophone and Francophile U.S. market and beyond, and how streaming is helping broaden its reach. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with talent coach and consultant Barry Nash about recent research to pinpoint what viewers are looking for in TV anchors and how the best coaching is collaborative in nature. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Entertainment Tonight Executive Producer Erin Johnson on the eve of the show’s 42^nd season about its longevity and how a rethink of its social and digital presence transformed ET into something much more than just a TV show. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Joe Murphy of Deep Brain AI, a technology company that’s creating digital copies of TV news anchors for outlets in China and South Korea, about how the tech works, the ethical issues around it and the likelihood that we’ll be seeing digital anchors on U.S. screens. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Erin Kennedy and Megan Glaros, who followed their layoffs as an anchor and meteorologist, respectively, at Chicago’s WBBM with the video podcast Broken News. Their show pulls back the curtain on local TV to reveal the sexism, punishing schedules and career unsustainability they encountered and its aftershocks in their lives.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Carol Fowler, director of content at Tegna-owned NBC affiliate KDSK and Art Holliday, its news director, about the station’s 75-year milestone, how it’s evolving its reporting approach to crime coverage amid a dramatic surge and how the station is creatively navigating the staffing crisis facing the entire industry. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp and Michael Stahl discuss Stahl’s bombshell reporting on News 12’s New York area hyperlocal news channels, where multiple sources allege systemic abuse and a damaged, diluted news product. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Ginger Zee, chief meteorologist for ABC and co-host of Hearst Media Production Group’s Hearts of Heroes, along with fellow host Sheldon Yellen, about broadcast’s role in disaster preparedness and the frontline workers whose stories they tell in the show. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with veteran New York broadcaster Ernie Anastos, who is returning to television this fall with Positively America with Ernie Anastos, a new syndicated offering through which he plans to share accumulated wisdom and compelling conversations. A transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Geraldine Moriba, SVP of news and entertainment for TheGrio, about the company’s launch of a new podcast network and its ambitions for more news, context and analysis as it aims to build a big tent for Black audiences across multiple platforms. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Erika Dilday, executive producer of PBS’s POV documentary series as the show enters its 35^th season, looking at what makes potent documentaries work and how local TV stations can make successful forays into the space by drawing on their strong community ties. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Dr. Mark Fratrik, BIA Advisory Services’ longtime SVP and chief economist, is retiring at the end of June. He talks with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp about retrans’ slowdown, OTT’s rise and the need for broadcasters to keep their eyes on competitors coming from all directions. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Two J-school seniors on the cusp of graduation and entry into the local TV news job market share their thoughts on the industry, its future and their place in it in a conversation with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp and the Broadcast Education Association’s Executive Director Heather Birks. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Bonita Sostre, a coordinating producer with CBS News and president of the New York Association of Black Journalists, about its upcoming Juneteenth gala, how local news can share stories of the U.S.’s newest federal holiday and work NYABJ is doing to bring budding young journalists into the profession. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Sussy Ruiz, editor in chief of the newly-launched The Weather Channel en Español, about the streaming- and digital-only channel’s value proposition to Spanish-speaking viewers, its ambitions to widen its coverage radar further south of the border and how understanding the cultures of its target audience will be crucial to its success. A full transcript of the conversation is included.