TV news anchors broadcasting from their living rooms in a shirt and tie or a nice blouse — and, very likely, shorts? Yes, this year was just downright bizarre.
For radio and TV stations, operating throughout the pandemic and bringing us news and entertainment day in and day out required so much more than a floor lamp, some well-curated books in the background and a working Zoom link. Let’s go behind the scenes of how several local stations pulled it off.
Safety first
At virtually every TV and radio station, their first step when the pandemic hit was not unlike that of most other employers: to send everyone to work from home. They did so in March with the exception of some key technical workers, producers and, in some cases, a few editors and anchors.
“Nobody had a clue we could do what we do remotely,” said Matt Glassman, assistant news director for NBC Washington and Telemundo 44. “Everybody stepped up.”
Richard Dyer, president and general manager for WUSA9, a station operated by Tysons-based Tegna Inc., relayed a bragging point he hears often from his CEO, Dave Lougee. It took three weeks in March for the company to convert to a work-from-home environment, a job that might have taken 18 months and six consultants if they’d tried it during any normal year.
“We quickly made the decision that reporters and photographers would not come into the building at all,” said Patrick Paolini, senior vice president and general manager for WTTG Fox 5 D.C. and Fox 5 Plus.
Photographers took their equipment home, or they made use of temporary equipment tents — complete with air-conditioned washrooms and restrooms — that the company set up in its parking lot.
“In a weird way, it kind of rallied the newsroom and the technical staff to work together,” Paolini said.
By November, he said, anchors were back in the station studios, with safeguards and social distancing in place. But reporters and photographers remained remote.
Over on the radio dial, listeners of 96.3 FM may have had no idea the station was even broadcasting from employees’ homes. The station quickly set up news and other on-air talent with home studio equipment in March, operating that way through June, when more shows began to migrate back to the building studio.
“The number of shows that we’ve done at home — I think they’d be absolutely surprised,” said Sean Plater, general manager of WHUR, the Howard University Radio Network.
Lasting effects
Working and interviewing remotely, using Zoom and Zoom-like tech, has opened up a world of possibility. A typical morning show At Fox 5, Paolini said, would feature three or four guests in studio. Now they can book at least a dozen to speak remotely.
“It allowed us to really expand our thought process on various guests that we could have on,” Paolini said, and that strategy will likely continue moving forward. He noted that the Fox broadcast operations are also still planning a move from D.C. to Bethesda in June 2021. “So that’s been interesting, making sure that stays on track,” he said.
At WHUR, Plater said one of the most difficult effects of the pandemic was the loss of 77-year-old Patrick Ellis, a 40-year veteran of the station who died from Covid-19 in July. Ellis had hosted the station’s gospel show and led many of the station’s philanthropic efforts.
“So, we get it,” Plater said about Covid’s pain. “And we have tried to be sensitive to those in the community who have lost loved ones."
Dyer said he gained new respect for his technical team, which did so much more heavy lifting in order to connect people in new ways this year. And he hopes the year also brought about new respect for journalists.
“It goes beyond the actual pandemic response, in the elevation and escalation of social justice,” Dyer said. “And what we really learned, as you add that layer to the pandemic, was about the resolve and courage of our journalists. It is a courageous matter to fulfill your duty as a journalist in 2020. It was made more difficult based on messaging that we heard. The issues sharpened greatly as the country responded to George Floyd. The division became more perilous as we went through the summer. And the resolve of those who were tireless, who were courageous, who dug deep to continue to work hour upon hour in unpredictable circumstances was inspiring."
Live at 10, from the den
At NBC, news anchor Doreen Gentzler received viewer comments after she changed up the lamps in her home. Viewers engaged with Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer, Glassman said, "as "he would be out on his front lawn, he would be walking in his neighborhood, he would be on the grill cooking dinner, while he was doing his forecast. And it really surprised me, the great reaction to that!”
“Our audience realized that our editorial team are people, are their friends and neighbors, who are also dealing with the same kind of thing,” Glassman said.
70%-90% — Percentage of area TV and radio workforces that were converted to remote work early in the pandemic. Many have since migrated back to their respective studios as Covid-19 preventative measures were put into place.
On election coverage:
"People have been working end to end to make sure that we were purveyors of the truth, and that we were not going to do anything to escalate misinformation or untruth. We were going to be the purveyors of helping our people, our audiences, move through to get the information that they need in a dependable, contextual way. And that took a lot of preparation. "
— Richard Dyer, general manager, WUSA9
New content
Beyond a pivot to working remotely, stations also made changes to their programming.
Fox5
- Aired a variety of Covid-related specials, even dedicating several hours of commercial-free airtime to them. In one special, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan led a roundtable discussion.
- Used segments to feature local restaurants that were still open.
- Partnered with the Washington Teachers’ Union to air school lessons on Channel 20 at 10 a.m. weekday mornings. The 30-minute lessons were made to serve students without access to laptops or internet.
WUSA9
- Aired an evening series, “Facts Not Fear,” all about Covid
WHUR
- Created a new series, “HUR at Home," which they aired four nights a week on Facebook Live, YouTube and its website. Plater said it almost felt like they were turning into a TV station for the staff.
- Aired at least 12,000 public service announcements about Covid-19, also partnering with the Black Coalition Against Covid to spread information to keep people safe
- Implemented a community response phone line for listeners to call in to talk about how they feel
“We just realized, it’s more than just playing music, it’s more than just information, right now people just, sometimes they just need a hug, and just want to talk."
— Sean Plater, general manager, WHUR
NBC Washington
- Aired “News4 Kids” and “News4 Parents” to help families stay informed and to discuss the challenges of parenting during lockdown
2019 revenue
| Rank | Prior Rank | Station |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | WETA |
2 | 2 | WRC |
3 | 3 | WTTG |
| Rank | Prior Rank | Company |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Discovery Inc. |
2 | 2 | Graham Holdings Co. |
3 | 3 | TEGNA Inc. |