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The Marketing Ideanet is a free idea sharing newsletter published by 602 Communications. We are a TV training and consulting company that specializes in improving front-line news and marketing skills. Check out thousands of cutting edge examples at our web site. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Graeme Newell
602 Communications
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In This Issue
Tips for Great Stand-up Teases
Conan's Condition: No Dissing Old Bosses
MSNBC Prez Cracks Down on Infighting
NBC Affiliates Board Meeting Optimistic
Leno to Headline WH Correspondents' Dinner
Fox Confident Stations Would Carry Conan
Koppel Not Headed To ‘This Week'
Judge Refuses Letterman Case Dismissal
SAG Awards Nearly Mirror Globes
News Corp. Flying High On Avatar
Alwaleed Backs James Murdoch as News Corp. Successor
Clinton Urges China to Investigate Google Case
Obama Slams Supreme Court Decision
NAB Praises Decision for Political Ad Spending Boon
FCC Seeks Ideas to Improve the News Media
Hope For Haiti Now's Preliminary Tally: $57M
Air America Signs Off
Michael Wolff's Solution to Electoral Advertising Inequities
Quotes
"I am sorry to think that you do not get a man's most effective criticism until you provoke him. Severe truth is expressed with some bitterness."
- Henry David Thoreau
"The strength of criticism lies in the weakness of the thing criticized."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"That is what the highest criticism really is, the record of one's own soul. It is more fascinating than history, as it is concerned simply with oneself. It is more delightful than philosophy, as its subject is concrete and not abstract, real and not vague. It is the only civilized form of autobiography."
- Oscar Wilde
Tips for Great Stand-up Teases
by Graeme Newell
602 Communications
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Stand up teases are meant to show your reporter is in the heart of the action. They prove they're out in the community, actively searching for news, not waiting passively in the newsroom. Your stand up should whet the viewer's appetite for an engaging location with neat stuff to see.
Step one is to avoid the "postcard" stand up shot. These stand ups are usually wide shots with either a building or a sign in the background. The reporter is in the foreground; something static and uninteresting is far in the distance. These shots are reminiscent of the standard Grand Canyon photo we all took on vacation as kids. While they may be framed nicely, they reveal that our reporter is miles from any kind of actual news. There is usually no one else in the shot, just a single reporter with picturesque architecture framed pristinely behind them. It is the antithesis of story involvement. If there's something interesting going on inside that building, your reporter missed it. He has been banished to the front lawn.
The goal of a great stand up tease is to demonstrate and interact with the environment. Give viewers a firsthand tour of the action. That means the stand up should be more tight than wide. It should move, and as much as possible, give an interactive experience of the location.
1) Don't wait until the end of the day.
Most reporters shoot their stand up tease AFTER they've shot the story. Instead, be on the lookout for the most visually interesting component throughout the day. A great stand up tease should be a part of the story process, not an afterthought. Help me understand the story by taking me right to the action. If you wait until the end of the day, odds are, you'll be forced to stand in front of a building.
2) Give me a small taste of the specifics of the location.
What is interesting or visual about this story? Avoid the visual overview of the news location. Think tight instead of wide. When you arrive at the scene, take a moment to walk around the entire location. Do a 360 of the scene. Scout out visually interesting components and use those for your stand up tease.
3) Demonstrate and interact.
Instead of standing on the front lawn of the burgled home, take me down the alley and show me the window where the thief broke in. Instead of standing in front of the snow drift, grab a big handful and throw a snowball. Show exactly where the action took place. Recreate the action for me. If you find yourself standing in one place without moving, you probably missed an opportunity. Concentrate on specific components of the story instead of describing an overview of the location.
More Stand up teasing tips next week….
Graeme Newell is a broadcast and new media marketing specialist. He guarantees that his teasing seminar will immediately increase your news ratings or his workshop is free. Find out more here.
Conan's Condition: No Dissing Old Bosses
How does a professional disparager honor a nondisparagement clause? Conan O'Brien is about to find out. Mr. O'Brien and his team are walking away from NBC with a whopping $45 million settlement, but there's a condition: "The Tonight Show" host can't bad-mouth the Peacock Network and its top brass. "We wanted to give him a graceful exit. Hopefully he will be graceful," Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, said of Mr. O'Brien, whose last show is Friday. Thursday night, with the ink barely dry on his exit package, Mr. O'Brien didn't spare his ratings-challenged employer. "Have to watch at least one NBC show every weeknight in order to double ratings," Mr. O'Brien said. People familiar with the matter said the nondisparagement provision kicks in when Mr. O'Brien leaves the network. Being tactful has never been part of Mr. O'Brien's comedic repertoire. While nondisparagement clauses aren't unusual in top-dollar settlements, this one raises obvious questions about how a comedian can go about his work when he is gagged from doing gags.
Taking shots at the "suits" has long been a sport of television comics. Over his 30-year career, Johnny Carson gently ribbed his corporate bosses on "The Tonight Show," referring to parent company General Electric Co. as the "conglomerate with a heart." Once Mr. Carson announced plans to retire from "The Tonight Show," he joked in 1991: "GE already sold my parking spot to Fotomat." The targeting has become increasingly overt over the years, however. After GE bought NBC's parent RCA in 1986, late-night host David Letterman strode to the then-GE building to deliver a fruit basket to his new owners, complete with a camera crew that filmed him being escorted out of the building. "This is going to be fun to work with these people, isn't it?" Mr. Letterman said. On NBC, the comedy "30 Rock" revolves in part around poking fun at GE. Alec Baldwin's character, Jack Donaghy, manages television and microwave-oven programming. An episode last January called "Retreat to Move Forward" made fun of the Six Sigma management practice used extensively within GE. The pillars of the Six Sigma business philosophy, the episode said, stand for "teamwork, insight, brutality, male enhancement, hand shakefulness and play hard." GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt has been a good sport about the ribbing. During an interview with the Journal last year, he said "30 Rock" was his favorite show. "We're the butt of every joke," he said. "But it's a great show." Insiders at GE say that the company doesn't mind self-deprecating humor but wants its anchors and comedians to show loyalty to GE and NBC, and be team players. When it turns hostile, as they feel it has with Mr. O'Brien more recently, GE has a harder time finding humor in the situation, they said. GE declined to comment.
WSJ
MSNBC Prez Cracks Down on Infighting
In an internal memo to talent and EPs obtained by the Huffington Post, MSNBC president Phil Griffin asked his on-air talent not to criticize one another publicly. He acknowledged that the opinions expressed on his network can lead to "spirited, substantive disagreements," but called the infighting "unprofessional" and reminded everyone that they "are all on the same team." "We have many strong personalities with differing, passionate opinions, but it is important to remember that we are all on the same team. I want to reiterate my long-standing policy: We do not publicly criticize our colleagues. This kind of behavior is unprofessional and will not be tolerated. Let me be clear: I encourage you to keep doing what you do best. Give the viewers your perspective and a vigorous debate on the issues they care about. But do not turn substantive differences into personal ones." The memo was in response to an incident earlier this week, in which Joe Scarborough criticized Keith Olbermann on twitter for his comments about Senator-elect Scott Brown.
MediaBistro
NBC Affiliates Board Meeting Optimistic
Both NBC and its affiliates board spoke positively of their annual meeting in New York today (Jan. 21), saying both parties are happy to move ahead after the recent Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien drama and work together on issues such as retransmission consent. NBC affiliates board chairman Michael Fiorile said the board-and, presumably, most of the affiliate body-is looking forward to seeing Jay Leno back in his old Tonight Show role. "I think everybody's pretty happy about that," he said. "NBC went ahead and made the decision and made it quickly, and we're appreciative." Fiorile also said the board is optimistic about a potential Comcast ownership. Comcast has made a point of stating its commitment to local television as it endures the long wait for the massive deal to be OK'd in Washington. "From what we see and what we hear about their commitment to over the air, to localism, to a continued affiliate-network system," he said, "we're feeling pretty good."
Broadcasting & Cable
Leno to Headline WH Correspondents' Dinner
Comedian Jay Leno will headline the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in May, the group said Friday. Leno agreed earlier this month to appear at the event, before NBC announced his return to hosting "The Tonight Show," the group said. The network's move was prompted by affiliates protesting the poor ratings of Leno's prime-time show. The comedian will share the stage with President Obama at the correspondents' dinner at the Washington Hilton. By tradition, presidents fire jokes at the news corps, political opponents and even themselves at the event, where politicians, journalists and celebrities rub elbows. Leno headlined the 2004, 2000 and 1987 dinners during the administrations of both parties. Ticket sales to the dinner help fund college scholarships for aspiring journalists. More than $130,000 in scholarships, as well as journalism prizes, will be awarded at the event.
CNN
Fox Confident Stations Would Carry Conan
Fox TV executives considering a late-night talk show with Conan O’Brien are confident 60 percent to 70 percent of their local stations would be free to carry it, a person with knowledge of the situation said. Other stations may have program commitments that keep them from coming on board by September, when O’Brien, 46, is free to start working again, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to talk publicly. O’Brien, who will consider all offers, would prefer to stay on broadcast TV and is interested in News Corp.’s Fox network, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Shannon Ryan, a spokeswoman for Fox, declined to comment. Rick Rosen, O’Brien’s agent at the William Morris Endeavor Entertainment talent agency, didn’t return calls and e-mail messages seeking comment. Leslee Dart, O’Brien’s publicist, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Bloomberg
Koppel Not Headed To ‘This Week'
Ted Koppel will not be making a return to ABC News-at least not as George Stephanopoulos' successor on This Week. According to multiple sources, talks to bring the former Nightline anchor back to the network as the host of the Sunday program have ended without an offer. Koppel was among several people network executives have been in discussions with about replacing Stephanopoulos, who left to replace Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. Sources say that ABC News President David Westin believed Koppel's camp had leaked reports of the talks. Westin was overheard complaining that it was a pattern that had made negotiations with Koppel difficult in 2005 when ABC News was in talks with him about re-formatting Nightline, the program he founded as a nightly update on the Iran hostage crisis. Earlier this month, Politico reported that Koppel had been offered a one-year, $1 million deal to host This Week three Sundays a month. But ABC News denied that any offers had been made. Westin told Politico in an e-mail message that he was considering "a number of options." But he added, "I will pull back the veil to the limited degree of telling you--for the benefit of your readers--that just about every specific that you have is false."
Broadcasting & Cable
Judge Refuses Letterman Case Dismissal
A New York judge refused on Tuesday to toss out a case against a TV producer accused of a $2 million extortion attempt against David Letterman over the talk show host's sexual affairs with co-workers. New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon rejected a bid by the producer's lawyer to have the charges dismissed, saying instead that "this is a classic example of an issue that is best left for a trial jury to decide." Robert Joel Halderman, 52, a producer for the CBS news show "48 Hours," was indicted by a grand jury in October and pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted grand larceny. Letterman admitted on his "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS last year that he had sex with women who worked with him on the program after receiving a package threatening to reveal the details. The case has been adjourned to March 9. If convicted, Halderman faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Rueters
SAG Awards Nearly Mirror Globes
If you watched the Golden Globes, then the Screen Actors Guild Awards might have seemed more than a little familiar on the television side of the ledger. SAG's top show honors, as well as the individual actor awards, essentially mirrored those handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Jan. 17. AMC's retro advertising series Mad Men, continuing to add to its haul of Emmys and Globes, brought home the SAG actor for the second year running for the outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series. For its part, Fox's rookie Glee repeated its Globe win by capturing the outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series. Fox also got SAG props for outstanding performance by a stunt ensemble in a television series for serial thriller 24. Julianna Margulies followed her Globe with the actor for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series as Alicia Florrick in CBS's The Good Wife. Beleaguered NBC also had to feel good as Alex Baldwin scored his fourth consecutive SAG win for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock, while Tina Fey copped her third straight SAG award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series on the same show. Fey's turn as Liz Lemon proved to be the only primetime SAG difference from the HFPA equivalents, where Toni Collette, who won the Emmy in September, was the Globe's top comedic actress last week for Showtime's United States of Tara.
MultiChannel
News Corp. Flying High On Avatar
The ongoing success of sci-fi epic Avatar and climbing newspaper profits will offset risks like MySpace lagging behind Facebook and the dwindling popularity of American Idol, prompting Soleil Securities to raise its rating and earnings estimates for News Corp. Shares of News Corp. jumped nearly 2%, or 25 cents, to $13.31 in Thursday morning on the Nasdaq, where they have traded in a 52-week range of $4.95 to $14.39. Soleil analyst Alan S. Gould boosted his price target to $16.50 from $16, and his rating to Buy from Hold, noting that the Street will discount Avatar results as nonrecurring. News Corp. will make about $275 million on Avatar, with more than half the profits coming in the March quarter, Gould said, adding that the box office blockbuster will likely show a loss of about $40 million in the December quarter. Based on a worldwide gross estimate of $1.85 billion and assuming 20 million global home units, Gould expects Avatar will generate more than $1.3 billion in revenue for News Corp. He predicts financing partners, who assume 60% of the risk, and James Cameron will earn nearly $350 million.
Forbes
Alwaleed Backs James Murdoch as News Corp. Successor
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the billionaire Saudi investor, said his choice to succeed Rupert Murdoch at the head of News Corp. is son James Murdoch. “If he doesn’t appoint him, I’ll be the first one to nominate him to be the successor of Mr. Rupert Murdoch,” Alwaleed said in an interview on the Charlie Rose program, to be shown tonight. Alwaleed held a 7 percent stake in News Corp. as of an Aug. 20 proxy statement. James Murdoch, 37, is the chief of New York-based News Corp.’s Asian and European operations and is the youngest of Murdoch’s three children from his second marriage. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch, 78, is the founder of News Corp., the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, Fox broadcasting and HarperCollins Publishers LLC. James Murdoch is “really a Rupert Murdoch in the making, and he’s almost there now,” Alwaleed said in the interview. “I have full confidence in him, full trust in him, and he’s capable.” A News Corp. spokesman, Jack Horner, declined to comment on any succession plans in an interview today.
Bloomberg
Clinton Urges China to Investigate Google Case
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday urged China to investigate cyber intrusions that led Google to threaten to pull out of that country — and challenged Beijing to openly publish its findings. "Countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of Internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century," she said. Clinton said the U.S. and China "have different views on this issue, and we intend to address those differences candidly and consistently" as part of a cooperative relationship. She cited China as among a number of countries where there has been "a spike in threats to the free flow of information" over the past year. She also named Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Google said on Jan. 12 that it will remain in China only if the government relents on rules requiring the censorship of content the ruling communist party considers subversive. The ultimatum came after Google said it uncovered a computer attack that tried to plunder its software coding and the e-mail accounts of human rights activists protesting Chinese policies. Communications companies and industry association officials also welcomed Clinton's remarks. "Allowing policies that chip away at Internet freedom is one of the biggest failures of the past decade," said Ed Black, chief executive of the Computer and Communications Industry Association. "But it's not too late to reverse this course and the Obama Administration seems to be paying attention."
Yahoo News
Obama Slams Supreme Court Decision
President Barack Obama has shot back at the Supreme Court over its decision to lift the ban on using corporate and union treasury funds for electioneering communications and advocacy ads. In a statement released Thursday, President Obama called the decision "a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics." He also said he would try to work with the Congress to answer that vote with a "forceful response." "[This] is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans. This ruling gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington -- while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates."
MultiChannel
NAB Praises Decision for Political Ad Spending Boon
NAB president Gordon Smith called the Supreme Court's decision to allow more corporations and unions to directly fund more on-air political spots "a good one for freedom of speech." His remarks came during an interview for C-SPAN's Communicators series, in which he also weighed in on spectrum--broadcasters want to keep it and aren't sure they will be able to share it -- indecency and more. Smith voted against campaign finance reform as a Senator, he pointed out. But he also said he thought it could be good for the broadcasters coffers as well as the First Amendment. "Ultimately you can't get on TV or radio without paying for it," he said. "Broadcasters have lots of costs in production of content. The American people rely on their TV's and radios, and ulimately I expect it will mean there is more political advertising." Smith said the best part of the decision was that there remains "full disclosure," so that the American people can figure out "who is for whom, and why. But Smith is for broadcasters in particular. "I think it does help [broadcasters]. At a time when advertising is down, perhaps political advertising will go up."
MultiChannel
FCC Seeks Ideas to Improve the News Media
Just a month after the Federal Trade Commission held hearings on the beleaguered news industry and what the government might do about it, the Federal Communications is getting into the act, too. The agency has launched an investigation into the “Future of Media,” and released an 11-page request for information about the state of the news business. It plans to examine the current state of the news industry, industry trends and what the agency could do to change its current rules. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the agency wants to understand the “fundamental changes” in the media industry and examine “what impact such changes may have for (FCC) policies.” In a press release Thursday, the FCC said that the initiative “will not include any effort to control the editorial content of any type of media.” The agency said the project will “produce a report providing a clear, precise assessment of the current media landscape, analyze policy options and, as appropriate, make policy recommendations to the FCC, other government entities, and other parties.” It started a new Web site, and sent a tweet asking people to “read the blog, share stories & submit ideas to improve media.” Aside from further regulations on TV and radio stations, its not clear what the FCC or the Obama administration could require of newspapers or Internet news sites. Some critics, including Republican FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker, argue there are significant First Amendment issues here. Baker gave a speech at a Media Institute luncheon Thursday, and said the talk should be headlined, “Baker Says Government Should Stay Out of Journalism.” “Market gaps are not necessarily market failures requiring government intervention,” Baker told the audience, mostly media and telecom lawyers. “As journalists search for their future identity, I urge that we leave journalists largely to their own devices to find a new sustainable commercial foundation.”
WSJ
Hope For Haiti Now's Preliminary Tally: $57M
With donations continuing to roll in from all parts of the globe, the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon on first count raised some $57 million. Counting contributions from phone, online and mobile sources, the total marks a new record for donations made by the general public through a disaster relief telethon, according to MTV Networks officials. The preliminary figure does not include donations by corporations and large private donors, or iTunes sales figures, all of which are still being calculated. "The public has set a new standard of giving for a relief telethon with Hope for Haiti Now, and the donations continue to come in -- people can still contribute 24/7 via phone, Web and text," said Lisa Paulsen, president and CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. That's the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing philanthropic support to Hope for Haiti Now to ensure proper fiduciary oversight and administration of all donated funds. Moreover, the "Hope for Haiti Now" album is the biggest one-day album pre-order in iTunes history and currently ranks first iTunes album in 18 countries.
Hope for Haiti Now benefits Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation, and the newly formed Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation. Proceeds from Hope for Haiti Now will be split among each organization's individual funds for Haiti earthquake relief.
Hope for Haiti Now will continue accepting donations for six months via the following methods: Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org; phone: 877-99-HAITI; text: Text "GIVE" to 50555; and mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017
MultiChannel
Air America Signs Off
Air America, the 6-year-old, left-leaning talk radio network that featured hosts like Al Franken and Rachel Maddow, is pulling the plug, citing the poor economy. Air America, based in New York, was heard in the Washington area on AM-1050. It had studio space on Idaho Avenue NW as part of a marketing deal with Bonneville International Corp., which owns WTOP. “This very difficult environment has had a significant impact on Air America’s business,” Chairman Charlie Kireker said in a memo to employees that is posted on the company's Web site. “This past year has seen a ‘perfect storm’ in the media industry generally.” Air America had as many as 100 affiliates that carried its programming at its peak. It ceased live programming Thursday afternoon and said it planned an orderly Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. For stations scrambling to find replacement programming, Air America is offering reruns until Jan. 25.
Washington BizJournal
Michael Wolff's Solution to Electoral Advertising Inequities
After all these years of trying to solve the most obvious problem in politics—that money creates terrible inequities—it’s back to square one: Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling effectively means American corporations are free to spend as much money as they wanna spend to elect whomever they want. Which, honestly, makes some amount of sense. Campaign finance restrictions were always a little artificial—free speech, but not if you can buy it.
Still, the problem is absolute: The rich, with their enhanced free speech capabilities, can buy elections, creating a powerful democratic contradiction.
But I have the solution. It’s been obvious since the earliest days of television. In fact, the problem with the electoral system isn’t money, it’s television.
The overwhelming share of campaign money is spent on TV media time. Therefore, if you eliminate the cost of that media, the problem of disproportionate free speech is solved.
Actually, this is so obvious that for it not to have been the central point of this debate suggests that nobody really ever wanted to truly level the playing field. And that people in the media business, strongly influencing this discussion, were understandably having none of it.
It would have been easy enough for Congress or the FCC to have mandated free advertising time for political messages. Every candidate, qualified in some more or less reasonable way, gets an equal amount of media time. Why not? Broadcasters would have lost money for sure, but, media being of intangible value, this giveaway would not have cost them money (what’s more, this is, after all, the public’s air time, or, in the case of cable, the public’s franchise). How could this not have been an obvious and ideal solution for everybody but the television business?
Of course, some richies and their corporate allies might always buy more media on top of their allotted time, as Mayor Bloomberg surely would. But if the basic allotment is large enough, the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Also, everybody gets a fair chance to make their case and to raise more money on the basis of their message—rather than to raise more money on the basis of already having raised money.
Everything changes under this system. Politics now is primarily about raising money (or begging for it), but with media bills covered, financing a campaign becomes an ancillary task. The beleaguered and the cynical and those temperamentally disinclined to beg will be more apt to participate in the system. What’s more, with television widely accessible, the quality of the message becomes more significant than the ubiquity.
It’s an easy fix and it would create a much less nutty country.
More of Newser founder Michael Wolff's articles and commentary can be found at VanityFair.com, where he writes a regular column. He can be emailed at
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. You can also follow him on Twitter: @MichaelWolffNYC.
Newser
------------------------------------ The Marketing Ideanet is a free idea sharing newsletter published by 602 Communications. We are a TV training and consulting company that specializes in improving front-line news and marketing skills. Check out thousands of cutting edge examples at our web site. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Sent via TVSpy's email servers. Visit TV Spy's Marketing Matters.
Graeme Newell
602 Communications
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(919) 217-4438
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