Here's something KTVU staffers are not looking forward to: according to a heady local TV news hound, Fox makes its anchors run their own teleprompters, a small-market practice not seen in San Francisco. Supposedly, Fox does it in New York, LA, and Chicago.
Why so? It saves money by dumping studio crew.
I have a feeling I just destroyed a lot of dinner plans in Jack London Square tonight.
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Ruh rooohhhhh.....Are they coordinated enuff to talk and work a prompter at the same time? OH THE HUMANITY!!!!
ReplyDeleteActually, smartass who's surely never done a newscast, have you tried it?
DeleteIt's not easy.
Landing a 747 looks easy too when the pros are doing it. You try it and see how you fare.
Now, back to your job at Denny's.
Anon @ 2:33 pm: touche!
DeleteI worked for Fox in LA when KTTV moved from Hollywood to the Westside in a beautiful purpose built building.
ReplyDeleteIt was clear then-about 15 years ago I think-that the writing was on the wall for cameramen, video men, and everybody involved in the broadcasts. We put in robocams with one guy running the cameras as well as doing video.
Staff was reduced to the bone.
Glad I retired when I did.
That's why, along with everything else in America, news used to look professional but is now crap.
DeleteAmerica: Number 1 in...............................................absolutely nothing.
I know of 79 mid-to-major market television stations where anchors are running their own teleprompters, by hand dials or foot pedals. I even visited CNBC's London headquarters and a Baltic TV network last year and saw their major anchors doing it themselves (foot pedals in both cases). Self-prompting is not as bad as it seems. It's all in the attitude (and aptitude) of the anchor. Talent who is use to waving their hands (like sports) may have a performance issue, until the station realizes that another member of the talent team can help out for those 2-3 minutes. Sinclair stations with dual-anchor teams alternate the prompter duty; the anchor not reading runs the prompter, and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteI also know of one TV group that has discussed remote teleprompting (via one of the teletext services) as a lower-cost compromise for its big market evening talent (their AM and noon staff will have to do it themselves). This is already happening at a few "bureau" locations where the remote talent reads off a monitor electronically fed by the main station's computer prompter.
Veteran TV news staffers who can't adjust to the new realities will either quit or be forced to move on if they refuse to adapt (and take a healthy salary cut, to boot). Television operations are being consolidated faster than Tommy's Joynt can grill a buffalo burger.
Prediction: Within 2-5 years a number of groups will consolidate producer/writer teams just like they have with MCR, graphics and traffic. Since almost every news-gathering tool is now digitally-capable TV groups with lower revenues will consolidate every aspect of their ops as they can. And, yes, that includes an assignment editor sitting in Portland, OR monitoring police/fire runs in Portland, ME.
I wonder if Obama ran his own teleprompter on the way up
ReplyDeleteI don't think so; that would require multitasking. He has had a tough enough time running his mouth, and then running to the first tee.
DeleteAt least he didn't need a box in the back of his suit like George Bush.
Deletehttp://www.salon.com/2004/10/30/bulge_5/
http://www.salon.com/2004/10/09/bulge/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election_debates,_2004#Controversy
Embrace your hate, you'll need it to keep going over the next couple of years.
DeleteWhether the anchor runs the teleprompter by mouse, hand-dial or foot pedal, it's EASY!!! Done it for years! It's about time some of the SF Bay anchors actually did some WORK! Get over yourselves!
ReplyDeleteOf course we know that the dolts who laugh it off as easy, have never really done it. As for the alleged anchor believes SF should "actually do some work", shame on you. Do you want your anchor focused on reporting information during a live broadcast, often adding or subtracting from scripted material as warrented, or prefer him or her to divide their attention by simultanesously running a device? Give me a break.
ReplyDeleteI've always preferred to run my own teleprompter. It gives me more control of the pace, allows for stops if I need to go off-script, etc.
ReplyDeleteI love how people are concerned for the 6-figure-salaried anchors and nobody has expressed any concern for the non-1%ers that used to run the prompters. Anchors have a cushy job compared to everyone else at a TV or radio station.
ReplyDelete