KCBS has been running taped, canned, overnight traffic reports both during its weeknight and weekend newscasts, until now.
The all-news outlet has revered course and is back to delivering 24/7 traffic reports, a good sign and proper news judgement because the alternative was, so infinitely suckable. Quote me.
KCBS, like other broadcast entities, has seen a ginormous uptick in ratings during the Coronavirus pandemic.
KCBS was having its traffic anchors broadcast canned reports, in essence, a pre-recorded zippo PR release from Caltrans detailing roadwork on various Bay Area highways. Not only were the reports (if you can even call them that) highly laughable BS ...and presented as "live" reports, they were rehashes and mostly sweet nothings.
Seems KCBS did the right thing, for a change.
I'm guessing they're doing live traffic overnight reports because of the massive 101 freeway project. Once that is finished they might go back to recorded reports.
ReplyDeleteCurrent Bay Area traffic report at 2AM: "There ain't none"
ReplyDeleteYes you'd be surprised. Accidents happen at all hours
DeleteThe spots on KCBS are getting worse and worse. Take the family-run jewelry store with the over-produced commercials. Clearly, an ad agency is charging the client up the wazoo for these repelling ads. Now that we're in the pandemic (and nobody is buying jewelry) they're doing image ads that make a listener think they're a bunch of hillbillies from W. Virginia who indulge in incest. If these are "image" ads, they definitely give me an image.
ReplyDeleteOn the good side, somebody in the sales department must have had a talk with the tax advice guy with the heavy accent. They initially let this guy voice is own spot. You've got to wonder how he negotiates with the IRS if the IRS guys can't understand what he's saying. Now they've re-cut the spots with a professional announcer at the beginning and end, and the client gets about 5 seconds in the middle. That might stop this account from going down the familiar KCBS road of burn-and-churn.
The classic KCBS burn-and-churn was a window sales guy with a heavy German or Austrian accident. Given his age, he'll probably say he was in Austria during the war. Anyway, his spot didn't tell the listener why they should buy from him. Instead he spent the entire time explaining the rules for getting a discount from his store, laying out a complex and burdensome procedure. Nobody at KCBS told this guy his ad wouldn't work, that he was wasting his money. Account execs need to learn that if you want to keep your clients, don't let them voice their own spots! This window guy is long gone. Maybe he went back to Austria.