Local Program Initiative

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Local Program Initiative

March 2012 Webinar

Welcome!

March 2012

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Today

Outline of phase I Discuss goals questionnaire Local Programming Assessment Format Analysis of Tennessee

Crossroads

March 2012

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Phase I - Goal Appraisal

Collect and assess station goals for local programs

Develop benchmarks that allow stations to contrast and compare themselves to other stations in the project

Prepare a document that details the assumptions stations have about the purpose of local programming

March 2012

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Phase I - Goal Appraisal Q’naire Questionnaire Topics:

1. Community Service Goals2. Financial Motives3. Funding Sources4. Beyond Program Elements5. Success Stories (at your station)6. Other Station Success Stories

March 2012

Goals: Community Service

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1. Community Service Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very unimportant and 10 being very important, please tell us the importance of the following goals for each local program:

To rais

e the p

rofile

of the

statio

n in t

he com

munity

.

Help add

ress

or solv

e

issue

s in th

e com

munity.

Educa

te or in

form on a

"non-

issue

" topic

To pro

vide pe

rform

ance

,

arts,

or en

tertainm

ent to

local

audien

ces

Above the AmericanAbove the ValleyArt AuctionCalifornia HeartlandCalifornia's GoldCalifornia's Golden CoastCalifornia's Golden FairsCalifornia's Golden ParksCalifornia's GreenCalifornia's WaterDeath of a ShamanGreat ValleyHey Kids, Let's Cook!National Parks Special With Rob on the RoadRoad Trip With Huell HowserTruly California: Our State, Our StoriesViewFinderYour Money, Your Legacy

Goals: Success Stories

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5. Success Stories: Over the last 10 years please tell us about your top 3 local programming success stories.

Success Story 1a. Briefly explain the program and related content:

b. Tell us why it was a success: Dollars brought to station Impact on the Funder (Circle one)

Impact on community Audience Size

Otherc. Please explain why it was a success:

d. Did the program use Social Media? Y Ne. Online Companion Material? Y Nf. Outreach Campaign? Y N

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Success Story Analysis

Overview analysis of success: Most frequent types of successful

programs Is there a common theme across

stations? Yardsticks used to measure success

Involvement of social media, outreach, community improvement

March 2012

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Station Local Programming Assessment System-wide report(s) on CY2010

Part 1: Program hours by program and station characteristics Programs - Types, length, series/special, etc. Station - License type, duopoly, geography, etc.

Part 2: Market Attributes - Census and third party data

In year 2 there are follow up reports

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Begin the Programming Assessment Reemphasis the station as the unit of

analysis Production “cultures” in stations are

responsible for creating successful programs Develop tools for assessing local

programs genres and their formats Some early results --

March 2012

Variety is the Norm

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% of Stations Airing a Particular Local Program Genre

News & Pub Affairs 100%History 92%Lifestyle 92%Nature 80%Music 75%Arts & Culture 72%Travel 70%Food 52%Sports 46%Pers Improvement 45%How-To 41%

Local Programs Have Below Average Ratings (But that’s the problem with averages!)

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Average Hh Rating in SweepsAvg Non-Local Program 0.46Avg Local Program 0.35

Sports 1.05Travel 0.54Food 0.46Nature 0.45History 0.43How-To 0.38Music 0.32Lifestyle 0.28Arts & Culture 0.26News & Pub Affairs 0.26Pers Improvement 0.18

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Bright Spots Methodology We are used to focusing on the negative

and the “problems” – more task forces Local stations and their great

programming are essentially invisible nationally and with many other stations

Focus instead on what works – stations and programming find the bright spots!

Bright Spots -Travel

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Sweep Station Market MasterTitle HHRtg Day Time Weeks

Nov-10 KUSM Butte-Bozemn Backroads of Montana 5.22 Sun 7:00 PM ___4

Feb-10 WNPT Nashville Tennessee Crossroads 5.15 Thu 7:00 PM 1234

May-10 WNPT Nashville Tennessee Crossroads 4.58 Thu 7:00 PM 1234

Jul-10 WNPT Nashville Tennessee Crossroads 4.40 Thu 7:00 PM 1234

Nov-10 WNPT Nashville Tennessee Crossroads 3.77 Thu 7:00 PM 1234

May-10 KUFM Missoula Backroads of Montana 3.24 Mon 7:59 PM ___4

Nov-10 KVPT Fresno-Visalia Road Trip With Huell Howser 2.76 Thu 9:00 PM _2__

May-10 KISU Idaho Falls All Aboard: NW Railroad Adventure 2.51 Mon 10:00 PM ___4

May-10 KUSM Butte-Bozemn Backroads of Montana 2.51 Mon 7:59 PM ___4

Nov-10 KUSM Butte-Bozemn Backroads of Montana 2.31 Sun 7:30 PM 1__4

Range 5.2 to 2.3, Thu and Mon, Series Dominate

March 2012

Bright Spots - History

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Sweep Station Market MasterTitle HHRtg Day Time Weeks

May-10 WPNE Green Bay Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories 3.65 Wed 7:59 PM ___4

Nov-10 KRMJ Grand Junctn Colorado National Monument 3.60 Thu 9:00 PM ___4

Nov-10 KUON Lincoln The War: Nebraska Stories 3.17 Wed 8:30 PM 1___

Nov-10 WMEB Bangor Maine Experience 2.85 Thu 8:30 PM _234

Feb-10 KUSM Butte-Bozemn Power Brokers 2.76 Tue 7:59 PM ___4

Jul-10 WNPT Nashville Mountain Talk 2.73 Fri 7:00 PM _2__

Jul-10 WKAR Lansing Camp Forgotten 2.63 Tue 9:00 PM ___4

Nov-10 WGBY Springfield What Have They Done to Our Game? 2.61 Sun 10:30 PM _2__

Feb-10 WEDH Hartford All Things Connecticut 2.52 Thu 7:59 PM _2__

Nov-10 WBGU Lima Story of the Great Black Swamp 2.49 Thu 7:59 PM ___4

Range 3.7 to 2.5, Five Days, Specials Dominate

March 2012

Bright Spots - Food

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Sweep Station Market MasterTitle HHRtg Day Time Weeks

Feb-10 WEDH Hartford Eating Connecticut 3.31 Thu 8:30 PM _2__

Nov-10 WTTW Chicago Check, Please! 2.22 Fri 7:59 PM 1234

Feb-10 WTTW Chicago Check, Please! 2.01 Fri 7:59 PM 1234

May-10 WTTW Chicago Check, Please! 1.76 Fri 7:59 PM 1234

May-10 KTXT Lubbock Eat This! 1.71 Sun 9:00 PM _234

Nov-10 WHA Madison Wisconsin Foodie 1.70 Thu 7:00 PM 1234

Jul-10 WTTW Chicago Check, Please! 1.67 Fri 7:59 PM 1234

Jul-10 WHWC La Crosse Fish Fry Night Milwaukee 1.48 Wed 7:59 PM _2__

Jul-10 WTTW Chicago Check, Please! 1.44 Fri 7:30 PM 1234

May-10 KCPT Kansas City Check, Please! 1.43 Thu 7:59 PM 1234

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Phase I Moving to Phase II Case Studies of Successful Local Series Focus on stations that have iconic

local program series What production modules emerge? What genres function well in what

kinds of markets? Entertain new questions for specials

and pledge programs for phase II

March 2012

INITIAL FORMAT ANALYSIS

17March 2012

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TV is Ruthlessly Democratic Each day we all vote with our remotes Systemic factors influence choice somewhat

(demographics, daypart, viewing partner) Popular programs means more people

choose to watch that show rather than another; so why?

We started with series applicable to public TV – like Antiques Roadshow and Pawn Stars; Brain Games on National Geo and so on

These are national shows…not local

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Hit Shows are Popular for a Reason

We limit ourselves to programs/series that are non-scripted and not news or sports

Hit series share common threads: They are mostly human interest stories with

primal appeals (what’s it worth?; how did they do that? Isn’t that interesting? That is pretty!)

Most are essentially shot and edited in a similar ways – i.e., continuity editing

March 2012 Comments tracdavid@aol.com 20

Why Tennessee Crossroads? Consistently one of the top rated local

programs in the system A magazine half hour with four stories Stories mostly human interest about

people and places in Tennessee Single camera emphasis, off line edited The same producer Ken Simington since

the beginning – that’s continuity

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Format: Standard Host and Tease

Title is animated and features iconic story images

Has an amiable host who does open, intros and previews. Humor & Irony

Generally each of the four stories has its own producer who usually does the narration (and writing)

Videographers are station employees and usually edit the stories they shoot, not the producers

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Story Structure: Video Driven Stories are visually

oriented… Focus is on visually

appealing framing – often with depth of field

Editing sequences are traditional – long, medium and close up

Fire is elemental --

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Standard Confessional Framing

Little lip synch and lots of visuals to focus our attention on screen

Talking heads follow the confessional framing where the protagonist talks “off camera axis” to the producer and to us

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Parallel Narrative Development

Usual exposition arc (location, history,complications,victories large and small)

If a person has an interesting history/story it is developed in a nuanced manner

With artisans and crafts people – joy and pleasure of creation

Restaurants are their own universe – food and waiters

As are bed and breakfasts

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Viewers Hear Their Own Voices Crossroads is about ordinary and

average people not elites or the powerful or the political nor “the celebrity”

And viewers hear their “own voices” from the people in the stories -- which in a curious and profound way -- reaffirms the dignity of their own being and existence

And they tell the producers out on the road

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The Sweet Spot Hits have found the sweet spot – they

have a format, they have the story(ies) and they can repeat it week after week; decade after decade

Crossroads like many hit series triggers curiosity in viewers; a self perpetuating motive that keeps you viewing

What is not seen is just as important as what is seen in the stories

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Narrative StructureIn Tennessee Crossroads

“Chappy’s Restaurant”

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Cliff Notes: Chappy’s Restaurant

The story about Chappy and his Nashville restaurant is “nested” into three and perhaps four “mini-stories” which continuously piques our curiosity as the story(s) unfold and develop

An iconic character by definition engages and connects to the viewer’s “hot buttons” (i.e., their needs and interests)

Continuity editing mores are best when they are unobtrusive and unnoticed

March 2012 Comments tracdavid@aol.com 29

Cloning Tennessee Crossroads Hits are replicable… especially for

stations doing local programs The production world is going free lance Especially lifestyle programs which in

many cases have a long shelf life! Up next is natural history documentaries Local Pledge Shows Then news and public affairs

Questions

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Goal Appraisal Dissemination

Deliverable 1: A confidential station goal appraisal report

Deliverable 2: Webinar about local program goals

Bright Spots -- Format Analysis

March 2012 Webinar