Well...he changed the landscape in Kansas City...he terrorized Dallas...and now Regent Ducas has come to my own market. He's taken up roost as interim news director at the ABC affiliate here in Providence. It's a dog station mired in third place...for now. I wouldn't dare discount what Regent did at KCTV for second. He could do the same thing for ABC 6.
I did a little reporting (OK, I talked to a coworker who's husband works for ABC 6), and found out that Regent has yet to give a speech to the newsroom saying that they are changing their format to the gloom and doom, first five minutes strategy that worked so well in K.C. and blew up in his face in Dallas. That crime and car accidents formula is what my station does best in this market, so maybe he'll take another tact.
One thing I do know...he may have the label as interim news director, but the staff is not treating him as such. They assume he's staying on. There's new local ownership at ABC 6, and they may think they have just man to turn around their sinking ship. What's scary is that they could be right!
Bieke
Monday, November 19, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Another Great Story
This is another really funny story from Idaho...Boise this time. Actually, it's not supposed to be funny. It's supposed to be sad...but, what can I say, I'm not easily moved. BTW, what I love most is the sappy music!
They don't have a good way to link to it, so go to their special projects page.
http://www.6onyourside.com/Global/category.asp?C=90661
And click on "The Life. The Death. The Lessons Of Bear." See...even the title is funny.
They don't have a good way to link to it, so go to their special projects page.
http://www.6onyourside.com/Global/category.asp?C=90661
And click on "The Life. The Death. The Lessons Of Bear." See...even the title is funny.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
KCTV Sweeps Story Has It's Own Website!
Doug's station is at it again. If you're reading this before 11PM central on 11/1/07, this site is a crazy promotional tool for KCTV's first sweeps story.
http://thedoctorisready.com/
That's crazy in a good way! URL's are cheap nowadays and stations should be using custom ones to promote good stories. The promotion here is, as usual, over-the-top...but I'd watch, so I guess it's working!
Bieke
http://thedoctorisready.com/
That's crazy in a good way! URL's are cheap nowadays and stations should be using custom ones to promote good stories. The promotion here is, as usual, over-the-top...but I'd watch, so I guess it's working!
Bieke
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Director's Make Great TV
So my morning anchor has a blog...and he's been doing behind the scenes all week. It was my turn today!
But seriously, he couldn't have posted something more interesting than an Early Show weather cut-in!!
Bieke
But seriously, he couldn't have posted something more interesting than an Early Show weather cut-in!!
Bieke
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Great story? Or, greatest story?
I leave it up to you. Don't just read the text, click on the camera.
http://www.kidk.com/news/10405117.html
Now that you've seen it, some thoughts...
1) How would you like to be the photog on that story? "Think we got enough b-roll?" "No, get some more of the crap over there."
2) Is there a better description line on a chyron than "Works at Denny's"?
3) What other alliteration phrases can you think of for "leave a log"?
Yeah, this one has Emmy winner written all over it.
http://www.kidk.com/news/10405117.html
Now that you've seen it, some thoughts...
1) How would you like to be the photog on that story? "Think we got enough b-roll?" "No, get some more of the crap over there."
2) Is there a better description line on a chyron than "Works at Denny's"?
3) What other alliteration phrases can you think of for "leave a log"?
Yeah, this one has Emmy winner written all over it.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Oops...wrong video
Oh, it happens all the time...the wrong video ends up on-air, but it usually doesn't occur at this bad a time...
Friday, September 14, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Yeah... that was fast...
The grand experiment in Dallas, Texas is over, rather suddenly, five months after it began.
I'm referring to the hiring of former KCTV5 News Director Regent Ducas by CBS11. Ducas was "fired" Friday evening; General Manager Steve Mauldin said that Ducas had left to “pursue other interests.”
So, less than a half a year of being hired to turn around a moribund newsroom and news operation, Regent Ducas is left looking for a new newsroom to lead, or destroy as some might believe.
I’m somewhat torn by the whole thing. First, I think Steve Mauldin deserves a fair amount of blame for the experiment. He knew what he was getting in Regent Ducas, hell; it’s why he brought Ducas in the first place. Mauldin gave every indication of wanting to re-energize CBS11, until it came to actually going through with it.
Five months is hardly enough time to engineer a complete brand overhaul, especially when there’s another station in the same market that already has that style covered (in Dallas, NBC5 is considered the “crime station”). Mauldin also put the kibosh on the “First Five Minutes” branding that Ducas implemented. Again, a move that has been successful in Kansas City, how could you not expect Ducas to try it in Dallas?
It is also fair to argue that two book ratings periods, one major and one minor are also not enough time to gauge the success of a new brand. The counter argument is quite simple; Dallas is one of the Nielsen People Meter markets. Every morning, Dallas stations receive a detailed report of TV watching from the previous night, down to the exact number of households and demos watching the nightly programs. In that sense, every single night is a “book” night for Dallas stations, so Ducas has been in a permanent ratings book since his arrival.
I understand Regent Ducas is, at best, a polarizing figure, especially within the CBS11 newsroom where reports indicate staffers were… pleased to hear of his departure. Having worked with Regent for more than two years, I can honestly say, he’s the toughest news director you could possibly ever work for, but there’s also a lot to be learned from that kind of an attitude.
Would Regent’s style have worked in Dallas? Perhaps. The style was not working in Kansas City, until the major Perverted Justice sweeps series in February of 2002. That was the splash that finally built a core audience for KCTV5, but few remember that KCTV5 did not win February ’02, but it laid the foundation for winning books in the future.
As one of my co-workers said, “Once a news director, always a news director.” For better or worse, I imagine we’ll be hearing about a new job for Regent Ducas in the not-to-distant future.
I'm referring to the hiring of former KCTV5 News Director Regent Ducas by CBS11. Ducas was "fired" Friday evening; General Manager Steve Mauldin said that Ducas had left to “pursue other interests.”
So, less than a half a year of being hired to turn around a moribund newsroom and news operation, Regent Ducas is left looking for a new newsroom to lead, or destroy as some might believe.
I’m somewhat torn by the whole thing. First, I think Steve Mauldin deserves a fair amount of blame for the experiment. He knew what he was getting in Regent Ducas, hell; it’s why he brought Ducas in the first place. Mauldin gave every indication of wanting to re-energize CBS11, until it came to actually going through with it.
Five months is hardly enough time to engineer a complete brand overhaul, especially when there’s another station in the same market that already has that style covered (in Dallas, NBC5 is considered the “crime station”). Mauldin also put the kibosh on the “First Five Minutes” branding that Ducas implemented. Again, a move that has been successful in Kansas City, how could you not expect Ducas to try it in Dallas?
It is also fair to argue that two book ratings periods, one major and one minor are also not enough time to gauge the success of a new brand. The counter argument is quite simple; Dallas is one of the Nielsen People Meter markets. Every morning, Dallas stations receive a detailed report of TV watching from the previous night, down to the exact number of households and demos watching the nightly programs. In that sense, every single night is a “book” night for Dallas stations, so Ducas has been in a permanent ratings book since his arrival.
I understand Regent Ducas is, at best, a polarizing figure, especially within the CBS11 newsroom where reports indicate staffers were… pleased to hear of his departure. Having worked with Regent for more than two years, I can honestly say, he’s the toughest news director you could possibly ever work for, but there’s also a lot to be learned from that kind of an attitude.
Would Regent’s style have worked in Dallas? Perhaps. The style was not working in Kansas City, until the major Perverted Justice sweeps series in February of 2002. That was the splash that finally built a core audience for KCTV5, but few remember that KCTV5 did not win February ’02, but it laid the foundation for winning books in the future.
As one of my co-workers said, “Once a news director, always a news director.” For better or worse, I imagine we’ll be hearing about a new job for Regent Ducas in the not-to-distant future.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
New Blood
Where did this come from? I'm not even sure how I found this but it's great. I'm working at KAKE-TV in Wichita producing the 4pm or 6 and 10pm depending on the day. I'm going to pass this on to some of the others I graduated with. And Dick if you're reading this, there's a good thing spell check is on iNews at work.
Adam Sechrist
Thursday, August 16, 2007
TV People Humor
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