More chit chat during the news
Don Day August 22nd, 2007
NBC-owned station KNTV in the greater San Francisco area is now hosting an online chat during its 5pm newscast. The show’s anchor plugs the chat and participates during the show. I’m torn between “gimmick” and “why didn’t I think of that?” — but give them credit for trying. Here’s the SFGate write-up and a clip of the show’s “Fast Feedback” segment.
News anchor Jessica Aguirre checks viewers’ responses during a commercial break. Photo from Lance Iversen from the SF Chronicle.
8 Comments Add your own
1. brink | August 23rd, 2007 at 3:43 am
Just tell me the news.
That’s it.
I don’t care what other viewers think.
I don’t even care what the weather guy did this weekend.
I just want the news. And since TV’s giving me even less of it than before, News Directors should not be surprised that I’m looking to the internet to find it.
2. Rick | August 23rd, 2007 at 5:43 am
Chat during live shows a new thing? Please…the now defunct “NewsTalk Television” cable channel was doing this back in 1996. That’s 11 years ago, people.
If you want to see a transcript of their last day’s chat session with viewers, Google “Newstalk Television chat Room” without the quotes. The first link should get you to subsequent links to their final day on air chat sessions.
3. Gorman | August 23rd, 2007 at 6:20 am
Brink, I don’t see where the two are mutually exclusive. As a viewer, I probably wouldn’t be interested by this, either. So when I go to the site for news, I won’t click on it and just view the news stories. Unless you choose not to go their site at all, I don’t see where simply offering this is a bad idea.
4. Brink | August 23rd, 2007 at 7:28 am
“The show’s anchor plugs the chat and participates during the show.”
The news hole is small enough already. They’re eating up more of it with this silliness.
5. Anon | August 23rd, 2007 at 8:06 am
I actually think this is a good idea. It’s a good idea to try in San Fran which is heavy on internet use. If it doesn’t work - so be it.
6. discreet_chaos | August 23rd, 2007 at 10:53 am
Viewer emails are often read onto the air during hurricanes as a way for spot-reporting, when the weather is too bad for crews to be mobile. I don’t know how that would play with a story about regular, everyday events, but as a viewer, I really like the feature during breaking natural disasters because oftentimes, it’s the only way to hear about the effects on every part of the viewing area.
7. Anonymous | August 24th, 2007 at 12:32 am
Thank Christ!
Anything that keeps Jessica Aguirre quiet during the packages (so the crew doesn’t have to listen to her pearls of idiocy) is manna from hanna.
8. Michael | September 5th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
KOVR and KMAX do a good job with viewer feedbaack. Especially on GDS.
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