5/28/2011Station Notes From Joplin“I don’t think there’s anything you can do to prepare for something like this,” said John Hoffmann, General Manger of KSNF-TV, the NBC affiliate in Joplin. I caught up with Hoffmann to find out how his people and station were coping in the days after one of the worst tornadoes in history devastated his town. Hoffman says one employee is still in the hospital and 12 others lost their homes. Those employees are staying with family, friends, other employees or in hotels. Hoffmann’s house and the station itself were not touched by the tornado. When the tornado hit Sunday evening, Hoffmann was attending a graduation party. His family immediately got in their car and listened to details of the tornado on the radio. When the tornado first hit, KSNF did break in live with some amazing footage from their tower cam and stayed with wall-to-wall coverage through the 10pm news that night. “We never lost power,” said Hoffmann, “but Cable One is off the air, so most people have to watch TV over the air.”The focus of KSNF’s news coverage in the first days after the tornado, according to Hoffmann, is what viewers need to know going forward, where to go, what to do. He adds that the station’s web site, http://fourstateshomepage.comhas had more than 500,000 page views in three days, a number it might not reach in a month. “The web site has taken on the leading role of disseminating the grass roots information that people need because cell phones are the only means to connect for many people.” Hoffmann says the station starting streaming their news coverage to the site sometime on Monday. “Facebook has been a tremendous tool also,” adds Hoffmann. “We put all the reporter’s and anchor’s Facebook pages under the KSNF umbrella so that it’s become a real resource for Joplin residents who are in need to get together with those who can help. For example, what churches are giving away batteries.”Hoffmann says his employees are working as hard as they can for as long as they can. “People are doing their jobs with a real passion and with a sense of responsibility to the community where they live. They’ve been emotionally touched and horrified but continue to work, but I must make sure they have a chance to take a break.”Hoffmann says Nexstar Broadcasting, which owns KSNF and provides services to Joplin’s ABC affiliate, KODE, has been tremendously supportive. “Nexstar stations in Northwest Arkansas and Springfield have sent reporters, sat trucks, equipment and people to help us. They gave us cash to hand out to employees who have nothing.” Hoffmann says he got a call from Mike Murphy, General Manager of the ABC station in Birmingham, Alabama, with some advice that Murphy learned about his station’s coverage of the recent tornado in Tuscaloosa. Hoffmann says Murphy told him to “find ways to allow viewers and employees to get involved right after the devastation and continue to keep them involved so the clean-up efforts are not forgotten. Make sure people know you are in it for the long haul.”Hoffmann says he has not ventured to the south end of Joplin to see the devastation but his wife described it as ‘just gone’Editor’s Note: In the spirit of full disclosure it should be noted that Paul Greeley once worked for the Nexstar Corporation.Got a new agenda at your TV station you’d like to share? Or a new challenge you’re facing in news or marketing you want to share? Please contact Paul Greeley at pgreeley98@aol.com or call him at 817-578-6324. 04/08/2011Stand up and Salute the News Starting Monday, April 11th, KAUT, the My Network TV station in Oklahoma City, is re-branding itself as Freedom 43 TV.The re-branding is an attempt to remedy a situation many other broadcast duopolies face, according to Joe Kozlowski, the Creative Services Director for KFOR/KAUT. “How do you differentiate the news content between major newscasts on a strong network affiliate to one on a weaker network?”Or as Jim Boyer, KFOR/KAUT President and General Manager put it, “KAUT has had identity problems since forever.”According to Boyer and Koslowski, the key to the re-branding was finding a large segment of the population in the viewing area that they felt was underserved. And so was born Freedom 43 TV, which to paraphrase its mission statement, seeks to salute those who proudly serve in our military now or in the past and those that support them. “Oklahoma has more than 50,000 active and reserve military personnel, their families, friends, and an equal number of civilians employed by the military,” says Boyer. So instead of aiming its news focus at a particular gender, age or demo, Freedom 43 TV will seek ‘an audience bound by social connections and shared values’. So when viewers tune into Freedom 43 TV’s two daily newscasts (7-9am and a half-hour at 9pm), what can they expect to see?“I see Freedom 43 TV’s top 3-4 stories being the big stories of the day,“ says Mary Ann Eckstein, Sr. Vice-President/News Director of KFOR/KAUT, “but the rest of the stories will fit our mission statement.”Eckstein, a 30-year veteran of the KFOR newsroom, cites several news franchises already in development. “On the Home Front” will follow the family of an Oklahoma serviceman or woman serving overseas to see what the family faces here in their absence. “Oklahoma Salutes” will profile men or women who serve in the military or in the community as suggested by viewers. “Free Speech” will offer the opinions from regular contributors and any other opposite viewpoints from members of the community.“Shirt Off Your Back” will showcase the military units that send the station their t-shirts. Another idea the station is working on is to profile people, places and things on Route 66, also known as Freedom Road. The announcement was kicked off a few weeks ago with a special press party where attendees were given Freedom 43 TV ‘dog-tags’, bumper stickers and t-shirts. “Everyone has said, ‘wow, what a great logo and idea’,” said Kozlowski.Kozlowski says the general marketing plans for promoting Freedom 43 TV include social media of available military channels, military wives and moms, support groups, motorcycle riders and clubs, etc. He’s looking at outside media like certain cable channels and programs, including the Pentagon Channel, the Military Channel and the Military History Channel, billboards near military bases, and radio. Marketing and promoting Freedom 43 TV will have its challenges says Kozlowski, but says the agenda has a broad appeal—“Who isn’t for freedom?”Both Eckstein and Kozlowski cite Tinker Air Force base in Oklahoma City as a great resource for rich story content and promotional opportunities. Eckstein says they’ve met with officials of the Oklahoma National Guard and at Tinker and all are very supportive of KAUT’s approach.“What boss wouldn’t want their efforts acknowledged and profiled,” says Eckstein.Eckstein says that while plans are underway for segments and features like those mentioned, the news content is still a work in progress and that they will listen to what the viewers say about what they like and don’t like and adjust accordingly.“Freedom 43 TV is a revolution”, declared Eckstein, “and once it’s launched, our viewers will help us with its evolution.”Freedom 43 TV’s launches on Monday, April 11th with a new set, graphics and music. Got a new agenda at your TV station you’d like to share? Or a new challenge you’re facing in news or marketing you want to share? Please contact Paul Greeley at pgreeley98@aol.com or call him at 817-578-6324. 1027/2010Got a minute?I started out intending to write about why I believe that local TV stations should consider using 60 second spots in their news marketing. You know, ask the viewer—got a minute? I thought I’d show how some national and regional companies have used 60-second commercials to make classic advertising.Then show how 60-second length promos have been used by the network news through the years to advertise who they are and what they stand for.Then show how you can really make an emotional connection in 60 seconds with little or no copy, just nat sound and music?Or how one local TV station used 60-seconds to remind viewers of their historical commitment through the years. Or how another station took 60-seconds to explain why it should be your choice for news today.
© Tom Petner 2012
Paul Greeley Comments
Paul Greeley
PAUL GREELEY has over 20 years experience
in local TV marketing ahd has been a station
creative director and VP of Marketing for a
broadcast group. Greeley has worked for local
TV stations in Philly, Orlando, New Orleans and
Ft Myers. He has written extensively about
local TV news and its marketing for
Broadcasting and Cable,
TVNEWSCHECK.com, RTNDA’s
Communicator, and TVSPY.com. He currently
writes a weekly humor column for the Keller
Citizen in Texas. You can view his VisualCV
which has links to his work here,
www.visualCV.com/paulgreeley
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Feeding the 24/7 News Cycle
