Talking TV: NAB’s LeGeyt ‘Very Disappointed’ In FCC’s Ownership Decision

NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt says he’s “tremendously frustrated” with the FCC’s late December decision to reaffirm and tighten its regulations on broadcast ownership. So, what’s the organization’s next move? A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Best Of Talking TV: When Is NextGen TV Revenue Coming?

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from March 17, John Hane, president and CEO of BitPath, shares an update on how far along the ATSC 3.0 consortium is toward building a national network that will support leasing data services and get cash registers finally ringing for broadcasters. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Ghosts Of TV’s Christmas Past And Future In 2024

TVNewsCheck Editor at Large Harry Jessell and Editor Michael Depp look back over an eventful year in broadcast business news and ahead to the steepest challenges it will confront in 2024. A full transcript of the conversation is included. [Ed. note: Jessell erroneously noted Nexstar stock took a 32% hit, when it actually lost 32 points. Since this episode was recorded, its stock rebounded to 155 yesterday.]

Talking TV: Fox Weather Marks A Second Anniversary

Britta Merwin, a Fox Weather meteorologist and co-host of its morning block, says the network’s success so far stems from its unique distribution strategy. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: WCBS Widens Its Community Reporting Web In NYC

Johnny Green, president and GM of CBS-owned WCBS New York, and Sarah Burke, the station’s VP and news director, say its community-focused reporters are gaining traction — and trust — in the neighborhoods where they’ve been embedded, a strength to draw on in a fractious news year ahead. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Fox’s Portia Bruner Finds Her Place In Talk

Portia Bruner, a former anchor at Fox-owned WAGA Atlanta, is in the second season of an eponymous talk show also getting national carriage on Fox Soul. National syndication is next in her sights. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Improving TV News’ Leaders At The Kneeland Project

The Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism just marked its 25th year of training newsroom leaders to be more ethical, empathetic and inclusive in their management. Joan Barrett, president and GM of WCNC Charlotte, N.C., and Anzio Williams, SVP of diversity, equity and inclusion at NBCUniversal Local, both Kneeland board members, explain its unique value. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

BEST OF TALKING TV

Talking TV: How News Content Authentication Is Battling AI

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from Aug. 18, Pia Blumenthal, design manager for the AContent Authenticity Initiative at Adobe and co-chair of the UX Task Force at the Coalition for Content, Provenance and Authenticity, explains how the proliferation of generative AI is making that job a lot harder. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Is ‘Daily Blast Live’ The New Model For Syndies?

Daily Blast Live, a Tegna-produced topical talker shot in Denver, may be heralding a new wave of cheaper, functional syndicated daytime shows. Its producer, Burt Dubrow and Tegna’s Brian Weiss, VP of entertainment programming and multicast networks, make the case. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Tackling Journalism’s Mental Health Crisis

CBC journalist Dave Seglins has become a leading voice for addressing the profound stressors impacting journalists’ mental health. He explains why the whole industry needs to lean into the problem. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Gray’s Peachtree Sports Makes A Statewide Play For Sports Fans

Peachtree Sports launched out of Gray Television’s WANF and WPCH Atlanta in early October with a programming slate of eclectic Georgia sports and a trajectory aimed at statewide distribution. Erik Schrader, the stations’ VP and GM, explains why he sees a viable market there. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Building A Cybersecurity Culture For Broadcasters

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from June 23, Brian Morris, CISO for Gray Television, says that building successful defenses against ever more frequent and sophisticated cyberattacks on broadcasters depends on having a strong culture of cybersecurity from the C-suite down. A full transcript of the conversation is included. For more information about TVNewsCheck‘s Cybersecurity for Broadcasters Retreat on Oct. 26, click here.

Talking TV: How One TV Reporter Goes Niche For Win On TikTok, Instagram

Julie Baker, a reporter at KXRM Colorado Springs, has landed strongly with users on TikTok and Instagram for her weird, funny, antic-y videos. Social platforms reward such a niche, she says, with the side benefit of letting her real self break through the TV reporter artifice. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: How Scripps Is Helping Reporters Be Better Storytellers

Chris Nagus, senior director of storytelling and content strategy at E.W. Scripps, explains how he works closely with reporters across the group’s stations to hone their journalistic chops and storytelling skills to make for stronger newscasts. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: How The BBC Is Grappling With Generative AI

Laura Ellis, head of technology forecasting at the BBC, say the time is nigh for news organizations to confront the manifold opportunities — and dangers — that generative AI has ushered in. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Building A Cybersecurity Culture For Broadcasters

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from June 23, Brian Morris, CISO for Gray Television, says that building successful defenses against ever more frequent and sophisticated cyberattacks on broadcasters depends on having a strong culture of cybersecurity from the C-suite down. A full transcript of the conversation is included. For more information about TVNewsCheck‘s Cybersecurity for Broadcasters Retreat on Oct. 26, click here.

Talking TV: Tapping The Authenticity Of Black Experience In ‘Johnson’

David Hudson, head of original programming for Scripps Networks, explains the originality and authenticity powering Bounce’s breakout hit series Johnson and what he’s looking for in a potential hit against the intense competition coming from streamers. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: How News Content Authentication Is Battling AI

Pia Blumenthal, design manager for the AContent Authenticity Initiative at Adobe and co-chair of the UX Task Force at the Coalition for Content, Provenance and Authenticity, is on the front lines against news disinformation. She explains how the proliferation of generative AI is making that job a lot harder. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Ticker News Chases A Purely FAST News Model

Ahron Young, CEO of Ticker News and its primary anchor, explains why he turned solely to FAST channel terrain for what he’s positioning as a global news service. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: The Networks Strike Back On vMVPD Issue With Coalition Of Their Own

Bryce Harlow, a lobbyist and spokesperson for the brand-new Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition, explains why the broadcast networks and vMVPDs he’s representing want to leave retransmission negotiation rules just as they are. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Coalition For Local News Raises Its Hand For A Rule Change

Tanya Vea, president-COO of Bonneville International and a spokesperson for the new Coalition for Local News, explains why the group is drawing a direct line between the need for new FCC rules on dealing with vMVPDs and maintaining healthy local TV newsrooms. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Canada’s ‘Son Of A Critch’ Looks To Charm U.S. Viewers

Mark Critch, creator and star of the autobiographical coming-of-age comedy series Son of a Critch, is bringing his Newfoundland, Canada, export to U.S. TV screens via The CW this month. He’s hoping its nostalgic charms strike the same chord as The Wonder Years did in his own childhood. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Local TV’s Burnout ‘Really Is A Crisis,’ Says New Study

Keren Henderson and Bob Papper, journalism professors at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, discuss the big takeaway from their recent study on TV newsroom employment: Staff are burning out hard, and the problem is hitting red line levels. So, how to bring things back from the brink? A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Tectonic Changes Afoot In ‘Making The Media’

Avid’s Craig Wilson, host of the Making the Media podcast, shares insights he’s gleaned over the past 50 episodes on AI, FAST channels, a skills shortage and leaps forward in video news storytelling in a particularly meta edition of Talking TV. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Today’s Dylan Dreyer On Climate Change And The Joys Of A Nature Show

Dylan Dreyer, meteorologist for NBC’s Today, co-anchor of the show’s third hour and host of Earth Odyssey in the network’s The More You Know block talks about how to weave climate change into weather reporting and what she gets out of making a good, old fashioned nature show. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Building A Cybersecurity Culture For Broadcasters

Brian Morris, CISO of Gray Television, says that building successful defenses against ever more frequent and sophisticated cyberattacks on broadcasters depends on having a strong culture of cybersecurity from the C-suite down. A full transcript of the conversation is included. For more information about TVNewsCheck‘s Cybersecurity for Broadcasters Retreat on Oct. 26, click here.

Best Of Talking TV: Welcoming The End Of News Objectivity

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from Feb. 17, Andrew Heyward, a research professor at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School and co-author of a new report, Beyond Objectivity, explains the problems with aiming for “objective” news and what alternate goals newsrooms would do better to pursue. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: AP Resets The Game On AI-Based Archive Search

Paul Caluori, AP’s VP of global products, and Derl McCrudden, AP’s VP and head of global news production, discuss the organization’s new AI-based archive search tool that circumvents the need for metatags and the shadow that generative AI casts over the industry at large. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Best Of Talking TV: Bounce’s ‘Act Your Age’ Sets A Debut Record

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from April 7, Alyson Fouse, creator and showrunner of Bounce’s new sitcom Act Your Age, discusses the enduring value of classic sitcom tropes and why diginets are a great place to debut new comedies. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: A New Network Targets Women Over 50

Dorthy Miller Shore, CEO of Prime Women Media, shares her plans to launch a cable network in Q2 2024 that will target what she feels is a vastly underrepresented demographic on TV screens: 50-plus-year-old women. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Gray TV’s Local News Live Upgrades To Version 2.0

Kyle Rogers, news director of Gray Television’s Local News Live, explains how the streaming news service has upped its game and its polish since its relocation to Washington, D.C., and settling into a more conventionally anchored approach to stitching together local reports from around the U.S. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Emily Barr On Sinclair’s Shuttered Newsrooms

Emily Barr, TVNewsCheck columnist and former CEO-president of Graham Media, weighs in on the troubling implications of Sinclair’s closure of five newsrooms across its markets and what shoes may drop next for an industry up against serious headwinds. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: As NewsNation Expands To 24/5, Its Help Wanted Sign Is Still Out

Cherie Grzech, VP of news and managing editor of Nexstar’s NewsNation, shares the importance of the network’s recent expansion to 24 hours of news each weekday and its two new state-of-the-art studios in New York. She says while other news organizations are cutting staff, NewsNation is still hiring producers and reporters. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Scripps News Ramps Up Live Newscasts

Kate O’Brian, president of Scripps News, explains how the bulk of its weekday broadcast hours will go to live as of May 1 and how the network manages its complex web of collaborations between its own reporters fanned out across the U.S., Scripps’ local stations, its hubs in Denver and Washington, D.C., and Scripps-owned Court TV. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Best Of Talking TV: Fox’s LiveNOW And The Art Of DJing News

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from Nov. 18, 2022, Andrew Craft, senior digital journalist with Fox’s LiveNOW streaming channel, shows TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp how to multitask as producer, director and anchor while on the air for hours at a time.

Best Of Talking TV: Scripps Sports Looks To Edge Out RSNs For Rights

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from Jan. 6, Scripps Sports President Brian Lawlor talks with TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp about the E.W. Scripps division formed to leverage its Ion network to draw leagues away from regional sports networks and on to OTA. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Bounce’s ‘Act Your Age’ Sets A Debut Record

Alyson Fouse, creator and showrunner of Bounce’s new sitcom Act Your Age, discusses the enduring value of classic sitcom tropes and why diginets are a great place to debut new comedies. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: Ambient TV Comes To FAST

Blake Sabatinelli, CEO of Atmosphere TV, explains how to make good TV deliberately for background consumption, and how his company has turned its network of FAST channels into a lucrative business at bars, restaurants and other venues. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: ‘Young & Restless’ Stars Peter Bergman And Susan Walters On Show’s 50th

Peter Bergman and Susan Walters, veteran actors on CBS’s The Young and the Restless, reflect on the show’s longevity, evolution and future as it marks its 50th anniversary on broadcast. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Talking TV: When Is NextGen TV Revenue Coming?

John Hane, president and CEO of BitPath, shares an update on how far along the ATSC 3.0 consortium is toward building a national network that will support leasing data services and get cash registers finally ringing for broadcasters. A full transcript of the conversation is included.