Talking TV: Making The Case For Syndies’ Longevity

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Robert Rose, independent producer, host and distributor of AIM TV’s Raw Travel, about how there’s still a market for well-made syndicated programming if it showcases good storytelling and keeps production costs in line.

Talking TV: News Literacy Project Confronts The Great Challenge Of Our Time

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Alan Miller, founder and CEO of the News Literacy Project, about the work his organization is doing to promote the survival skill of discerning, critical news consumption. Learn more about the organization and how it works with newsrooms here.

Talking TV: Is AI Working In Your Newsroom?

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Aimee Rinehart and Ernest Kung of the Associated Press about a new report gauging how widely — or not — artificial intelligence and automation are being implemented in newsrooms, how sophisticated its functionalities are becoming and what that means for jobs. Learn more about AP’s report and a free online course series on news and AI here.

Talking TV: TV’s Surprising Power In Sports Betting

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Hadassa Gerber, head of research at TVB, about the organization’s recent survey on sports betting and how television wields enormous influence over sports bettors’ decisions.

Talking TV: Nielsen’s Sale And Measurement’s Fragmented Future

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Vikrant Mathur of Future Today, Pierre Marc-Diennet of Lotame and Mark Zagorski of DoubleVerify about Nielsen’s $16 billion sale to a private equity consortium and what it means for the company’s future and the broader landscape of TV measurement.

Talking TV: What’s The Future For TV’s Big Trade Shows?

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Chris Brown, EVP and managing director of global conventions and events about next month’s NAB Show and whether or not the industry still needs a crossroads event such as it has been in year’s past.

Talking TV: Fox’s Bill Anderson On Making Podcasts For TV

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Bill Anderson, host of The Pulse on Fox’s WTXF Philadelphia and Fox Soul, about how video podcasts can be a Swiss Army knife for local broadcasters’ content needs, especially as they ramp up streaming efforts.

Talking TV: Jim Cantore On Empathy’s Importance To Weather Reporting

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with meteorologist Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel about climate change, heightened competition in television weather and the critical role of empathy in telling weather’s story to TV audiences.

Talking TV: Who Owns The MMJ Safety Issue?

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp and Hank Price discuss the dangerous vulnerabilities facing multimedia journalists every day with MMJ Adam Mintzer, asking who bears responsibility for the problem — from news directors and GMs to station groups CEOs themselves.

Talking TV: Measurement’s Busy Month, Assignment Editors’ Changing Role

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp, Paige Albiniak and Michael Stahl discuss an eventful February for TV measurement with Nielsen’s introduction of BBO homes and NBCUniversal’s granular new metrics with iSpot.tv, plus how newsrooms’ assignment desks are weaning off police scanners and toward a more collaborative role.

Talking TV: Avid Bows Out Of ’22’s Big Trade Shows

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Jeff Rosica, CEO of Avid, about the company’s decision to sit out major trade shows including NAB and IBC this year and how such shows may look dramatically different on the other side of the pandemic.

Talking TV: Tegna’s Powerful Investigative ‘Cry’

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Madison Carter, a journalist with the Atticus investigative unit at WXIA Atlanta and Monika Diaz, content director at Tegna, about the work behind their new, three-part investigative series, A Different Cry, about rising suicide rates among Black youths.

Talking TV: Scripps Gets Inclusive In Its Journalism

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Marcus Riley, senior director of content strategy and inclusive journalism at E.W. Scripps, about what inclusivity looks like on a newscast and how newsrooms can begin addressing it right from a story pitch.

Talking TV: FCC Ownership Cap Keeps A Lid On TV Station M&A

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp and Paige Albiniak look at the M&A prospects possible in 2022 with the FCC’s 39% ownership cap still in place and where things stand on a potential Tegna sale.

Talking TV: Jerry O’Connell On Game Shows’ Need To Be ‘Amazing’

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp learns the trade secrets of game show hosting from Pictionary host Jerry O’Connell, who says a tight syndication market demands a stellar product to survive.

Talking TV: Sinclair Grows Its National News Play

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Mike Garber, director of content for Sinclair’s The National Desk, about the art of making local news content palatable and relevant to a national audience.

Talking TV: The Collapse Of CES?

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with technology consultant Shelly Palmer about this week’s Omicron-battered CES, the salvageable elements of the in-person show and his dim view of NextGen TV’s hope for momentum there, plus the implications for future large trade shows.

ICYMI: Talking TV With The People Shaping It

Talking TV, TVNewsCheck’s weekly video podcast, hosted the industry’s movers, shakers and visionaries this year. Catch up on smart, in-depth conversations framing up TV’s future as you prepare for 2022.

Talking TV: VUit Inks More Deals With Local TV

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Syncbak CEO Jack Perry about VUit, the streaming channel aggregator of local newscasts, about deals it has closed with a slate of new local partners and the prospect of hyperlocal scalability in OTT.

Talking TV: Sinclair’s Compulse Tries A New Pairing

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Martin Kristiseter, managing director of Sinclair-owned Compulse, about the agency’s unusual pairing of digital marketing services with OTT agency services and the thinking behind it.

Talking TV: Nick Cannon Puts His Back Into Promotion

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with new syndie talk show host Nick Cannon, along with WTTG Washington Good Day D.C. anchors Jeannette Reyes and Wisdom Martin, about Cannon’s whistle-stop tour to co-host Fox Owned Stations’ morning shows across the country promoting the show, including stops in New York, Philadelphia, Dallas and San Francisco thus far.

Talking TV: Local Programming Fills A Syndie Gap

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Lyle Schulze, VP and GM of Gray’s WIS Columbia, S.C., about how the station is taking back its programming inventory amid a dearth of syndication options, along with how the “Great Resignation” is playing out at the station level.

Talking TV: Fox Duopoly Rebrands In Seattle

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Sheila Oliver, SVP and GM of Fox Owned Stations’ Seattle duopoly, about rebooting and rebranding during the challenging conditions of pandemic remote work.

Talking TV: Black News Channel’s Aisha Mills On ‘Who We Could Be’

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Aisha Mills, host of the new show AMplify on Black News Channel, about where her show will sit amid the bombastic offerings in cable’s nightly news landscape and her vision for programming that illuminates our better selves.

Talking TV: Is There Still Audience Faith In ‘The Great Pumpkin’?

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp and LG Ads’ Justin Fromm discuss whether children’s specials like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which airs on PBS stations on Oct. 24, still have the power to draw audiences to linear TV in a streaming age.

Talking TV: NBC LX Connects The Dots To Younger Viewers

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with NBC LX’s Fernando Hurtado about Connect the Dots, a new series that pulls back the curtain on the reporting process and seeks to court younger audiences by veering away from news conventions. Watch the Connect the Dots series here.

Talking TV: Newsy Gets A Major Reboot

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Eric Ludgood, head of E.W. Scripps-owned Newsy, which saw a major overhaul and expansion of its programming this week as it now reaches 90% of U.S. television homes with a significant OTA expansion.

Talking TV: Fox News’ Jon Scott On A 25-Year Milestone

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Jon Scott, anchor of Fox Report Weekend, about the 25-year anniversary both he and the network are celebrating today. They speak about being live on Sept. 11, 2001, what’s underlying the Fox’s mammoth ratings and how the network’s news side manages a coexistence with its more extreme opinion hosts.

Talking TV: The Impact Of NAB Show’s Cancellation

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp and Glen Dickson discuss the knock-on effects of the NAB Show’s October cancellation on vendors and the implications for future trade shows, including December’s planned IBC.

Talking TV: The Future Of Video Advertising

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Dr. Duane Varan, CEO of audience research firm MediaScience, about what’s next in video ad formats, the context effects of news programming on ads and the “choose your own adventure” ads he sees coming over the horizon.

Talking TV: Dan Abrams Looks To Break Cable’s Left/Right Choke Hold

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Dan Abrams, host of an eponymous new live show on Nexstar’s NewsNation, about drawing lines between his brand of bias and primetime cable’s penchant for left/right absolutism.

Talking TV: Jay Leno’s Latest Bet

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with latenight legend Jay Leno about his reboot of the classic game show You Bet Your Life this month, the pandemic’s bruising impact on young comics’ careers and if he misses manning The Tonight Show desk in these volatile times.

Talking TV: Do GM Editorials Work For Divisive Times?

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Branden Frantz, president and GM of Hearst’s WLWT Cincinnati, about the station’s revival of editorials in a period of stark political divisions and tenuous media trust among viewers.

Talking TV: Is There Room For Niche On FAST OTT Channels?

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with David Chu, co-founder and CEO of Digital Media Rights, about the viability of niche-oriented AVOD options on streaming.

Talking TV: Does TV Advertising Need Therapy?

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp and TVB President-CEO Steve Lanzano discuss persistent agency silos, audience measurement woes and automation resistance in the world of TV advertising, prompting the question of whether the whole business could use some time on the couch to work through its issues.

Talking TV: Delta Variant Muddies Stations’ Return To Work Path

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp and Paige Albiniak discuss TV stations’ winding path back to the office as the Delta COVID variant plays havoc with developing plans. Read Albiniak’s story on return to work here.

Talking TV: Deborah Norville’s Call To Rally For Broadcasters Foundation

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Inside Edition host Deborah Norville about supporting the Broadcasters Foundation of America as its fundraising efforts have been hampered by the pandemic.

Talking TV | FCC Unknowns In A Too-Quiet Summer

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp and Harry Jessell discuss the uncertainty lingering at the FCC, where Acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel may be facing contention for the permanent job and a fifth commissioner has yet to be appointed.

Measuring Media Bias By The Numbers

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Vanessa Otero, founder and CEO of Ad Fontes Media, about the company’s Media Bias Chart and where prominent TV news organizations fare in its measure.

Fox Gets Its Game Show Game On

TVNewsCheck Editor Michael Depp talks with Stephen Brown, EVP of programming development for Fox First Run and Fox Television Stations, about the strategic role of game shows in Fox’s syndication lineup, along with how programming is progressing at Fox Soul, the group’s African-American-targeted streaming channel.