Media Watch

KVOA STRIKES UP THE ONE-MAN NEWS BAND

In an apparent effort to produce more content while lowering costs,
KVOA Channel 4 recently announced to its news department a major
change that’s a sign of the times in local news.

At this meeting, according to multiple sources, KVOA management
mandated that most news-department personnel will be required to
photograph and edit their own news stories. In other words, reporters
will now shoot their own video, while photographers will have reporting
responsibilities.

KVOA would not go into specifics publically about any of its
intentions.

“The news business is changing rapidly. If we want to continue to be
leaders and innovators in the industry, we need to adapt and make
changes as well,” said KVOA news director Kathleen Choal via
e-mail. “Those changes will help News 4 to continue to provide the best
local news content for all of our Southern Arizona viewers both on the
air and on kvoa.com.”

The recent model for local news has been pretty simple: The staff
sits around the news-meeting table; someone may pluck ideas from the
day’s newspaper; and a reporter and photographer are assigned a
specific story. The reporter handles the interviews and on-air
voiceover material, while the photographer, and occasionally an editor,
assist with the production of the news story, or package.

But under this new model for KVOA, it’s a one-person show. The
benefits are clear under this approach—which is perhaps the
brainchild, according to sources, of national consulting firm
AR&D. By combining responsibilities, the one-man-band model
puts more bodies in the streets, thus theoretically providing more
content, not just for KVOA’s television newscasts, but for its Web
site.

Now the downside: More news doesn’t always mean better news.
Reporters will be given crash courses in how to photograph and edit on
the station’s equipment. That’s all well and good, but it’s not a
stretch to suggest that a photographer or editor with more experience
might better be able to, for example, recognize superior shots to add
to the visual impact of a piece. Meanwhile, in this so-called
multimedia-journalist format, who’s going to take the time to assist
someone with a background as a photographer/editor to ask what might be
more pertinent questions—you know, the sorts of things reporters
are supposed to be trained to do?

Maybe the thought process is that the viewer won’t really notice the
difference, and perhaps KVOA can lure more viewers with “more” local
news, thus changing the focus from quality to quantity.

In terms of job security, the new mandate potentially creates
uncertainty on the reporting side. In the multimedia-journalist model,
photographers and editors have a leg up, because they can handle the
production side and put together pieces without needing to be on
camera. They might not even have to voice segments; they can instead
opt for sound bites and visual components. What happens if reporters
struggle to make the transition? According to sources, KVOA wasn’t
clear on that point, even though the mandate on the one-man band
approach was hammered home. Take from that what you will.

Perhaps coincidentally, KVOA has lost two reporters since the
meeting. David Marino and Anthony Cabrera turned in their
resignations within a week of each another. “After two great years at
KVOA, I’m moving back home to California,” said Cabrera via e-mail.
“It’s been a rewarding journey.” (For Marino’s comments, see last
week’s Media Watch.)

As someone who watches local news on a daily basis, it’s my opinion
that KVOA has been off its game for some time. It’s a product that
seems to lack an identity. It was the first station in the
market—and so far remains the only station in the market—to
fork out the money for a high-definition studio upgrade, yet when
compared to KOLD Channel 13, it appears behind the curve in
terms of its willingness to embrace technology that makes a difference
to the viewer.

KOLD has staffing limitations too, but it seems to find a way to get
more breaking video than its two chief competitors, KVOA and KGUN
Channel 9. KVOA probably breaks more police and
law-enforcement-related stories than its other two major multi-newscast
competitors, yet appears more intent on focusing its efforts on
segments like “Kristi’s Kids,” the “Green Team” and “Making a
Difference.” Those are nice, feel-good and potentially beneficial
reports (although more often than not, the latter two are little more
than business puff pieces decorated as news features). While KVOA
focuses its energies there, Bud Foster is showing KOLD viewers
what’s going on politically in and around Southern Arizona.

Every station has spent boatloads of cash trying to improve its
weather equipment, but KOLD’s meteorology crew embraces the science
behind it—and seems geeked out over science in general—and
that helps to market the news product overall.

Perhaps the biggest issue at KVOA: Who are Channel 4’s standout
personalities? Is it the primetime anchor team, or is the casual viewer
more aware of Guy Atchley and Jennifer Waddell at KGUN?
That wasn’t the issue during the Patty Weiss era.

KVOA has even undervalued the sports product. That’s KMSB Channel
11‘s terrain, and Dave Silver has spent the last
quarter-century as the sports guy at KGUN. KVOA abandoned its familiar
face in that department, Dan Ryan, a couple of years ago.

On the streets, Sandy Rathbun and Lupita Murillo have
been good reporters for quite some time, but Foster and KOLD
counterpart Jim Becker come off as more seasoned and
visible.

Then there’s the marketing aspect: Self-promotion, even when it’s
annoying, is crucial. Take KOLD, for example. The station’s
personalities seem to be everywhere throughout the community. KVOA’s
personalities, by comparison, seem burdened to leave the confines of
the studio.

As recently as five years ago, KVOA was the market’s local-news
juggernaut. It still competes, but the days of its stranglehold are a
distant memory.

The impact and benefit of the one-man band approach remains to be
seen. And if it’s successful, at least in the eyes of upper management,
how long will it be before the other stations follow suit?

This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2009.