Catching The Eye Of Our Audience
Shain Gandee died. Do you even know who he is?
I sure didn't until Monday rolled around.
So why exactly did I move this "Buckwild" star's death to the lead story position in the middle of the day? I wanted to inform our audience, from the first second of the newscast, about something that they would care about.
Since our audience is mostly USC students or USC affiliated people, it's usually safe to say that we have a younger audience. That being said, ATVN must approach news in a different way than other stations or sources of news. We have a very narrow target market, and we are aiming to serve their needs.
Maybe it was my mistake to consider this "Buckwild" story as our lead story, but for a chunk of the day on Monday, it made sense.
Shain Gandee was 21, around the same age as most of our audience. He was the star of an MTV reality show, a show that many college students have potentially seen. Lastly, there was some mystery surrounding the details of his death. Who doesn't love a little mystery mixed in with all the hard-hitting, factual stories?
It quickly became evident that this story wasn't as big as we had thought it would be. Obtaining man-on-the-street interviews was practically impossible and the news of his death was hardly circulating around campus.
So we make a decision. We move it down and the search for a new lead story begins.
A lot of times, I think ATVN producers struggle to remember our target demographic at first. Of course after our mid-day meeting, it is clear in our minds what is important and what simply isn't to our audience.
How exactly then do we decide what to include in the newscast with our audience in mind?
USC. You can never fail with a USC centered story on a USC affiliated newscast. Regardless of the story, most USC centered stories will spark interest with our viewers. In addition to this, sports, Los Angeles sports in particular, is a safe bet to feature in the newscast on a big day like Opening Day. So there we go, we have our lead. Opening Day and all the excitement surrounding the LA Dodgers versus the SF Giants!
It's really all just a mind game. Always reminding yourself, what would you viewers want to hear about? Yes, I think the North Korea and South Korea tension is important, but it won't grab my attention and it most likely won't grab our audience's attention at the top of the show.
It's all in attracting attention and keeping it. So choosing to stack the show in a way that will serve our young audience is the most important. Of course the big new stories will always come first, it would be a producer's nightmare to see the Pope resignation in the B-block because our audience "wouldn't care," because even if something does not directly pertain to their life, it may still interest them. It's important to keep the audience in mind, but it's also our job to maintain our reputation as a news source and provide the most timely and important news to our audience.
From here on out, from the time I arrive in the newsroom, around 7:42 a.m. on a good day, the audience mindset will be in place.
ATVN viewers want to hear about something they care about and it's our job to produce information that will inform them and keep them watching.
