Finding a Balance

Covering ongoing news stories is simultaneously one of the simplest and most challenging aspects of being a producer (or an editor or any other sort of news decision maker).

In one sense it's easy; much of the information is there. Each day there is comparatively little hard reporting to be done, so to speak. Many people are familiar with the story and it is a different approach than introducing something specific that happened THAT DAY. But for those exact reasons, it is also more of a challenge.

First and foremost, the show must strike a balance between overloading the viewers with background information and not providing enough of it. Too much is boring; viewers think "there's nothing new" and the new, pertinent bit (probably the reason the story is on that) gets lost. But gloss over the background and viewers won't be able to properly place or understand the new information.

I always try to make sure scripts have the latest information TOWARDS the top. However, I do not think it's necessary for it to be the FIRST thing. Sometimes, a brief (like a sentence, tops) bit of background is necessary first in order to properly explain the newest happenings.

For example, in our coverage of the affordable healthcare rollout problems, I remember once writing a "new" intro to a story. "Problems continue with the rollout of..." you get the gist. I then gave a bit of background on the problems faced (a sentence or two) and then explained what it was that was new today, before going back to more background. I thought this worked out well as viewers got the new information fast, but were also able to place its meaning in their heads.