New News in Old News

Stories with ongoing coverage are always a bit challenging when placing into the show. This is because we have to make sure that the content does not get mundane or repetitive. The news, even when covered for consecutive days, must have a "today's" element that makes it relevent. Otherwise, the story is no longer newsworthy. 

This week and last week, Tuesday's shows had Typhoon Haiyan coverage. Last Tuesday was only a few days after the typhoon had hit. As such, the coverage highlighted the damage, death toll and relief efforts being made. We had to make sure that the story's lead had only the latest information, so that it did not repeat Monday's lead. The next couple days continued to have ongoing coverage of the repercussions, international aid and cries for help. 

Yesterday, we had Typhoon Haiyan in the show again; however, it was of a Los Angeles city council meeting that dedicated a moment of silence in honor of the destruction in the Philippines. Hence, it was a local angle to an international issue. Naturally, unlike last week, the story was at the bottom of the "A" block and not at the top. If there had not been an event related to Haiyan, the story would not have been included in the rundown.

In order to make ongoing coverage new and interesting, the producers try to use new video. We try to shoot as much of our own video as we can, and we always try to place a USC or Los Angeles angle on stories, such as Typhoon Haiyan, to keep viewers interested. Moreover, we try to Skype with residents in the area or local family members to bring more of a human element to the story. Lastly, by Tweeting, posting on Facebook and putting stories on the web, we are able to maintain viewers' interests by allowing them to contribute their thoughts and feedback.