Local New Media thoughts
Photo Credit Rachel Schneider
The Twin Cities market realizes that business as usual will not be enough in this ever-emerging New Media world. The now defunct Metropolitan Media Group took a major move at attracting the lifestyle consumer market by launching 15 city and suburban glossy magazines that were quick to digest and provided some personality to the geographic area. (Petters has an opportunity to maintain this momentum, but according to their horrible business practices they exhibited according to today’s Star Tribune, this legacy is in jeopardy.)
KARE 11 is going after the happy hour crowd with their new website Metromix that has a robust photo gallery to their home page to add personality and point of view to their leisure time picks. KARE also attempted a cutting edge idea in TV programming to go after the mid afternoon crowd – a lifestyle show that was streamed live. Somehow having the show’s producer sit to the side of the anchors/hosts and read real time IMs and Emails just didn’t play out as well as it did when it was proposed in the show’s initial treatment. (The show is now called news @ 4 pm and has a more traditional feel.)
KSTP TV/5 Eyewitness News has taken a gamble with their new show as well – Twin Cities Live. It airs live from 3 – 4 pm weekdays. The twist they offer is an in-house audience with local live music on Fridays. An associate of mine, Rachel Schneider, had sat in the audience at the show’s fourth episode, and signed up for a block of tickets for the show three months later and invited me to tag along.
Having worked as a television/video producer and director (albeit 20 years ago using much different technology) and having worked production on live nightly news for an ABC market affiliate, I brought a different point of view than many of the other audience members. Having also attended many live audiences while living in New York (I once had front row seats at Regis and Kathy Lee a few years back), I walked into the whole experience with an open mind and hopeful expectations according to the first review that Rachel supplied from an earlier show.
I will be somewhat kind and say in a nutshell that the show has a few more kinks to work out. There were some highlights and lowlights – but I don’t want this blog to be a critique of the show. My commentary is geared more toward the need for mass media to get with the program and learn how to connect with their target audience in a personal and engaging way.
One of the hosts of the show does her best and uses 100% of her personality and history with the Twin Cities to connect and engage….but I’m sad to say the male host needs work. I’d like his producers to understand something – he’s attempting to appeal to the Oprah/mid afternoon crowd – why on earth will the stay at home mom or female retiree want to watch and connect with someone that is abrasive?
Some of the local media will succeed in adopting the relationship skills needed in the brave new social media world – and some won’t. Having a live audience is a bold move that can bring great energy and personality to a show. My two cents – hire hosts that can convert professional interview skills into the friendly living room chat fest feel (according to the guests booked and set design) that the show seems to aspire to achieve.
I’m baffled. Anyone out there with any thoughts?
