...with
Eric Goodman.
Putting together a local sportscast is
like walking into the station everyday and having a piece
of clay on a wheel. You can shape it any way you want
too, but the size of the clay keeps shrinking in numerous
newsrooms across the country. It's easy to get discouraged,
but don't--at least the clay is yours with very little
interference from the news folks.
Most news directors are stressing, "appeal to the
non-sports fan."
There are a lot of easy ways to do this....
1. Do a commentary
2. Bump into your show with highly produced video with
music
3. If one of your teams hasn't done something in 20 years--do
a full
screen, "the last time it happened in 1987"
and find something non-sports related that happened that
year.
4. Find a funny and interesting story
relating to sports.
5. Use a byte that isn't coach speak, rather, it's funny
and
memorable--you can get your point across with good copy,
and then write into the byte.
6. Always, always, use the best, most
exciting, and most memorable
video.
I've always been a big advocate of pace in a show. An
on camera lead isn't necessary for every story. You don't
have to see yourself on camera all of the time--the viewer
knows what you look like. Remember,
the show isn't about you, it's about the content. I usually
limit my
leads (usually no more than 2 a show), vo's, and bytes
to no more than 10-seconds. Game highlights for your local
teams are clearly a different story.
Chances are--most of you know
all of this already. If you don't, I hope one of these
suggestions help your sportscast.
Eric Goodman is the Sports Director for FOX 31 in
Denver. His career includes stops at FSN Chicago, CNN
and WKBW in Buffalo. Click
Here for more on Eric.
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