Part 3 of “Re-envisioning our local nightly TV news” (read Part 1 and Part 2)
I’ve been describing an alternative nightly TV news that would help Twin Cities residents be better informed participants in our community.
The basic proposal is a half-hour program modeled on the national Democracy Now format, distributed on TV and online, with headlines first and then in-studio interviews to explore issues in depth.
The idea is to provide an alternative to the existing “product” that is local nightly TV news. It would run opposite the network’s news, catching disaffected channel-flippers and bringing back to TV viewers who’d given up on nightly news for lack of meaningful content.
A lot of learning about the media is mental deprogramming—realizing that the news available to us is neither objective nor comprehensive, that the way the news looks results from market forces rather than divine prescription, and more. So when we become the media, we can look critically at the conventions. Why daily? Why a half hour? Why TV? Also, who sets the news agenda? How does that work? What’s the ultimate purpose of “news”? Who do we most want to reach? How should news organizations function internally? These and more are all questions to be explored.
A nightly TV news alternative will address the lack of local independent content on TV and provide a video-based online option. The Twin Cities is fortunate to have great independent daily news in other media–online on MinnPost, the Minnesota Independent, and the Twin Cities Daily Planet and on the radio on KFAI’s Evening News. TheUptake also deserves special mention for posting video of notable events online, but it doesn’t aim to perform a filtering or synthesizing role. These news sources are all potential collaborators.
If a nightly TV news alternative is really needed, why doesn’t it already exist? Our advertising-based media aims for the cheapest way to string together commercials. The goal is to deliver your eyeballs and ears to advertisers. If they could reach through the screen and feed you gummy bears, they would. Giving you the news you need is not their primary interest.
Next: The nuts and bolts of producing a TV news alternative
I believe we should target an audience on the following demographics: 23 to 50, Native Minsotan and immigratns with diverse views and with real controversial issues and in a sort of talk show style within news format. Issues that are hot and many stations can afford to expand on becauese they are affraid to hit a nerve within sponsors and and contributors. We should be an uncesor media. Frish, unfiltered and uncesnor. Two segemets one at 3:30 p.m. and runt to 4:00 p.m. and a second edition to update about 5:30 running till 6:00 p.m.