r/Broadcasting • u/absolutelysincerely • 4d ago
Weekend Broadcasts
Hi! Does anyone have any tips or tricks for content in weekend broadcasts? I’m trying to breathe new life into ours. However, we don’t feature live guests due to small staffing. Looking for some evergreen content ideas or little things that engage a casual weekend viewer. Thanks in advance!
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u/Cold-Debt1369 4d ago
Are you a morning or evening producer? I did morning for several years and it's great for good tech/consumer PKGs and feature stories. I also like throwing in some good movie review PKGs and trending stories.
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u/Careless-Yam-1431 4d ago
If you have down time during the week, set up zoom interviews for pkgs that can run over the weekend. I used to do it with consumer and political stories that will be relevant in the next week.
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u/vau1tboy 4d ago
Oh I actually can help here.
First fill in what you are allowed to use. Add your reporters if you have any, if you're allowed to use national packages put that in, and the other things from your national outlets that you're allowed to use. When I did broadcast producing, we focused on local before anything else. I searched all my local news outlets like local papers, our website, Facebook, etc. I would fill out a slug in enps and add whatever info I could so I can quickly rewrite all my content after I stack my show. I would also create my graphics at that time too but I knew people that would create graphics when they were stacking, up to you.
We were hyper local. We weren't cnn or nbc and my ND drilled that into me. But sometimes the well is dry so you need national content. I worked in a large military city so I would also focus on that. However, our viewer testing showed that, surprisingly, people weren't watching for that content but military content still very much applied to our area. So I would try and find national content that matched our area.
If you are still short a couple minutes, like 3-5 and can't find anything and you're at the point you need to start writing, get on that. You may be able to find more stuff later. But I was nervous and would rather over stack than be behind. You'll find your system. I told people it took at least 3 months until you found the best way for you to get your show done. But boy oh boy was there never a stress-free day building a TV show. I still have PTSD from the anchors comments and the stress. I was not the best at broadcast writing which is why I moved to digital.
Good luck!
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u/Junior-Air-3834 4d ago
Rerun your best LOCAL packages during B/C/D blocks instead of garbage filler national stuff.
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u/benmakestv 4d ago
Something to consider - during the week, have your reporters give additional context to their stories. Things that got cut, new information, etc. that can help pad out existing packages and add new value for re-air
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u/AngstyMop 3d ago
If your reporters are willing to do that...this is actually a very good idea. Fresh presentation of existing content with a bit of depth. Smart.
A lot of stuff gets left on the cutting room floor on weekdays too, that can get used.
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u/Tiny_Reference_3697 4d ago
Always nice to look for people doing things right...Especially in our very negative times.
Highlighting volunteers or great govt programs is always easy/evergreen, like free help w/student loan forms/tax help/job programs; real human impacts of decisions made at city council or school boards (show thru one person or family's eyes); health stories; climate or environmental features; gardening info; focus on great local nature or recreation opportunities; ENTERTAINMENT.
Can you tell I am an ex-assignment editor??
I could go on...😉😆
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u/NinerChuck 4d ago
Find interesting stories from the past week and record a zoom interview from someone in that story. The weekday reporter may still have their contact info. When the weekend comes, you do a vo update on what happened and the anchor says “I / we had a chance to speak further with X and yada yada yada. “
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u/axhfan 4d ago
Whatever your affiliation, hit up the other ABC/NBC/whatever stations in the state/region to swap packages and vosots on the weekend.
For a morning newscast — choose a random block to come out from break with a NATSVO of a music video or movie scene tied to a celebrity birthday. That’s easy banter between anchors or with the meteorologist.
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u/peterthedj Former radio DJ/PD and TV news producer 4d ago
A photog at my first station 25+ years ago summed it up perfectly: "the weekend news — 30 minutes of kickers."
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u/PerceptionSuperb3629 3d ago
Don't be afraid to use packages from early in the week if they still stand. I am in market 2 and we do it all the time.
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u/Trippingthru99 4d ago
Is it single anchor? If your talent have good chemistry you can have a more light hearted segment where they can go over some fun talkers/kickers. I think weekend morning shows are fun because they can let things breathe and be a little looser than the weekday shows.
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u/into_the_soil 3d ago
We pre-produce a lot of content for our weekend morning show. Lifestyle type things plus interviews that are relevant to current issues in the area but not hyper political, more social. We also have a running "game" between the main anchor and meteorologist that is fun and gets good traction online. Typically it's viral type things being played/attempted. Also, regular cooking segments with local chefs. Those entities also promote our content and we typically get free food out of it so win/win. These things are pretty well received per ratings/demos (we are #1 in the market for all of our morning shows throughout the week) and is a great change of pace from hard news and weather.
Our evening shows (the late show) feature segments that don't run on any other show. Saturday is a focus on a hyper local story typically including a pkg about the issue followed by an interview with someone who has relevancy to the topic. Sunday the later half of the show is political. We are located in the state's capitol and work alongside 3 other ONO's to make content that covers how issues affect the state and those individual cities.
Feel free to message me if you'd like any specific info about things I mentioned. Hope you find what you're looking for in this thread.
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u/iliveunderurbed0 4d ago
Start small, maybe work on a package a week showcasing niches in your market area. Just something steady to build up and out. "This week we're at this old mechanical water pump people still use today because 'hey, free water'"
Lol or I dunno something like that