: WTF is a “Comprehensive Strategic Review” anyway? This past Monday afternoon, Sinclair Broadcast Group President & CEO Chris Ripley sent an all-hands …
: So after we sobered up completely... In this past Saturday’s special edition on the still-developing news that Nexstar is in talks to …
: Well THAT escalated quickly... We'll spare you the ubiquitous "Breaking News" animation here, and our apologies for interrupting …
: Apparently Gray figured out the password. That word being “duopolies”(as we earlier wrote.) And they must have a decent line of credit …
: If ESPN is Disney’s new "Beauty" just what does that make ABC? The Walt Disney Company has been very busy lately with its property located not in Central Florida, …
: Is it Time to Shrink Primetime? Here we are at the start of another work week. What this week will bring in the business of …
: The Password is... We come to you today from that haunt of frequent flyers, busy executives, and TV station consultants …
: Will “Compression Culture” kill TV news? We recently came across a Substack post that introduced us to an interesting concept. It’s called …
: The Friday Odds and Ends Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of another week in summer! Hopefully, you are not …
: The Fracturing Of The Monoculture If you are spending too much of your free time these days wondering what the fate of broadcast …
: Still So Many Questions About CBS Axing Colbert and What's Next? We admit that we probably spent more time this past weekend than we should have, consuming all of …
: Breaking News! CBS Just Screwed Its Affiliates Late Newscasts We still remember where we were when we received the startling news. We were in Buffalo, New York, …
: Spin The Bottle Time – Part Four If you are finding that everything you read or hear about the television industry is as concerning …
: Spin The Bottle Time – Part Three If you have been following along this week, you hopefully know the drill by now. (If not, go back …
: Spin The Bottle Time – Part Deux As we began detailing here yesterday, the dealmaking in the local television station business is …
: Spin The Bottle Time It’s been a week since the folks at Gray Media and Scripps announced their rather benign sounding …
: The Weekend Stuff You made it to Friday. Congratulations on surviving another week! To celebrate this monumental …
: Was it something we said? Our assumption is this: our invitation to the annual gathering of media moguls happening in Sun …
: Remembering Bill Applegate If there was a Mount Rushmore of local television news directors, just whose faces would be on it? A …
: What if there wasn't a National Weather Service anymore? The search for the missing victims from the July 4th flash flooding in Kerr County, Texas …
: Paramount decides it has to pay, rather than fight in court. It is a move that Carmine DePasto would have admired. $16 million to settle a lawsuit that many …
: The Weekend Reads and More, Coming Up! We’ll spare you our standard rant on why saying “Coming Up” should only be done in …
: When your television station decides it wants to become Starbucks. Right from the start of this, we should acknowledge that we probably missed the opportunity to make …
: Continuing Coverage: "Wither The RTDNA?" Part Deux We have published fifty original articles on “The Topline” so far, and none of them has …
: Rearranging the deck chairs at Tegna. Some three months and and seventeen days ago we asked the question in one of our first posts here on …
: Wither the RTDNA? Long-time industry observer and talent agent (his day job), Rick Gevers, pointed out a rather …
: The Weekend Reads...and Watches. We’re back with another edition of things you might want to read and watch this weekend. Off …
: Is the Station Trading Dam Finally About to Burst? Forgive us being away from the keyboard for a few days, we had the audacity to actually try to take …
: In Appreciation of TV Journalists in the Twin Cities today Today was one of those days that put local TV newsrooms to the test. Aside from the expected …
: Facts vs. Truth We had really wanted to see George Clooney’s performance as Edward R. Murrow in his production …
: The Weekend Long Read From one of our favorite podcasts, “The Techmeme Ride Home,” we are borrowing the idea that on each …
: Do Breaking News Crawls Still Matter in 2025? We spent some time in this week going through the local coverage from Denver’s local TV newsrooms of …
: We sure didn't have a "CBS moves its affiliation in Atlanta" square on our bingo card for 2025 In case you missed the breaking industry news this afternoon, CBS has announced that come this …
: Is This Really The Future of TV News? We fired up our trusty laptop yesterday around lunchtime to watch the TV NewsCheck webinar titled …
: No, Working In TV News Isn't The Worst Job Ever Over the past few weeks, we’ve noticed that our LinkedIn Feed seems to be filled with two …
: Make it Memorable This Memorial Day As we start the Memorial Day weekend, let us take just a moment to deliver an important reminder …
: Has the CBS Eye Finally Blinked? The announcement today that Wendy McMahon is stepping down from her post as President of CBS News …
: A Suggestion for a Weekend Watch We’ve got an interesting idea for something worth watching this weekend. The details, in our …
: Do You Watch Your Own Newscast? One of the things we miss the most about our former position as a TV news director was having an …
: Looking for More than Answers We admit to never being big fans of the branding campaign that some stations adopted a few years …
: What TV News Does Well We’ve been writing here for a few months now on the various challenges, criticisms, and …
: What Time Is It? After the second game in last Sunday night’s NBA Finals doubleheader on TNT, just as the …
: Elections In April? Last November, after we made it through our thirteenth presidential election night, we decided not …
: Does Sports Still Belong In Local TV News? It’s been a long weekend, filled with watching various televised sports events, including the …
: Solving The Human Equation There is a viral story going around social media at the moment that actor Keanu Reeves engaged in a …
: Is The Chess Match Between CBS And The White House Ending? In the third season of the television series “The West Wing,” there is an episode titled …
: Rethinking "The Cold Open." In her book “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live,” author Susan Morrison …
: Enough With "The T Word" Already Seriously, let’s stop using it. This word sounds so optimistic in its spin on what is …
: Being Better At Breaking News There are few things that test a local television newsroom more than covering breaking news. And to …
: Fear and Loathing before Leaving Las Vegas We’d wager that most people come to Las Vegas to have a good time, bringing some hope for a change …
: Why News Directors Really Should Be Attending The NAB Show As we were planning to start Day Three of the NAB Show here in Las Vegas, our Smartwatch reported …
: We Interrupt Our Scheduled Programming from Las Vegas Remember when television stations use to tell you those words before delivering something of …
: Viva Las Vegas We’re coming to you today from the place that almost no one calls “Sin City” anymore because Las …
: What We Saw Watching Severe Weather Coverage This Week Our "monitoring posts" across the country tracked the severe weather coverage from local television …
: Can Online Viewers Find Your Severe Weather Coverage? We were flipping through our YouTube home page on Wednesday night when we noticed that Meteorologist …
: How To Learn "What Great Bosses Know" In a previous edition of The Topline, we advocated for more training opportunities for those …
: Lessons To Learn For Schizophrenic Stations Our outpost in the New York City market asked a provocative question we have been pondering over the …
: Is Social Media Hurting Your Station? Imagine this: Your television station runs a thirty-second promo teasing the stories ahead in the …
: Where Are All The New News Directors? Our long-time friend and industry observer Rick Gevers noted in the last edition of his excellent …
: A Monday Morning Announcement It’s a big day for us here at TVND.Com. Two weeks into our initial foray into online …
: Special Report: Surveying the landscape ahead for Miami's WPLG. We know the dust hasn’t settled from yesterday’s big announcement in Miami that the ABC …
: A Preview in Miami of "Coming Attractions"? So much for a Thursday on which most people would have been focused on the first day of the Madness …
: What Position Your Position Is In? Some 45 years ago, we got our hands on a new book by famed marketing gurus Al Reis and Jack Trout. …
: Give Gray Credit For Thinking Ahead We noted with interest here the announcement from Gray Media yesterday that 37 of its local …
: Do Not Waste This Kind Of Opportunity One of the hazards of spending decades watching local television newscasts is having little patience …
: What’s In A Name? We’re on the road for a few days, but we wanted to share a couple of observations. The first: Why …
: Will 2025 Be The Year Some Local Stations Get Out of Local News? The headline on Scott Jones’ FTVLive.com (which many love to diss but read all the same) is pretty …
: Don’t Sleep on Weekend Newscasts Weekends, especially weekend mornings, are a time period that many television stations just don’t …
: Beware of “re-empowerment” for local television from the FCC My late father always teased me a bit about loving big words as a child. I began reading at a very …
: Yes, We Gave This Thing A Name Our brand consultant says that just calling this by our website address isn’t memorable enough, so …
: Can One New Hire Save Tegna? A favorite read on our bookshelf is Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead.” Her sweeping 1943 novel tells the …
: Does Weather Still Always Win? Anyone who has worked in a newsroom with this former news director is probably familiar with what I …
: On Camera Talent Truly Makes A Difference The reviews of Conan O’Brien’s work hosting the 97th Oscars last night were more …
: Can Local TV News Still Matter? Last Friday, February 28th, was my final day as the news director for KSTP-TV, Hubbard …