Beat reporting upgrades TV news.

What's old is new again! According to trade publications, the hottest trend in local television news is beat reporting. It is sweeping through small and medium markets. But the top 10 markets are resisting--too much breaking news, they say.

Here in St. Louis, KSDK (Channel 5) has embraced the trend the most, designating reporters to dedicated Illinois and St. Charles beats. KMOV (Channel 4) tried the geographic approach a decade ago, but quickly abandoned it.

Both stations have reporters dedicated to education and health. KTVI (Channel 2), has a beat reporter on consumer issues and has dedicated Elliot Davis to the "You Paid for it' detail.

Beat reporting is a good trend because it focuses on content instead of presentation. It gets reporters out into a specific area of the community--by subject or geography--and there is a greater pool of news to put on the air. For television stations it concentrates the focus on local news and reduces the reliance on national stories and features that viewers are getting elsewhere.

The best beat reporting contains a mix of topics and geography. Assigning specific reporters to Illinois and St. Charles a good start, because each area contains roughly 30 percent of the area's viewers. But given the spread of population, perhaps there should be four geographic reporters--one assigned to each direction, so that a more complete news report can be produced. Simply put, there are more than 100 communities in the St. Louis area. Some have issues and problems which are unique and others that match the issues in surrounding communities. Another beat could be created to serve the City of St. Louis. With its mix of neighborhoods and downtown issues, a City Living beat could add to the rich combination of stories that would emerge.

There should also be reporters assigned to topic beats--beyond education and medicine.

Transportation could be one beat. Highway constructing and renovation, MetroLink expansion and airport redevelopment generate an on-going flow of news. TWA could be included in this beat--given its dominant role at the airport and the impact it has on the market.

There needs to be a Law and Order beat. Some crimes and trials have broad significance or point to a trend. A reporter who becomes an expert on this beat adds another dimension beyond routine reporting.

Another beat could be called working. It would focus on business, work life and jobs.

There should be a reporter dedicated to science and technology. With the St. Louis area becoming the Silicon Valley of Biotech, there is a lot of reporting to do on the impact of the growing industry and the controversey which swirls around it.

And there should be a reporter dedicated to religion. The St. Louis area has a rich religious history. We have been visited by the Pope and Billy Graham. And, with the increasing diversity of the area's population, there are more faiths to look at and explain to illuminate the community.

In deploying a beat system, a television news organization develops a supply chain--one that generates a continuing line of stories--stories with more content and greater perspective, that have more meaning and impact on people's lives than just a repetition of headlines of forget-table crimes and "caught on tape" pictures.

Another benefit of the beat system is that it immediately gives direction to reporters and reduces the reliance on breaking news, the daily newspaper and the packaged events proffered by public relations agencies.

Imagine St. Louis! Think how improved the local newscasts in our town would be.

You gotta have video

One of the worst trends in television news in recent years has been the use of cover video. Those are the pictures we see when an anchorperson is reporting a story. For example, in a story about TWA's financial results, we are treated to pictures of TWA airplanes taxiing around Lambert Field, or a story about the Cardinals dumping pitching Donovan Osborne is accompanied by highlights from a baseball game in which he pitched.

The concept originated around 20 years ago and stemmed from the idea that video would help viewers gain a better understanding of the story. Another reason for the use of cover video is that consultants feel it helps the pacing of the news program--because according to the consultants viewers get bored looking at the anchor.

I think viewers are smarter than that. Sure, good video that is pertinent to the story can enhance viewer comprehension and perhaps, even add perspective to the narrative. But too often the video is meaningless--the equivalent of visual white noise. Do we need to see Jon Benet Ramsey dancing in a beauty pageant every time there is a development in the case?

Ratings

We have survived another sweeps--the quarterly all out television ratings periods. And, we won't have to deal with another one until February Regardless of what the actual numbers are, St. Louis is a town where tradition rules. Why else would people get sentimental about bad food and poor service at a now-closed area restaurant?

As noted in last month's column, the ratings race puts an undue focus on the 10 p.m. newscasts. The competition for market supremacy is between Channel 5 and Channel 4.

The second most important factor is the program which leads into the news. This year, CBS has had improved prime time ratings and that benefits Channel 4. But with shows like "Law and Order," "ER" and "Providence," Channel 5 is well-served as well.

Channels 2 and 30, fighting it out for a distant third, look to gain a rating point wherever they can and however they can. However, even with the addition of a rating point or two, the reality is that these stations face an uphill battle which will take a long time, and some other factors, to win.

This observation isn't made to denigrate the work of the anchors, reporters, producers and photographers at Channel 2 or Channel 30, or to unduly praise the work of their counter parts at Channels 4 and 5. Some of the best toil is at the market's underdogs.

Cable news

With an upgrade of the local cable system, I now can watch the offerings of the MSNBC and Fox news channels. These outlets round out the CNN and Headline News Channels I already had.

CNN comes to the table with 20 years of experience. It shows.

When news breaks, such as last month's series of plane crashes and workplace shootings, CNN's coverage appears comprehensive--usually drawing on the resources and output of several television, stations in the market where the news is happening. While often preliminary, it is apparent that there is some basic editing process at work, which yields a fairly comprehensive look at what is happening.

On breaking stories, MSNBC locks onto the local NBC affiliate. It also utilizes talent from the mainline--NBC News, and delivers a solid, if unspectacular, report. The downside of MSNBC is its schedule. There is a lot of repeated material from NBC's programs. If you missed the Today Show on Channel 5, watch it at noon on MSNBC. If you missed, any edition of Dateline, catch the segments on Special Edition on MSNBC. MSNBC does produce an excellent prime time news program, The News with Brian Williams, every evening at 8 p.m. local time.

The Fox News Channel is feisty. It aims to differentiate itself with a round of conservative talk shows and news programs with a strong focus on politics. Its slogan, "We Report. You Decide." aims for viewers who feel that the news media are a cabal aimed at promoting a liberal agenda. The philosophy extends somewhat to the coverage of breaking news. Fox produces a seemingly unending stream of information, then calls on analysts and experts to provide some insight.

The accident involving the Egyptair flight which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the Massachusetts coast offers a good example.

For several hours on the day of the accident, the Fox News Channel anchors would focus on a specific angle.

In one hour, the anchors painted Boeing as the cause of the accident. It presented as evidence that the aircraft which crashed was produced just ahead of the only other 767 that had crashed, and that it was built at a time of labor unrest at Boeing. Other "facts" against Boeing were a delayed report on center fuel tank fires, a defective component called a drip shield which had led Boeing to suspend deliveries of some new aircraft, and the well-reported problems on older 737 aircraft.

In another hour, the anchors pointed the finger at Kennedy Airport in New York. They reasoned that there was obviously a problem with the airport because in the last four years, three planes departing from JFK for international flights had crashed into the ocean.

In yet another hour, EgyptAir was painted as the prime suspect, because the plane which crashed was 10- years old and had more than 7,000 takeoffs and landings, and that in the past 10 years there had been several other crashes.

To their credit, the experts and analysts Fox brought in to illuminate the viewers, did their best to minimize the speculation and explain the long process in which the causes of airplane accidents are determined. But the anchors were dismissive with comments like "Well, you can understand why we think there's a problem here."

Maybe I can't. In a 30-year career in television, I covered a number of plane crashes. The simple fact is that it takes time to unravel the pieces and determine the cause of an accident. In most cases, the early speculation focusing on the "apparent" causes tends to be wrong.

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with challenging conventional wisdom, or seeking an answer, or speculating about what may have happened. But there is a fine line between speculation and a guess, and in this case, I think it was crossed.

That all said, I like options. And, the more news, the better. The Fox News Channel presentation is different and in a sense, that is good. As a viewer, I hope that time only improves its product.

Internet update

The web sites of St. Louis television stations are coming on line. Channel. 2. (www.fox2ktvi.com) is heavy on the Fox Network prime time schedule. Channel 2 joins Channel 4 (www.kmov.com) on the web. The Channel 4 web site has more local content, but is still primarily an offshoot of the CBS Network web site.

Websites for Channel 5 and Channel 30 are still under construction. Channel 11 has had a web site the longest of St. Louis's television stations.

While the television stations are getting to the Internet, none of the sites is very advanced. None offers streaming video, allowing people to watch newscasts of particular stories. And none offers live video from its tower cameras as is the case in many other markets.

Video handouts

An article in the November issue of SJR bears further inspection. SJR contributor Steve Perron provided a behind the scenes look into how Channel 4 covered the Senate rejection of the federal judicial nomination of Missouri Supreme Court Justice Ronnie White. (Perron produces Channel 4's 6 p.m. newscasts.)

Perron noted that Channel 4 made a number of efforts to do an on-camera interview with Senator John Ashcroft, who led the opposition to White's nomination. The article noted that Ashcroft was unavailable, but that his office had made available some video of Ashcroft commenting on the Senate's action.

What wasn't made clear on the tape was that the person asking the Senator the questions was an Ashcroft staffer. In the television business, this is known as a Video News Release.

Routinely, stations say they do not use Video News Releases. Not true. The stations use video from Video News Releases almost every day. The issue here is not of using handout video. Rather, it is one of identifying the source of the video.

If stations can credit ESPN for highlights of a basketball game, which doesn't really enlighten their audience, they could let viewers know the source of video on stories near the top of the newscast.

The other issue is one of perception; a perception of bias. Should television stations choose not to use video such as the Ashcroft handout, they open themselves to accusation of partisanship. It is a tough situation for a reporter or producer to be in. The easy way out is to use the handout.

Even handout video can provide content and context to a particular story, but stations could enhance the context by identifying the source of video they. use.

There was another case of handout video just a few days after the White story. When a judge in Washington issued a preliminary ruling against Microsoft, the company was quick to respond with a statement by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

Gates was seen in a news conference setting. It looked like he was responding to a question about the ruling. In truth, the computer software's PR apparatus was in high gear. The news conference was staged and Gates' comments were distributed by satellite in time for that day's evening news. Once again, Gates and Microsoft were news and his comments were newsworthy. But no news outlet, including the networks and cable news services, labeled the soundbite as a handout.

Channel 5's labor pains 

Here's hoping Channel 5 and its employees represented by Local 4 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers can soon reach agreement on a new contract.

The company isn't saying anything. The union has begun a publicity campaign labeling Channel 5 and its owner, Gannett, as unfair.

IBEW-represented workers at Channel 5 voted in November to authorize a strike if no agreement is reached. Strike authorization votes are a common tactic in negotiations. The last Local 4 strike in St. Louis was against Channel 11 back in 1987. Before that, the union walked out in 1982 at Channel 2.

The union's publicity campaign is being waged on billboards--"Turn off Channel 5" is the message--and in guerilla tactics during Channel 5's live programming, like the Mid-America Thanksgiving Day Parade. Coming tactics will include leafletting customers of station advertisers and boycotting those businesses.

The union has helped behind-the-scenes people at St. Louis' television stations enjoy a hard-earned, yet comfortable lifestyle. But their leafletting and guerilla tactics won't have much impact beyond the walls of the station. People think folks in television lead charmed lives--getting fat paychecks for short hours. Calling management unfair won't change those perceptions. The union should go public with what it wants in a new contract and what the company is offering. Then people outside the business--the ones who the union wants to change their dials--will understand why they are doing it.

David Cohen is a former ABC news producer and bureau chief, who currently is a consultant to business on the television industry.