WSVN released a new and improved version of their main mobile app for both iOS and Android. The new design is a lot more modern overall, featuring a main screen with large tiles to easily access different sections like news headlines, weather, or feature content like Deco Drive and Help Me Howard.
The latest RTDNA article from former WFOR investigative reporter Al Sunshine takes on very important issue – workplace hazard for journalists, and even newsroom employees in general who spend their days toiling away in the newsroom.
Mold in the newsroom? Sure it happens. Excessive UV, and potentially damaging, radiation from HMI lighting? Just ask NBC national correspondent Kerry Sanders who lost his vision for two days because his corneas were burnt by the HMI lighting he was in front of for ten hours.
I’ve worked in newsrooms contaminated by toxic mold. I’ve seen co-workers rushed to the ER after being sickened by carbon monoxide in live trucks. I’ve seen crews rushed to the hospital after nearby lightning strikes. I’ve been asked by my news director to take electromagnetic field readings around the TV station for stories on the debate over EMF health hazards, only to be later told by station management to immediately stop taking readings and never bring the meter back into the building. Of course, I found EMF levels inside some parts of the station were higher than expected, but that part of the story never made it on the air.
And then there’s the concern about electromagnetic field levels (EMF) inside newsrooms. With all of the technology employees are surrounded by like computers and broadcast equipment that radiates everything and everyone 24/7 there is some concern that so much EMF exposure all the time could have adverse health effects.
You’d think TV stations, which often air stories from concerned viewers about workplace safety like mold, would take care of issues at home but as it turns out they are just like any other business, and aren’t above keeping things hushed when their employees aren’t vocal.
It’s worth checking out, those of you out there just starting in the TV business should take the advise of longtime photojournalist Dennis Gaffney quoted in the article – if you have a lighting or safety issue speak up and don’t risk your health.
And if no one is listening and you feel safe, let us know by contacting us. Or contact the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration
RTDNA: Shining a light on workplace safety
If you have a work-related complaint: OSHA’s complaint site
RT @mrsstandupkid: I’m very proud of my husband for being so brave in his honesty >> “Screw stigma. I’m coming out.” by @standupkid medium.com/journalism-del…
The Sun Sentinel’s Johhny Diaz crunched the Nielsen Rating numbers for the week of March 10-16 and found out South Floridians had their eyeballs fixated on an eclectic mix of shows.
A gossip show on WLTV took the number one spot with a whopping 214,000 viewers. The Monday and Tuesday broadcasts of The Voice on NBC placed seventh, beating long timer American Idol on WSVN which split 9th place with NBC’s new telenovela Believe.
Placing even better than The Voice, was AMC’s The Walking Dead which airs on paid cable, the show took fifth place locally.
[Sun Sentinel – The Voice Rocks Fort Lauderdale Miami Ratings]
Those Facebook giveaways WPLG, WTVJ and other stations ran to get more likes for their pages are about to be made pointless by Facebook. The social network is in the midst of rolling out a “strategy pivot”, aimed at brands with Facebook pages, that would slash organic page reach down to 1-2%.
That is to say, just 1-2% of users who like a brand’s Facebook page will see new posts from it in their feeds. And if a brand wants to reach more of those who already like their page, they will have to pay Facebook extra by using the ‘Boost Post’ feature which has been available to page owners for a while. Using Channel 10 as an example, they have over 100,000 likes, that means that fewer than 2000 people will see anything they post on their Facebook page on any given day, excluding stories people choose to actually share with their Facebook friends.
Using the ‘Boost Post’ a Miami TV station can increase the amount of people who see their Facebook page post in their feeds. Currently five dollars would get them an extra 1100-3000 views, targeting 18-54 year olds within 25 miles of Miami
It’s not known why Facebook is doing this, after encouraging brands to develop their pages, but it probably has to do with the need to drive more revenue, and probably because many brands relied heavily on growing their Facebook page likes then redirected as much of that mass of people as possible to their websites. That is what Channel 10’s strategy is. They ran giveaways, then followed that with posts about lists, photo galleries, and other emotional topics that got users to either share or click the link and visit Local10.com. Once there the user would browse a gallery or a top 10 list requiring them to keep clicking the next button which loaded and reloaded the ads on the page, increasing page views and causing online ad revenue to go up. Channel 6 if I remember correctly encouraged people to tune in and watch their morning and evening newscasts instead.
Many TV stations are already finding it difficult to get noticed and stay relevant in a sea of web content. Unless of course station’s decide they don’t mind paying to get noticed.
