Boy, people are certainly going to stop coming here, what with my recent blog entry titles all pointing to the bed (and not for the fun reason, I might add...wink wink).
1) You must go here. Some people know, and some don't (I'm in media, that's how I know), that news organizations "produce" obituary stories of famous people in advance, so that at the time of their passing, they can have stories, interviews, career highlights on the air within minutes.
In fact, the next time (God forbid, but it will happen) someone passes, watch one news network for, say, 45 minutes (CNN, Fox, whoever). While they talk to friends and colleagues about the recently deceased, take note that the video you see lasts a couple of minutes, then they repeat it. Over and over. That's one of the advance preparations they have for an event like this. The other is a typical news piece highlighting the person's life and career.
Newspapers do the same thing. Take note; The New York Times' advance obituary of Hope was so old that it was written by a Times reporter who actually had died himself three years earlier.
So, all that having been said, and after you read the brief story on the above link, think of this:
The "Peter Jennings: Reporter" two-hour tribute on ABC last night had to have been produced between 11:30pm Sunday and its airing at 8pm Wednesday.
Think of all the people interviewed. Some of the comments, I'm sure, were previously done and were appropriate for the broadcast. But, did you notice how Peter was always referred to in the past-tense?
So, since they didn't even prepare an advanced obituary story for him to air for, say, three minutes on a newscast, can you imagine how much labor it took in order to get that broadcast ready in under 72 hours?
Between watching Peter's career and effect on co-workers and realizing how this was an award-winning documentary that had to be literally "thrown together", I was in awe at the end of the broadcast. I hope it's available somehow in the future. I'd like a copy. And if you missed it, you should watch it. Even if you weren't a Jennings fan (and I really wasn't...), you'll learn alot, but you'll be even more amazed at what the ABC people did in such a short time.
In a word-----Wow.
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The latest things in life that keep me constantly running, Part 47.4:
--Getting more information out on the high school reunion so people will respond and come...
--Getting ready for our annual fantasy football draft this Saturday, done via computer for the first time!
--Getting ready for church Sunday.
--Getting ready for a week at work with a staff member on vacation.
--And, finally, trying hard to find turnips.
Think about it. Radio stations go out and have "live" broadcasts all the time at the local Ford dealer, or a festival at the park, or wherever. Notice when they do those, they usually give away t-shirts, keychains, coupons, tickets to movies or concerts, and sometimes other, more expensive stuff, depending upon the promotion.
In all my years in radio, and throughout my childhood when I was hooked on radio, not once, NOT ONE TIME, did a radio station ever offer free turnips as a way to entice listeners to come by.
Turnips. I think I'm sitting on goldmine of a promotional idea here.
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