Saturday, February 21, 2009

Helpful Hints for Mr. Capron

Apparently, someone at the radio station reads us, so here are some suggestions to improve the newscasts:
  1. Learn the local geography. For example, just because it has a Gardner Road address, doesn't mean it's in Gardner.
  2. Local geography, part 2: No need to report items from towns outside the signal area. If you're not sure who's listening, check which schools call in their closings, which towns the obits come from, which towns the ads are for.
  3. Break the unwritten(?) rule of at least one Illinois Information Service press release per newscast. There's more than enough local action, without having to use filler.
  4. Less meeting agendas, more hard news.
  5. Ask the "locals" how to pronounce names you're not familiar with.
  6. Give the area code with the phone number.
  7. Tell which town or jurisdiction an arrest was made in.
  8. Stop the "news in review." (Although it was sadly comical to hear the accident story told twice each newscast.)
  9. Be careful what you put in a recorded newscast. Breaking stories and weather warnings can quickly become irrelevant.
  10. Listen to the Sunday newscasts so you don't repeat all of Don's stories on Monday.
  11. Stop getting news from the Streator newspaper.

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