Shark!
Tegna owned WTLV in Jacksonville had a couple of sharks swimming around in the studio.
The station is starting to add augmented reality and 3-D technologies to grab viewers’ attention.
But if you think this is just a ratings gimmick, think again says News Director Meagan Harris.
"The whole point is to improve storytelling. It’s more than just the look. We want to make the story easier to understand. And more importantly, we want to make the story memorable. Movement within a shot adds interest and energy," Harris said.
"We’ve been doing news the same way for too long. If you were to Google “1980s newscast,” the show is going to open with a two-shot, animation and then a reporter live in the field. We have to be better than that. The virtual set allows us to be creative. Instead of building a newscast we’re building a show," Harris added.
FTVLive's take: Having sharks fly around the studio might be cool, but it is still about telling the story. Google 60's Minutes from the 1980's and you will see it looks the same as it does Today. Yet, the show is still number 1 with viewers.
Technolgy and "oh wow" graphics are great, but if you can't report the story, that's all you have.
We're not knocking the graphics, but when your parent company is letting go experienced Journalists and replacing them with cheap talent, that has no clue how to report news, the graphics are going to do nothing for you.
Just saying....