It’s been about seven years since I last produced a newscast. There’s been a pandemic since then. Certain perpetrators of satellite media tours apparently closed their office for good (thank goodness). So maybe the following advice is a little antiquated.
But — with autumn on the horizon, organizers of satellite media tours may be thinking early and inviting stations across the country to a satellite, or other live, interview from Las Vegas ahead of the 2025 CES, the initials of which originally stood for Consumer Electronics Show. Of course, certain organizers of the interviews are only going to want to showcase certain gadgets. The airtime would be paid for in advance by the makers of the products, of course, to the organizers of the SMT.
What do you, as the newscast producer, do?
First, just say no to their interview. Second, alert your leader — whether it’s the news director or executive producer — ASAP.
From there, discuss alternate routes — like these…
\ If your station is affiliated with one of the big four networks (and most likely it is), there’s a good chance you have access to NBC Orbit, CBS NewsPath, ABC NewsOne, or FOX News Edge. The odds are good these VOD services will dispatch correspondents to Vegas to cover CES, which lasts about three days, without bias.
\ If your station is owned or operated by a major conglomerate, check to see if you have a sister station in Las Vegas. Then, check to see if “your friends in Sin City” are covering CES (most likely the answer’s yes) and if you can obtain video from said station (another likely affirmative answer).
\ If all else fails, CNN NewSource is worth your newsroom’s investment. I can still remember meeting with a NewSource rep about a month or two before moving on to other work. He specifically asked if there were issues with the NewSource product. I vaguely recalled one problem about a decade prior — but told him I got over it. I also recall great CES coverage from NewSource over the years — and can’t imagine this stopping after I left (save for the pandemic).
…now — to the SMT universe, before you respond with a potty-mouthed reply, please take this as a golden opportunity to evolve. As linked above, your competitors at Direct Media Services are your competitors no more. Take that as a wake-up call — and take this post as a call to change up your strategy.
I recommended long ago you should think at the local and regional level. Start there.