television Archives - Clairemont Communications

Netflix, HBO, YouTube, Amazon and more. The world of basic cable is one of the past. With the click of a button, we find ourselves diving into hours upon hours of fascinating entertainment. More than ever, people can discover television that aligns with their preferences. Don’t like “Dexter?” Try “The Crown.” If reality television is your style, perhaps subscribe to Hulu and check out exclusive interviews for “The Bachelor.” The current generation is in the “golden age of television,” and we easily reap the rewards by watching premium content with a bottle of wine and a close companion.

So, where does this leave the older, nostalgic media?

One of the staples of traditional broadcast has been late-night entertainment. With the popularity of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” the world entered a talk show revolution. The comedic, variety program has become a mainstay in current culture. Current hosts include Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Samantha Bee, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien, James Corden, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, John Oliver and Trevor Noah. Most of these hosts deliver monologue jokes, interview guests and star in filmed sketches. With such a crowded environment, it becomes challenging to stand out from the competition.

Like public relations professionals, television teams are learning to adapt to current trends. In combination with lighter use of traditional media, shows are taking to the digital space to market and interact with viewers. As an intern and production assistant for Conan O’Brien this past year, I witnessed the way entertainment evolves constantly.

O’Brien’s team has grown to prove they are digitally savvy, incorporating Snapchat and Instagram into their daily communication. O’Brien also does YouTube exclusives, offering a chance for the younger generation to engage with his brand. Though millennials may not tune in to his Monday – Thursday show on TBS, they are more likely to watch his “Clueless Gamer” series on YouTube. To promote the live show in New York City from October 31 – November 4, “Conan” used:

Billboards and subway signs
Animated street signs
Snapchat filters
A “step-and-repeat” that was created for an Instagram background
Broadcast advertisements and YouTube advertisements

Though O’Brien hits middle ground when it comes to viewers on television, many of his online videos garner millions of views. Because of this success, The New York Post reported that YouTube has approached O’Brien to be the official host for their YouTube Red channel. It remains to be seen whether he will take the position. Regardless, one thing is certain. The longest tenured late-night host will be sure to mix the new and the old in a charming, hilarious way.

Looking for more adventures? Check out another Clairemont intern’s travels to Amsterdam!

Written by Casey Moore, senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

It has been nearly five years since I left television news for a career in public relations – or “the dark side,” as my friends and former colleagues in news call it. Five years isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it is plenty of time for social media to grow exponentially, shape the way newsrooms operate and change the way people consume news.

I remember it vividly. I was working at KRQE in Albuquerque, N.M. A colleague was walking out the door to cover a high-profile trial when the news director yelled from his office, “Don’t forget to live tweet!” It was 2009, and Twitter was exploding. During that year alone traffic on the site grew by 1,100 percent, and the total number of tweets increased by 1,400 percent.

Fast forward to 2015, and social media continues to become more and more intertwined with traditional media. Just a few weeks ago, I watched WTVD’s Stephanie Lopez record Facebook teases for her story about Dairy Queen’s Miracle Treat Day. Thinking about how social media is impacting journalism, I reached out to Sean Maroney, evening anchor at WNCN, and Andrea Griffith Cash, VP of content at Durham Magazine and Chapel Hill Magazine. I asked them to explain trends that they noticed developing in the world of news and social media.

Sean: “Social Media is changing the landscape in T.V. More and more people say, ‘I saw your story on Facebook.’ It’s changing the consumption of media and the way we interact. They comment, they share, they’re engaged.”
Andrea: “It used to be that I only had to consider if a pitch was good for our print products. Now, I run everything through several filters. Would this be a good print story? Would this make a nice blog post? Is it worthy of just a shout out on Twitter or Facebook? Could it work for our weekly e-newsletters?”
Sean: “When I got my start more than 10 years ago, I was an intern on the assignments desk at WTVD. I would start my day with a list of about 60 numbers that I would call up and say, ‘You got anything for me today?’ That’s how we got our news – by calling the police department and other agencies to find out what was going on. Now we have a list of Twitter accounts that we follow.”
Andrea: “For writers, that also means that their jobs aren’t finished when they turn in the story. Often, they are being asked to promote it on social media and possibly update it online, if it’s a news piece. They also might check online comments and respond to them. They might work on a video that ties in with the print piece. In a lot of ways, you could say the story is never finished.”
Sean: “I recently moderated a social media panel as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. I told young journalists I understand that it is a race to be the first, but I encouraged them to be the first to get it right.”

Clearly, social media has changed the way members of the media report the news. How has social media changed the way you consume news?

Clairemont Communications

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