I had the late and infamous Ron Hunter as an anchor/news director at WVUE for a few years. He was originally from the area, and was returning to the Crescent City after flaming out in a few larger markets (Chicago and Philly, most famously). Maybe it was because he wore makeup out in public that I began to think this guy like himself a lot! Also, maybe it was because he counted the frames in promos to make sure he had more than anyone else.
Either way, we were a distant second to WWL and I had to find a way to create something ultra-creative to polish this turd, all the time hoping no one would notice that we had none of the talent people wanted to see, and a news presentation that was not on the top of anyone's minds. I was starting to get wound up and went to see our production photographer (remember when we had those?). I was out of ideas and felt that it was my job to come up with great ideas. My friend, Tony, said "you're so busy trying to be creative that you're not being creative." What?
I know this is not a phrase that necessarily resonates as prophetic, but I've quoted this line dozens of times to dozens of people working for me. When the deck is stacked against you, time to step back, take a deep breath and go for a walk...or some other way to get some inspiration.
This lack of inspiration has hit me hundreds of times over the years, and I still do the same thing to get back on track:
* Take a walk. Clear your head.
* Go to a new website, unrelated to what you're writing about. I love movie trailers, so I recommend:
http://trailers.apple.com/
* Listen to some new music. I tend toward classic rock, but I often peruse new releases on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/music-rock-classical-pop-jazz/b?ie=UTF8&node=5174
I like looking at cover art and titles of songs.
* Talk to someone you haven't talked to in a while. Always good for a new perspective.
* Talk to another writer in another city. Sometimes that gets the juices flowing.
* Call your mom. Ask her what she likes about her local newscast. She'll give you perspective.
Friends, we simply can't keep drawing on the same crappy catch phrases and titles we've done for years. We keep stealing from each other and it's got to stop somewhere. Time to dip into the pool of reality for a little dose of what people REALLY feel is important.
"Live. Local. Late-Breaking." Seriously? Aren't these things we expect from our newscast? ANY newscast? What does this phrase mean?
A few years ago, I wanted to inspire people to vote and then tune into KGW for the latest information. This is what all four news stations wanted to do, but we felt that the voter registration angle gave us the added boost of encouraging action, in a city that prides itself on activism.
"Register. Vote. Make History" was our empowering tag line, which we used all through the primaries and general election. Surprise! Number One in every newscast. It didn't hurt that I had a killer news department which delivered on every promise. But, but we went out of our comfort zone to call attention to ourselves when everyone else was saying the same thing.
Empower your audience. Inspire your audience. You will be the big winner in the end.
The next big idea is at the end of a long walk or a trip through an antique shop or just a trailer before the next big movie.
Now, live the Promo Code. Go make history.
--RB
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