Absolutely FREE, Try It Now: TV Newscasts Using Super Teases at Exactly the Right Time

By Paul Greeley

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NOTE: This story was first published on News Blues on September 15.

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Some local TV stations are leading off their linear newscasts with a super tease.

The super tease is a carefully edited compilation of elements from the newscast designed to give viewers a sense of urgency, creating a thirst for news.

The elements edited together can be soundbites, reporter stand-up teases from the field, anchor and meteorologists’ teases from the studio, breaking news clips and any compelling video.

The camerawork is cinema verité, documentary style, with quick pans and pop zooms. The copy is crisp and short and to the point.

Instead of a graphic animation open with announcer that begins most local TV newscasts, the super tease leaves the viewers with the feeling that there is a lot going on and that this station appears to be everywhere covering it.

There might be thousands of viewers sitting there watching the program that leads into the news.

A perfect time and place to create a thirst for news.

Here are some examples that were posted to social media:

Jarrett Harding, a news producer at Hearst’s two station combo in Ft. Myers, WBBH (NBC) and WZVN, (ABC) branded at Gulf Coast News, posted this super tease on social media.

Multiple ICE arrests are happening in Southwest Florida. Gulf Coast News has been getting multiple videos and tips about them.

For this reporter toss I decided I wanted to do a special open of different videos and opinions our crews got. Take a look.

Jacob Brooks, a news producer at WLKY, Hearst’s CBS affiliate in Louisville, posted this super tease leading into the 11 o’clock news.

Brooks wrote that just an hour before the newscast, he got word there was to be a major highway closure in downtown Louisville.

Tens of thousands of people were about to have their commutes disrupted. With just one reporter, I still managed to build out six minutes of coverage. I used the set, graphics and a pre-produced open to help people understand how they would be affected.

Kasherah Reynolds, a news producer at WESH, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Orlando, posted this on social media, writing, “Election Day coverage is one of those things that may look effortless on TV but behind the scenes… there’s probably just a TAD BIT of chaos going on. Extremely proud of our WESH 2 CW18 team, on-air talent and everyone behind the scenes because without one role, another wouldn’t be possible.”

Channing Frampton, a news anchor at Hearst’s two station combo in Ft. Myers, WBBH (NBC) and WZVN, (ABC) branded at Gulf Coast News, posted this super tease on social media.

On top of my anchoring responsibilities at Gulf Coast News, I love to edit video.  When a shootout shut down traffic on I-75 for hours, I wanted to create a special cold open for our news at 11 on ABC.  Instead of taking a break for dinner, I compiled the best video our team had cleared for air, rolled on an FDOT camera so I could create a traffic time lapse, wrote a script for my co-anchor, Christy Soto and me to track, generated courtesy bugs through ENPS for third-party content, found a music track, coordinated with our nightside reporter, Kyle Schmidt, to get fresh sound, coordinated with an ABC station in Tampa to get relevant video and sound, built an animated map in Google Earth Studio, planned how the open would air with producer, Marco Bartkowiak, and put it all together in Adobe Premiere Pro in time for air.

It was a lot of work for 45 seconds of a newscast, but I’m proud of what we accomplished.

Scott Sasina, a news anchor at WBNG, Gray’s CBS affiliate in Binghamton, New York, posted this on social saying the station has been “getting a little more creative with our headlines to start the late-night shows. ‘Interactive headlines’ aren’t a brand new concept by any means, but I feel like, especially with the evenings shows, they can add a little extra pop to grab/hold your attention and make you more interested to stick around to see what else we’re covering tonight.”

Paul Greeley is the manager and a writer for News Blues.

He can be reached at Paul@NewsBlues.com or 817-578-6324.