Alien abductee email news tip

July 10, 2010
“John Doe

Denver
555-555-55555
Granting an on air t.v. interview about alien abductions.  An abductee requesting an interview.  How does this work?  Can someone contact me to explain the process.  555-555-5555 and ask for John Doe over at No Name Modeling & Talent Agency”

Yes, the above is indeed a news tip/request that the station received last week via email.  To protect the identity of the tipster, I changed the name and a few other details.  All of my changes are in italics.

Every once in a while we receive alien abduction tips, but by no means are these the craziest we’ve ever received.  Much like the consistency of the phone calls, we can also rely on the wacky to the absurd email news tip.

Oh, and we can’t rule out the random faxes, nor the written letters! 

Please share your craziest news tip or customer experience!

Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Assignment News Desk 

 

The crazy caller is the one constant

June 30, 2010

“CBS 4 News this is Misty.”

“Do you know the difference between a deer and an elk?” CLICK.

As my thought of “did we air a picture and get it wrong?” was forming the caller hung up.  I have no idea why he called.  He sounded upset.  He didn’t sound like he was prank-calling.  With the phone silent against my ear I went ahead and did a search of the rundowns just to check for any possible mistake we could have made.   There had been no pictures or stories of deer or elk for days.

I...


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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Assignment News Desk 

 

Don't forget the simple steps when tracking down a source

June 16, 2010
So very much happens on the news desk that sometimes the little, usual steps are forgotten.  I’m guilty of this.  I work so hard on so many different tasks that I overlook a simple step that would have gotten me everything I needed.  Last week though the simple routine  helped us get an exclusive interview with Timothy Masters, a man who spent 10-years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

In the middle of the afternoon we received a short release from Masters’ attorney saying the Cit...
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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Assignment News Desk 

 

We live in a fractured technological society

June 6, 2010


I have repeatedly mentioned this in my posts:  I take calls weekly from viewers upset because they don't have easy access to a computer, let a lone the Internet.  They are upset because our newscasts direct them to our website for further information on the stories.  The calls are mostly from elderly folks, but increasingly the calls are from younger people.  Due to their economic situations, the computer or the Internet, was an expense they could no longer afford.

I try to give out all the i...
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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Assignment News Desk 

 

Using Ustream in news collaboration

May 19, 2010
Two more news collaborations have been completed.  Each utilized Ustream, but in different ways.  The first was Monday where we invited local artists Laurie Maves and Nemo to watch an investigative story by Brian Maass that looked at an art gallery in Aspen accused of plagiarizing art work.  They met Assistant News Director Kristine Strain, watched the story and asked some questions.

Soon after they left the station they broadcast their discussion of the story on Laurie's Ustream channel.  The...
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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Social Media in the Newsroom 

 

Start the conversation early with news collaboration

May 13, 2010

We invited law enforcement officers and community members to come to the station to watch our story on Distracted Drivers BEFORE it aired Friday night. After they watched the story the panel reviewed and discussed the story amongst themselves and on their personal social networks. The discussion was broadcast live on Ustream allowing more participation from those who watched.

This is one of the news collaboration projects of which I’ve been writing. Those on the panel became supplem...

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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Social Media in the Newsroom 

 

Journalists, let's talk social media as marketing efforts

May 13, 2010


When I say news collaboration out loud in the newsroom I get looks of confusion, uncertainty, and doubt as the response. When I say news collaboration through social media the looks tell me I’m crazy. Recently I’ve been trying a new tactic.

I’ve found it easier to explain why I chose to work with social media as a journalist by discussing it in marketing terms. I’m not sure why this is. I’ve said it before; rarely do we in the newsroom get in on the marketing plans for the ...

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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Social Media in the Newsroom 

 

News collaboration provides supplemental resource for viewers

May 11, 2010

Friday Dr. Robert Forto posted a blog that shared his thoughts, insight and personal story in reaction to watching a story that aired that night. We invited him to come to the station the day before the story was on the news. We asked him take the story to his social networks, website, and/or blog in any way he felt appropriate. We did not ask for any editorial control in any way he chose to share his reaction and opinion on the story.

Robert's blog: Forget Me (Not) Ca...

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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Social Media in the Newsroom 

 

News collaboration can be a business plan

May 8, 2010
CBS4 News is not new to using social media. The station has been at it for well over a year. (Hey it’s longer than some, shorter than others, but more aggressive than other local media outlets.) I think though that I’m the only one who uses the actual term “news collaboration.”

Collaboration is exactly what we've been doing. From the surgery shared live through Twitter to the Join the Conversation campaign to the Interactive HelpCenter we’re collaborating with the public in our ne...
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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Social Media in the Newsroom 

 

News collaboration could cause giant shift in news time continuum

May 7, 2010

As you probably know I believe in collaborative news projects. News is not dying. People are information hounds who will search out the information they want. The traditional news model is changing because of this. We must find ways to be relevant.

A coworker said today that the one benefit television news still has is the immediacy of live video along with the human contact. Notice she tagged on human contact. Twitter, facebook, YouTube, etc. may beat news crews to the scene and start sha...

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Posted by Misty Montano. Posted In : Social Media in the Newsroom 

 
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Journalism in a Social Media World

*I have combined my two media blogs to make On the News Desk the permanent home for both.  All future posts will be here.  You can click above link to access & search previous blogs.

Misty Montano


Evolving Journalist I am an assignment editor at CBS4 News in Denver and a journalist using social media. Daily and breaking news coverage changes moment by moment, often leaving me surprised at how we actually get a newscast on the air! Social media has and is changing the world of journalism. When young kids come for a tour at the station I tell them, to think of me as they would think of their teachers. Internally I'm thinking, "you have no idea how similar a newsroom is to the classroom!" This is my blog on the craziness and adventures of the newsroom and my thoughts on media using social media.

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