CBS Ruins a Good Thing
In Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain, we discussed the trend of creating behind-the-scenes content, and we cited some great examples, including Ford’s CEO using Twitter, the making of a commercial for Sony Bravia, and Nokia’s conversations blog.
CBS’s The Early Show could have made the list when they began streaming live, behind-the-scenes footage during commercial breaks using UStream. The online show, “Backstage Live,” streams every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on CBSNews.Com and the CBS News Ustream channel.
Lo-Fi works wonders
The concept had modest beginnings. While the television show aired, a camera operator simply sat in the corner of the control room and shot the action using a consumer-grade handycam. When the show went to commercial break, he would move around the studio with the camera and talk to the staff, crew, and guests informally. It had very little production value and took very little effort, but it was engaging content.
You saw guests walk off set and make offhand quips to camera, producers talk reporters through their next segment, engineers coordinate satellite feeds, and audio technicians conduct mic checks. For a news junkie like me, it was sometimes better then the real show. It was unfiltered and it was real.
The CBS behind-the-scenes set
If it ain’t broke …
However, the streaming show lost a little of its intrigue recently when Early Show producers decided to change the concept. Instead of a raw look inside the hustle of a busy control room and working studio, CBS decided to treat the online interstitials like an extension of the television show itself.
They created a format, invited viewers to tweet questions, and continued the interviews with guests after their televised segments. For the most part, the extended interviews expand on the topics they were talking about on the air, and make no reference to the behind-the-scenes nature of the webcast.
Slicker is not always better
As a former news producer myself, I can easily see why CBS fell into this trap. They had a half-dozen professional television producers sitting in the room (with a camera pointing at them) thinking that they should brand their behind-the-scenes webcast better. They probably wanted to provide more canned information to the news-thirsty audience.
The content is good, and sometimes you need a place to expand on a conversation or concept. But they killed the spirit of what was supposed to be a look behind the scenes at a news organization.
It leaves me wanting the CBS crew to come up with a new show for UStream. Something like, “Backstage-Live for Backstage-Live.”
Now that would be great.
About the author
Jim Cosco -
Jim Cosco founded Tippingpoint Labs in 2002 in an effort to pursue the creation and distribution of high-quality content for the purposes of marketing and advertising. Jim’s experience as an executive producer, producer, director, and writer for television programming ranging from local public affairs and national news to reality television, enables him to create compelling stories designed to trigger powerful, emotional responses from his audience. No matter the medium, Jim’s passion for story-telling remains the common thread in all of his projects and is always the founding principle in driving his team to deliver high-quality, relevant content at every turn.
Jim relies heavily on his journalistic routes to create transparent, honest, and open content that helps build trust and nurtures meaningful brand relationships over the long term.
Since the early nineties Jim has devised and executed projects for clients like MTV, Fox News Channel, ABC, Putnam Investments, and Tufts University. He has directed television shows and independent features, written screenplays and television treatments, and created content for marketing campaigns and product launches.Popular Posts
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Yeah, what CBS is doing is more like Oprah After the Show to me, except just on the web. But I guess OATS (ha! didn’t realize that was the acronym) is billed as that, but it seems kinda weird to do it in a “backstage” format. I think you have to stay altruistic to the nature of the show, or just create a new show. I can kinda understand CBS’ shyness. If something compromising were caught backstage on a CBS production, it could get lots of negative airplay, such as the old “F*** it, this thing sucks” clip of Bill O’Reilly that has circulated around the globe so many times that if you stacked the video clips end to end, it would equal 7 times its circumference. And CBS has a stodginess and older audience that a FOX or NBC doesn’t seem to have. In any case, screw that, stodgy old people eventually die, and then you’re left with a generation of MEs. Adapt CBS. Make backstage = backstage!
Thanks for chiming in Ajit. I think if they bumped up the production value of the show but kept the spirit of what they were going after, they would have something great. And let’s face it, the possibility of one of those Bill O’Reilly moments is one of the reasons people might tune in. The backstage stuff helps the audience get to know the real personality behind the news anchor (or guest) for better or for worse. If the person happens to be an O’Reilly type of jackass then its their own fault.
Haha, yeah I agree with that. I also agree with the use of the words “O’Reilly” and “jackass” in the same sentence. You could have scored more points by eliminating the words “type of” thus putting “O’Reilly” and “jackass” closer together. :) I think it could happen with a changing of the guard at CBS, but I have no idea when they might even possibly happen.
More important than higher quality production is resonance. While Backstage 1.0 was about an intimate connection between CBS and its audiene, Backstage 2.0 put the walls back up. The audience felt shut out.
It reminds me of the importance of an emotional connection with an audience.
Ajit, I didn’t want to offend any donkeys by comparing them too closely to Bill.
Jason, I think you’re right. I’m sure the audience felt a little cheated when they lost their insider look at the show. Like me, they probably we’re getting something totally different out of the online show. If I want the 2.0 version, I’ll just watch the original show itself on TV.
@Jason,
That emotional connection is something we’re going to explore further next week as we continue our Spotlight On Behind the Scenes video.
Do stay tuned!