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WRAL.com Launches New Daily Webcast
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WRAL-TV viewers have been able to see video clips and newscasts via the Internet for some time now, but the station added a new feature this week, video made exclusively for the Web. Live@WRAL.com, a new daily, live webcast, debuted on WRAL.com on Monday, June 27, 2005.
“Many local and national news outlets are trying to use the Web to attract more viewers and bring news to their audience in new ways,” said WRAL-TV New Media Producer Jennifer Fauteux, who is heading up the new project. “WRAL is trying something new with LIVE@WRAL.com. It’s a 10-minute, live, daily webcast that appears on WRAL.com’s homepage at 1:15PM. What makes the webcast unique is the unscripted, casual style, ‘live’ feel, mixture of light and hard content and the hosts’ personalities.”
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WRAL New Media Producer Jennifer Fauteux co-hosts Live@WRAL.com.
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Fauteux and WRAL.com Managing Editor Rod Overton host the show. Live@WRAL.com runs live on the site everyday but weekends and holidays. After their original airing, the shows are archived on the site. Links to all the stories Fauteux and Overton discuss
in each show are also posted.
“We are not professional on-air talent,” said Fauteux. “We approach the show with a casual tone and try to ask ourselves, ‘What do people our age want to hear about today?’ If we sift through all the day’s news, decide what stands out, what’s funny, what has character and ask: ‘What will people be talking about?’ We also have wireless video capability, so we can leave the set for an interview in the newsroom with a reporter, producer or anchor.”
Fauteux and Overton also aim to give a guided tour of WRAL.com. They both work on laptops during the show, having the capability to show viewers stories, photos and special interactives on the site.
“We point out the daily Web poll and point out the site’s most popular stories and how many people are reading them,” Fauteux continued. “Our content varies from harder, local stories, like the President’s visit to Fort Bragg, to technology, sports and off-the-beaten path stories. We try to fit our stories under some of these umbrella segments: ‘No-Duh’ story for the day, ‘Sports Buzz,’ ‘Tech Tidbit,’ ‘Pop Nugget,’ and the ‘Video Fix.’ We also solicit and read viewer emails.”
Live@WRAL.com targets viewers who are not regular local news viewers but prefer shorter format news available on their computer.
Check out Live@WRAL.com by scrolling down to the “Featured Video” section on the front page of WRAL.com.
