Broadcasterman

“Oh Knights of Columbus that hurt…”

Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy uttered that line while settling a dispute in his newsroom out in San Diego.  Though it seems like this line may have nothing to do with Connecticut media, I promise that there is a connection to one particular person.  One, let’s call him, Broadcasterman.

A resident of Wyckoff, New Jersey, you can find our broadcasterman behind the microphone of a Quinnipiac Field Hockey game.  Zack Daly, is a senior Broadcast Journalism major at Quinnipiac and a Grand Knight in the university’s chapter of the Knights of Columbus (see the connection?).  Daly is one of the broadcast managers for the Quinnipiac Bobcats Sports Network (QBSN).  Through his job at QBSN, he also serves as the producer of QBSN Presents: Bobcat Breakdown which airs on Q30 Television.  The Bergen Catholic High School (Oradell, N.J.) graduate spent his time this summer as an intern with the Danbury Westerners (Danbury, Conn.).

And in Local News documented Daly’s past week as he continued to dive deep into multiple broadcasting opportunities.

Tuesday: QBSN Presents: Bobcat Breakdown, Zack Daly and his associate producers put together QBSN and Q30’s sports debate-style show which airs at 7:00 p.m. every Tuesday.

Zack Daly, along with his associate producers, oversees the production of QBSN Presents: Bobcat Breakdown last Tuesday

Daly is a very hands-on EP as he rechecks a camera

Daly oversees operations as the show is live

Wednesday: QBSN General Meeting, Daly edits Bobcat Breakdown to upload it to YouTube and he helps lead the QBSN general meeting.

Daly in the middle of the editing process for Bobcat Breakdown

The QBSN Magazine is just one way Daly contributes within QBSN

Daly, and fellow broadcast manager Marty Joseph, put the QBSN meeting’s rundown on the board

Daly and Joseph discussing etiquette they expect to see while broadcasting a game at the TD Bank Sports Center

Friday: Bobcats Madness, Daly was selected as one of two hosts for Q30’s live Bobcats Madness production.

Daly was a host for Q30’s Bobcats Madness show in which the arena’s new HD scoreboards were unveiled

Daly talking Quinnipiac Field Hockey alongside Bobcats Madness co-host Jordan Siegler

Daly participating in an analyst segment with fellow QBSNer, Jordan Katz

Daly is taking full advantage of different opportunities.  From being a manager, a producer, on-air talent, and a play-by-play announcer, Daly is truly working towards being a Broadcasterman.

Related articles

• QBSN Presents: Bobcat Breakdown 10/1/13 (theqbsn.com)
• QBSN presents: Bobcat Breakdown 9/24/13 (theqbsn.com)
• QBSN Presents: Bobcat Breakdown (10/15/13) (theqbsn.com)

Student Television’s Changing of the Guard

In the shadow of a giant, one small television station is making a name for itself.

Q30 Television is Quinnipiac University’s student-run, closed circuit, television station.  The organization is nestled on the Mount Carmel campus, split between two studios of operations.  

Last year, the majority of the Q30 Executive Board and Board of Directors graduated with the outgoing class of 2013.  They were replaced, by election, with a set of current Seniors, Juniors and Sophomores.  There is a new face in most every position.

Now one-and-a-half months into the new regime, productivity at the station has increased.

For Q30 Television, productivity is rated by the activity the station gets on its YouTube page.  Being a closed circuit station, the organization focuses on its online presence to further promote its content.

YouTube views are key.  With advertising set in place, more views Q30 videos get means more money raised for the station.

One Q30 department has had a profound effect on the number of views on the Q30 YouTube page.  That department is the Sports Department.

(This Q30 Sports Update is one of the most watched videos on the Q30 YouTube page. It was put together by current Sports Director, Mark Spillane.  Spillane one-man-banded the project.)

Jon Alba, the General Manager of Q30, commented on the productivity of the Sports Department during his time leading the station.  “Station productivity is at the highest it’s ever been at, in large part due to the sports department.”

Based on YouTube Analytics, the top 25 most viewed videos of the current semester; Q30 Sports has produced 17 of them. Those 17 videos amount to 3,211 views of their own.

For Q30 as a whole, during this time period last year, from August 20, 2012 to October 12, 2012, the total amount of views was 3,940.  This year that number is 9,240.  That is roughly a 288 percent increase in online traffic.

All Data Courtesy of YouTube Analytics

Though productivity has increased, Alba maintains that the content produced is still held to high standard.

“Our content has been picked up by the NHL, the NCAA and other organizations, and has been built upon credibility and quality.”

(Here is a link to Infogr.am for more charts and visuals of the YouTube Analytics data that compare the 2012 and 2013 Q30 Cabinets.  All data courtesy of YouTube Analytics)   

Feel free follow John Small on Twitter @TheJohnSmall and for information about Q30 follow them on Twitter @Q30Television and check them out at youtube.com/user/Q30TV

Follow-Up: NBC Connecticut Producer’s Comments

On Saturday, Oct. 5, And In Local News…  published a report covering the results of a poll on the site.

The poll asked the site’s readers to select which Connecticut television station is their “go-to” for breaking news.

As reported, NBC Connecticut was the top choice as it captured more nearly 52 percent of the vote.

And In Local News…  editor, John Small, reached out to NBC Connecticut Producer, and Quinnipiac alum, Samantha Plourde to get her toughts on the result of the poll.  She was unable to comment before the article’s deadline due to her work shift, but as promised, we would publish her comments once we received them.

Plourde commented saying that, “It is one of the goals of NBC Connecticut to ‘win’ on breaking news in our market. We want to own breaking news, just like we ‘own’ the Olympics or owning on weather coverage. And I feel NBC Connecticut has so many tools to make that possible.”

She also went on to mention the different resources at NBC Connecticut’s disposal, including using their traffic cameras and live shots from their other affiliates.  Plourde also mentioned the station’s Peabody Award for their breaking coverage of Sandy Hook.

With all of the tools available, and the drive to be first, Plourde still said, “we strive to be accurate, and people trust us.

This article was a follow-up to the one published on October 5th, 2013.

Feel free to follow John Small on Twitter @TheJohnSmall

NBC Connecticut: Top Dog In Local CT News Poll

On Monday, Sep. 30^th, 2013, And In Local News… posed a question to it’s readers; “What Connecticut television stations is your go-to for breaking news?”

The answer?  As of Saturday, Oct. 5^th, 2013, the site’s readers voted NBC Connecticut as the “go-to for breaking news” as it captured nearly 52 percent of the votes cast.  

In second place was the CBS affiliate, WFSB Channel 3.  Channel 3 is commonly known for its “Channel 3 Eyewitness News”.  WFSB had nearly 29 percent of the vote

Those two stations accounted for roughly 81 percent of the total votes; yet, NBC Connecticut had nearly twice as many votes as WFSB.

Results from the poll, as of Oct. 5th, 2013
(NBC in Dark Blue)

Looking at the pie chart above, “Other”, WTNH and Fox CT combined did not represent even 25 percent of the votes cast.  The overwhelming majority is represented by the separate (NBC) piece of the pie.

Back in June, the Hartford Courant published an article that Fox CT, which was tied for last in this poll along with WTNH, had dominated the late night ratings during the month of May.

Michael Giunta, a resident of Westport, Conn., frequently watches Fox CT for his news.  He said, “In my personal opinion, Fox CT has the best coverage by far.”  Giunta followed up that comment, saying that he enjoyed watching Fox CT because, “[he likes] the on-air talent and also [agrees] with the company’s political views, but for things like weather, hurricanes, and snow updates, [he would] check anything that is closer to ‘W’ on the list, even NBC.”

(Here is an example of NBC Connecticut’s coverage of Hurricane Sandy)

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Once the results were finalized on October 5th, And In Local News… reached out to Samantha Plourde, a Producer at NBC Connecticut, to get her take as to why NBC Connecticut got the top spot in the poll.  Our questions went unanswered but if we receive comment, even at a later date, And In Local News… will publish them as a follow-up to this article.

The poll will remain open throughout the semester in the hopes of getting a larger sample size.  The results will be continually checked throughout the remainder of the semester for changes.

Feel free to follow John Small on Twitter @TheJohnSmall