Mark my words, every Starbucks in America is now a new “bureau” for local news teams. Seriously.
The last TV station I worked at was actually rolling out a digital strategy that involved feeding content back from wi-fi hotspots dotted around the market, and now with Starbucks offering free wi-fi, those hotspots are well mapped and easily accessed.
So, the new model is going to look something like this: Freelance one-man-band reporters receive assignments or pitch stories at the morning Skype (and gripe) session, they take their microcams off the charger and head into the field. After shooting, they hit the Starbucks to edit, including lower thirds and embedded graphics, on their laptops and FTP the completed file to the station for ingest and playout.
Anchor leads and tags are sent via email to the anchors to type in (PAs are going to be fewer and farther between).
The story might be a package, or more likely, and “as live.” A couple of soundbites and the best pictures will be fed back early for promotions.
Need a live shot? The Doid and the iPhone can do it if they can’t send you a truck – which are also on their way out once a few issues surrounding going live are worked out.
The next five years are going to be amazing, and it’s going to be about fielding lots more “reporters” feeding a decentralized newsroom.
