June 25, 2010

CT1 Media Delivers Unparalleled Coverage On Conviction Of Hartford Mayor

June 18 was a big news day as Hartford’s mayor was convicted on five of six counts. CT1 Media’s news staff was quick to the web, to text alerts and to air when word came down around 10:30 a.m. Friday that a verdict was imminent. Our speed and depth kept the web in front throughout the day on the story. On-air, FOX CT coverage included a live 11 a.m. cut-in from the courthouse that featured appearances by Assignment Czar Andrew Julien and Courant city hall Reporter Jenna Carlesso. Later that evening, timelines and other supplemental information developed by Courant staff were used in the News at Ten and at 11 p.m. on FOX CT. Breaking stories like this emphasize the value of being able to deliver news on multiple platforms – from airing the verdict live on TV as it was being read to the depth and perspective Courant writers were able to offer readers the following day in an A1 story.

Read all about the Perez conviction on courant.com.






Cars.com Goes Cross Platform

The Cars.com On The Road TV show recently aired its third episode of the year. The show, which is shown on FOX CT and WTXX and is produced by the CT1 Media Creative Services Group, features great information on everything cars including new car reviews from Cars.com and a “Drive Smart with Jim” segment about getting the best mileage from your car this summer. This time around, we tried something new and went hostless, but did feature MacPherson in his own segment(Jim MacPherson reviews cars and writes a column in the weekly Wheels section of the Courant. He is the previous On The Road host). During one of his segments, he held up a recent copy of Wheels to drive viewers back to the print section. The show’s producers also visited a local car show and took a spin around a racetrack with professional drivers at the Jaguar R Academy in New York. On The Road was promoted in print, on air and online. It is a great vehicle for local car dealers who want more exposure in the marketplace; CT Media account executives continue to sell into the show. The next installment of Cars.com On the Road is tentatively set to air on August 21 and 22 and then again on August 28and 29. Stay tuned for more details.

Check out past episodes on courant.com.







Korky Vann’s Deal Of The Day…

On June 21, Courant Columnist Korky Vann’s Deal of the Day was launched on multiple platforms. We continue to offer readers, viewers and online users more news and information they can use in their everyday lives. Deal of the Day helps them find free stuff and just plain old good deals around Connecticut. Vann, who is known as the Savvy Shopper and appears regularly on the FOX CT Morning News, started “Deal of the Day” on her courant.com blog. It was an instant hit. This week, “Deal” went cross platform, appearing online, in print and on TV Monday through Friday in the Morning News. And to make it easier for our audiences, Deal of the Day is sent as a text alert for those on the go.

See the Deal of the Day on courant.com.



CT1 Media Covers Important Community News – Local School Closings

School closings are, unfortunately, a sign of the times. A recent wave of school closings to save money prompted an effort to develop a trend story on CT1 Media’s multiple platforms. While FOX CT video journalist Jenn Bernstein focused on one district forced to close two schools, Courant writer Grace Merritt compiled stats and other information. Additionally, Courant Photographer Bettina Hansen, who shot stills for the paper, also shot extra video to supplement Bernstein’s work. The result: a strong A1 story in Sunday’s Courant, a package on Friday’s News at Ten and a natural-sound package sidebar on the emotional impact of a community losing a school.

Read more about this story on courant.com.

June 18, 2010

Story On Local Artist Takes On Cross Media Life…

We all know the arts have healing powers. On June 12, Courant Reporter Jenna Carlesso’s interesting article that appeared on A1 about a mural artist in Hartford who hopes her art will deter crime was nicely transformed into a cross media story. Courant photographer Bettina Hansen edited her video and stills into an engaging natural sound package that ran June 11 on the News at Ten. This was a very successful experiment that not only made print material work on TV, but also showed how broadcast content can be distinctively produced as an original and compelling story.

Read more about on this story at courant.com





Zip Tour Goes Cross Platform…

The Daytrippers segments seem to be a natural fit for the newspaper’s Living section and are turning into great cross media stories. A Daytrippers package shot for TV by FOX CT’s Jim Altman and Mike Piskorski about the Zip Line At Empower Leadership Sports and Adventure Center in Middletown was reworked into a print and stills package that ran June 12 on the Courant’s Living cover. Piskorski and The Courant’s John Woike worked closely together to select frames that helped tell the story in print about this unique tree-top course.

Check out the story on ctnow.com





Altimari Investigation On Bus Crash Continues…

Courant Reporter Dave Altimari continued his investigation into the school bus crash that happened earlier this year, killing a local teenager. Altimari broke the story about state police applying for an arrest warrant that charged a 16-year-old from Glastonbury in the accident. The story led the News at Ten on June 10 as an exclusive from Connecticut’s newsroom and then appeared the following morning on the front page of The Courant. It also generated great numbers on courant.com and pointed users to the database on school bus inspection reports. This is a great example of how details uncovered in an investigation play out well on a multiplatform level.

Read all about this story on courant.com

June 8, 2010

Medical Error Story Makes Big News…

Courant Reporter Dave Altimari’s investigation of a medical mistake during routine surgery turned into a tri-platform tour de force. The piece, which appeared on A1 of Sunday’s paper, was packaged for television by FOX Assignment Editor Julie Lamotte using video shot (along with stills for the paper) by Courant Photographer Steve Dunn. The story was bolstered online by courant.com’s searchable database of medical errors, developed as part of a 2009 investigation into the problem.

Read the story on courant.com





Neighborhood Dispute Erupts On Camera…

This story grew right in front of our reporters’ eyes. The Courant’s Anne Vandermey was working on a local story out of East Hartford about a neighborhood dispute between a chronic speeder and his neighbors. The newsroom decided to package the story for TV and sent FOX CT Reporter Jenn Lahmers out with Vandermey. As they talked with neighbors, a showdown between the sides erupted – making a great lead story for the News at Ten and an online piece (with photos and video) that burned up the web all day. The story continued the next day as Connecticut’s Newsroom exposed the state’s fruitless efforts to slow the driver down, even after being ticketed over 15 times by local police.

Read more about this story on courant.com






Turning A Cool TV Package Into A Cool Print Piece…

FOX CT Reporter Jim Altman’s story about a 500 MPG car designed and built by a group of University of New Haven engineering students made a great TV package on the News at Ten on June 8. Altman repurposed the information as a centerpiece story on the next day’s Business page. A frame grab was used to illustrate this amazing car that is being entered into the Society of Automotive Engineers Supermileage competition in Marshall, MI this weekend.

Read more on this story on ctnow.com





Using The Power Of CT1 Media To Boost Community Events…

This past weekend was a busy one for CT1 Media and the community. Leading up to June 5, The Courant and FOX CT had made in-kind contributions of ad space and air time to assist in generating attendance at Komen CT’s Race for the Cure and the CT Pride Rally and Festival. When the weekend hit, thousands of people descended upon Hartford’s Bushnell Park for the back-to-back events (Race for the Cure in the morning and CT Pride in the afternoon). FOX CT Anchor Sarah French and Reporter Laurie Perez emceed the Race, welcoming survivors and teams supporting the cause. Later that afternoon, FOX CT’s Rachel Lutzker addressed thousands of people at the CT Pride Festival as she emceed the afternoon activities. And The CT was also on hand as the MCs interviewed attendees and took pictures for the always popular onine photo galleries (see Race and Pride galleries).

June 4, 2010

UCONN Recruiting Scandal Grows…

Connecticut’s Newsroom has been busy covering the UCONN recruiting scandal. Late last week, The Courant broke several stories related to the scandal, including resignations, NCAA violations and the lack of monitoring how free game tickets are distributed. All these reports transitioned to on-air and online stories. Courant Reporter Dave Altimari’s latest investigation on Huskies’ basketball coach Jim Calhoun and his failure to track who he gave tickets to aired in the 10 p.m. news on June 1 and then appeared as an A1 article in The Courant on June 2. The entire scandal and its related video, photos and stories can be found online.

Read all about the UConn recruiting scandal on courant.com





Daytrippers Pizza Tour Finds 2nd Home In Living Section …

Who doesn’t like pizza? FOX CT Reporter Jim Altman and Chief Photographer Mike Piskorski’s Daytrippers’ segment on a New York City pizza tour that aired on April 15 was repurposed as an article for The Courant, appearing on the cover of the Living section on May 23. Altman reworked the story, which was published with a frame grab from the video. This is a great example of a compelling television piece that transitioned well into the newspaper. CTnow.com houses all of the Daytrippers segments so viewers and readers can find interesting things to do in and around Connecticut.

See and read more on the NYC Pizza Tour on ctnow.com





Mastheads And Homepage Headers Oh My!

We’re having fun with The Courant masthead and the homepage headers on both courant.com and ctnow.com as we celebrate many holidays and happenings. Check them out.