July 30, 2010

Storms Slam Connecticut

On July 21, Connecticut was hit by some pretty severe storms. The first cell powered into Litchfield on Wednesday afternoon and the hub went into action. Photographers and reporters were quickly dispatched and their reports posted to the web almost immediately. FOX CT went on air with a live-cut in that lasted three hours. For the remainder of the day, CT1 Media demonstrated great teamwork by keeping a steady flow of news, critical information and images available to our TV viewers and online users. Courant photographers and reporters shot video; viewer photos sent to the station were added to the web; meteorological information was used online and in print – much of it in real time as the storms moved through the state. The work of Connecticut’s Newsroom ensured that those relying on us had the information they needed to stay informed and safe.

Visit courant.com for more on the storms.





Bridgeport Firefighters Perish In The Line Of Duty

The Bridgeport Fire Department suffered a blow on Saturday after the tragic deaths of two comrades. CT1 Media stepped up to provide coordinated coverage across all platforms of this emotional story. Over the weekend, we drove Connecticut residents online with continuous updates to the web. FOX CT reporters in the field helped bolster the content in print and online while those working in house – both print reporters and assignment editors – worked closely to get what we needed quickly and efficiently.

To read more on the Bridgeport firefighters tragedy, visit ctnow.com.





Green Plays In Connecticut Open

Another big story for Connecticut and a great one for CT1 Media as golfer Ken Green appears at the 2010 Connecticut open. The story was shot for all platforms by Courant Photographer Mark Mirko, whose stills of Green (who lost his leg in a car accident that claimed the life of his brother and his girlfriend) ran as the A1 centerpiece on July 26. And Mirko's video interview with Green was featured on the FOX CT News at Ten.

Read more on ctnow.com.

July 23, 2010

Battered Lives Series Wrap-Up

After the murder of our colleague Alice Morrin by her husband last year, the Hartford Courant and FOX CT started a series called “Battered Lives,” focusing on the issue of domestic violence in the state. This past weekend, Connecticut’s Newsroom executed multi-platform coverage wrapping up our year-long investigation into this issue. Courant Reporter Josh Kovner wrote a story for the front page of Sunday’s paper and set up video interviews for all his subjects including a great one with Nancy Tyler. Tyler’s interview was broken out as a separate piece for FOX CT’s News at Ten on Saturday night, while the others were incorporated into a package Sarah French put together that aired Monday night. The pieces all referred to each other, as well as to stories and resources online. The series and its wrap-up are a powerful statement of CT1 Media’s commitment, impact and teamwork.

To read the article, visit courant.com.





Good-Bye George Steinbrenner

On July 13, George “The Boss” Steinbrenner passed away leaving half of Connecticut mourning his passing (the other half is Red Sox land). Courant veteran Sports Writer Dom Amore emerged as the voice of Connecticut’s Newsroom to explain the significance of the Steinbrenner era to Connecticut’s strong cadre of Yankee fans. That morning, Amore phoned into the FOX CT News at 11am for an interview and shortly after, held a live chat on courant.com. He later taped a segment for the FOX CT News at Ten with Sports Anchor Rich Coppola. While doing all of this, Amore wrote a terrific piece with a great deal of local perspective for the July 14 edition of The Courant.

Read more on Steinbrenner and Connecticut's perspective on his death on courant.com.





Jazz Fest Rocks Hartford

The 19th Annual Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz was held from July 16-18 in Bushnell Park, drawing over 50,000 jazz fans to the city. CT1 Media was out in full force. It was a weekend of amazing music, eclectic vendors and delicious food. The Hartford Courant and FOX CT were sponsors of this great event and helped deliver a unique product experience to client P.C. Richard & Son. But it was The CT’s Jazz Fest team that took our “We Heart CT” commitment to the next level by covering the event with six :60 cut-ins throughout the day on Saturday, promoting the festival and all of its activities. In addition to the cut-ins, the Creative Services Group executed an aggressive multi-platform marketing campaign designed to get more people out to New England’s largest free jazz festival with print and online ads (courant.com, ctnow.com and ct.com), AdMail and on air spots. The FOX CT Morning News featured live hits at 5am, 6am, 7am and 8am from Bushnell Park on the first day of the festival as organizers and musicians prepared for the big weekend. Courant Reporter Chris Keating covered the festival with an online story on Sunday that transitioned to an A1 article in Monday’s paper. And, a web driver was designed for post festival to push users to ct.com to check out the photo gallery.

Read all about Jazz Fest.

See the landing page on ct.com.

July 16, 2010

Lebron Picks Miami While Hanging Out In…Greenwich?

On July 8, Lebron James came to Greenwich for a one-hour special on ESPN announcing his next move in the NBA – a much-anticipated announcement. The images from Greenwich were paired online by stories from the scene written by FOX CT Reporter Jeff Valin, who was reporting live for the morning newscast. Courant Sports Editor Jeff Otterbein worked with Valin to get a strong report up on courant.com. With optimism that Lebron might be coming to New York, the story did well online throughout the day. The big story also ran on the front page of the Sports section in The Courant when ultimately, James broke the hearts of New Yorkers and Clevelanders when he declared he would join the Miami Heat next season.

To read about Lebron James, visit courant.com.





Data Is A Draw

Ever wonder what the salaries are for certain jobs in Connecticut? On July 8, Hartford Courant Business Editor Dan Haar and Assistant State Editor Steve Busemeyer collected data to accompany a front-page story on the salaries of Connecticut residents and turned it into a searchable database on courant.com. The article drove people to the web, making great online numbers for several days.

Read the story or visit the database on courant.com.



Teamwork on Hartford Story

The shooting of a Hartford police officer on Friday night brought out our best teamwork. Courant Reporter Dave Owens and FOX CT Photographer John Krebs worked the story long after the paper had gone to print and the last newscast was off the air. By sticking with the story into the middle of the night, Owens and Krebs created the most complete coverage in the market. At 2:47 a.m., Owens updated the story with the capture of the suspect while Krebs submitted a gallery’s worth of images at 2:55 a.m. On Saturday morning it was the lead story on both courant.com and CTnow.com and as of 8 a.m. no other media outlet in the market had posted anything.

Read about the shooting on courant.com.

July 9, 2010

CT1 Media Reports Fuel The Adverse Events Law

July 1 was a another great day for Connecticut’s Newsroom as Governor Rell signed a bill making it harder for hospitals to keep medical mistakes secret – a direct result of reporting by The Courant’s Matt Kauffman and Dave Altimari. FOX CT Photographer Sharon Burke caught the signing on video, which was then used across all three platforms including a story on the FOX CT News at Ten and a frame grab in the newspaper the following day.

Read about the new laws that went into effect on July 1 in Connecticut on courant.com.





Camp Courant Telethon Raises $73k

On July 1, FOX CT and the Hartford Courant presented the 1st Annual Camp Courant Telethon live on FOX CT from 7-8pm. The telethon was heavily promoted through a cross-media marketing campaign that included ads in print and online (courant.com and ctnow.com) and on-air promos. In addition to the marketing blitz, news helped get the word out about the telethon. Numerous mentions were made during all of the newscasts (the telethon was Thursday evening). Also, packages produced for the telethon were aired from Monday through Thursday as a preview. The Courant published an article about Camp Courant, its history, and current financial situation. The newspaper also included a Quick Takes blurb to encourage readers to donate and to remind them to tune in to FOX CT for the telethon. It was a true success raising $73k for the camp’s operations.

Read about Camp Courant on courant.com.











“Too Shea” On TV

Courant Columnist Jim Shea made his TV debut on the FOX CT News at Ten on July 1 in a segment that captures his particular brand of humor – the humor that has made him very popular with Courant readers. FOX CT Assistant News Director Amy Fabozzi is credited with figuring out how to effectively translate Shea’s printed words into a new TV segment. Move over Andy Rooney…

Read Jim's blog on courant.com.



A1 Frame Grabs Used On A1 To Help Tell The Story

The July 2 hearing on the controversial dismissal of the East Hampton police chief was captured on video by FOX CT Veejay Jenn Bernstein for a News at Ten package. A frame grab from Bernstein’s footage was used the next day in an A1 story that ran in The Courant about the police chief’s firing. Also on A1 that day was a frame grab shot by FOX CT Photographer Sharon Burke at a story about local soccer fans watching Brazil’s shocking loss in the World Cup. This is a great example of how our integrated newsroom comes together to tell the stories to our audiences on all our platforms.

Read about East Hampton's police chief on courant.com.

Find out more about World Cup coverage on courant.com.

June 28, 2010

Travelers Championship Coverage Illustrates How "Just One Team" Can Do It All

The Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands was held last week and CT1 Media covered it like no other media organization in the market. Courant Sports writer Tom Yantz appeared on the Morning News while Columnist Jeff Jacobs appeared on the late news and both their videos were placed on the web. FOX CT Reporter Jim Altman’s package on the Celebrity Pro-Am was repositioned for the newspaper and a story on early-bird maintenance was used in print, online, and on TV. We blogged from the course with various live updates, held two live chats and took questions from fans through Facebook. And each day in print, we had a box on the cover that had print/web/TV promos, such as FOX CT Meteorologist Rachel Franks’ weather, teasers for the Morning News broadcast live on the course and News at Ten highlights, web highlights including an interactive course map, and what readers could expect inside the paper. Our game plan is a great example of maximizing all of our platforms to ensure audiences were up-to-date on everything Travelers.

For complete coverage including video, photo galleries and stories, visit courant.com.






ct.com Goes Live

On June 21, the WTXX-TV website was rebranded and relaunched as ct.com (for The CT). The website offers users more blogs, photo galleries, celebrity news, relationship advice, fashion, entertainment information and locally produced video from “Seen on the Scene” and “As Seen on The CT” (that also run on air). The new blogs include:

Chet Gets Around – the stations’ mascot, Chet, gives users a pictorial tour of the events he attends on behalf of The CT.

Mall Walkers – The CT’s local fashionista talks about the good, bad and ugly fashion trends demonstrated by CT-ers.

Your Mom Says – a local hipster mom talks about everything your mom never told you and offers advice, recipes, etc.

Ct.com is also an aggregator for Time Wasters: Safe for Work sites, Not Safe for Work sites, classic games, flash games, and viral videos. And beginning July 14, The CT will have new call letters – WCCT-TV – that correspond with the website and station’s new branding. A complete marketing campaign including TV spots, and print and online ads will kick off in the next couple of weeks promoting the new site and call letters.

Check out the new ct.com.





The Storm That Blew Through Bridgeport

A severe thunderstorm – possibly a tornado -- ripped through Bridgeport and CT1 Media had it covered. The hub sprung into action with TV/print editors and reporters running down tips and trading information as quickly as possible to determine the extent and precise location of the damage, road closures, etc. We went live on FOX CT with a cut-in the afternoon and got a full package up online as reporters and photographers were dispatched to cover the story. Over the next couple of days, we kept the story robust and fresh on both courant.com and ctnow.com with video and still frame grabs shot by FOX CT videographers. Our strong storm coverage drove traffic to our sites for days following the initial impact.

To see our extensive coverage, visit courant.com.





Themed Courant Mastheads Continue Into Summer

We continue to produce themed mastheads for the Hartford Courant, courant.com and ctnow.com that add a little kick to the newspaper and websites' normal appearance. In the past couple of weeks, we’ve featured Father’s Day, first day of summer, Travelers Championship and 4th of July themes.