Ever since Fox 61 began its notable effort to build an all MMJ staff, in which reporters shoot their own stories, we’ve wondered what’s next. In an era in which more people watch news online or on their phone(one story at a time) and resist sitting for a half hour at an appointed time each day to watch a full newscast, is there a more efficient way to deliver television news?
Let’s get to the painful question: Do we really need news anchors?
WMAR in Baltimore, and several other Scripps owned stations, have begun an experiment to find out. WMAR has changed the format for two evening newscasts to a series of pre-taped stories and weather segments that simply roll back to back without a host introducing each story or bantering in between. A no anchor format also would seem to work well for streaming platforms.
An argument against a no anchor format is loss of live coverage, but this raises questions about how often going live is essential.
These are unsettling questions for many in television news, but at least at Scripps, they are being asked.
