Comcast Newsmakers: Spokane

If this is your first time visiting this site, please visit our general overview page about Comcast Newsmakers.

Here are commonly asked questions and answers about Comcast Newsmakers in Spokane.

“What is Comcast Newsmakers?”

Comcast Newsmakers is a professionally produced four and-a-half minute interview segment that is seen at 54 minutes after the hour several times a day on CNN Headline News. Comcast Newsmakers combines the uniquely local focus of Comcast’s cable systems with the broad viewer appeal of CNN’s Headline News, to reach a potential audience of more than 100,000 households in the Inland Northwest.

Comcast Newsmakers is hosted by professional broadcast journalist Steve Mumm. Mr. Mumm has been a familiar face on television newscasts and PSAs for more than two decades. A Spokane native, he made his mark in the 1980s as broadcast meteorologist anchor for KXLY TV. He also launched KXLY’s first morning talk show in the 1990′s, KXLY Morning, serving as co-host and interviewer. He has considerable experience in helping guests get their messages across in a comfortable environment.

As a Comcast Newsmakers guest, you’ll work with our producer to identify the subject you wish to discuss. Portions of your interview may be used to promote Comcast Newsmakers.

“How can someone from my group appear on Comcast Newsmakers?”

Because of the public affairs nature of the segment, guests must be invited. If you are an elected official, please contact the Comcast government affairs representative in your area. If you represent a nonprofit group, please fill out our Web form for Spokane County.

MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION:

“Can we have more than one guest on the program?”

No. To keep that streamlined look, we welcome one guest per segment. If other people accompany the guest, they are very welcome to watch the filming from our ‘green room.’

OTHER QUESTIONS:

“How long will the whole filming experience take?”

You should allow about 15 minutes for a pre-taping discussion with the host and other preparation; total time should not exceed forty-five minutes.

“Should I arrive early?”

You can arrive at the time of your appointment. There’s no need to arrive early. We allow plenty of time during your appointment for everything that needs to happen. However, if you are running ahead of time, you are certainly welcome to arrive earlier (though you might want to make sure you are not the first appointment of the day).

“When will the segments air?”

The segments will air a few days after the taping and then will be shown for roughly a month before we cycle in new segments. All of the segments will be mixed throughout the period so that the same segment doesn’t appear at the same time each day.

“How often will my segment appear?”

Typically, a segment will appear about 15-20 times.

“What is the potential audience?”

All segments have a potential audience of about 100,000 homes in the region.

“What does it cost me?”

Comcast Newsmakers will educate viewers as a public service; there is no charge to our guests.

“What does Comcast expect in return?”

We appreciate any recognition of this service that you feel is appropriate. If you do tell people about the segment in, for example, a newsletter, we would appreciate a copy.

“What should I wear?”

Please avoid wearing white, very light or bright, vibrant colored shirts, jackets or tops, as they do not show well on TV. Muted earth tones, pastels, and grays look best. If you plan on wearing a tie, we suggest you choose a solid or simple striped pattern. Tight, repeating patterns (like herringbone or paisley) are not encouraged. Given the short time allotted for each interview, please do not bring any props, signs or other merchandise that you wish to show during the interview.

“I’m nervous; I’ve never done TV, or have felt uncomfortable in the past when on camera.”

We are committed to making your Comcast Newsmakers taping a positive experience and would be happy to answer any questions you may have once you confirm your availability for taping. You will find that our crew has experience in putting people at ease.

“What questions will I be asked?”

You pick the questions, in effect, by telling us what you want to talk about and what you want viewers to ‘take home’ from your segment. Our host, who has a great deal of experience with timing interviews, will ask you questions carefully designed to bring out the information you want to get across.

“Can I bring something to show?”

Because our segment appears during Headline News, we need to keep a very clean, streamlined look with just the anchor and guest. No props, please.

“Can you put a phone number or URL on the screen so viewers can get more information?”

Yes. We will show your name, title and group’s phone number and/or Web site URL of reasonable length. Please supply that information when we book you so we can have the material already typed in and don’t have to bug you on the ‘day of.’

“After we schedule a day and time for the filming, what information do you need from me?”

We need:

1. Your name (or the guest’s name) as you wish it to appear on the screen.

2. Your title and name of the organization(please remember there is a limited amount of space on the screen)

3. A phone number and an email address for you.

4. A phone number and/or URL that you’d like to have on the screen for viewers who want more information.

5. Any brief and to-the-point materials that you would like our host to read in advance of the interview. Please don’t worry about this too much. Our host will speak with you when you arrive and discuss the filming with you.
“Can you show footage of our program during the segment, such as people enjoying an event or engaging in an activity?”

Yes, and in face we very much would like to liven up your segment with such footage or even still photos. Bring materials with you on the day of filming.

“Does this program have another name?”

Before January 2008, the segment was known as Comcast Local Edition.

B-roll & Still Photo Guidelines for Comcast Newsmakers:

Still photos should be in a digital format that can be emailed, burned to a CD or transferred to a flash drive during a shoot. Do not bring photos on paper.

The most common still photo format is JPEG. The minimum file size should be 300 kb. Some people might use TIFF files or bit maps, and those are fine. We want to avoid RAW files because they come in much higher resolutions than we could possibly use and will require additional editing.

Video footage can come in a variety of formats. The preferred delivery method is a digital file – a Quicktime, an MPEG, a WMV, and an AVI are the most common formats.

If a guest wants to give us a file in a different format, we can take footage from DVDs and DV (or DVCam) tapes. We can take footage from a VHS, but it will take extra transfer time and typically looks very poor when broadcast. Other formats, like Beta, will have to be transferred outside our production house. The contractor that produces these segments dropped most analog video formats a few years ago.

Video Guidelines:

Ideally, video footage is shot from a tripod so it’s not shaky or moving too much. If it is handheld, there should be as little movement as possible, and the audio shouldn’t be too loud on the video, i.e. if the person is shooting a car engine, they’ll want to adjust the microphone slightly lower to accommodate the extra noise.