Recent viewing of TV newscasts across various markets and even at the network level has led us to the inescapable conclusion that most of what is being presented each day is just not very watchable. Yes, fewer people are watching, and there is too much competition for the attention of viewers who are less inclined than ever to tune in to anything on a schedule in an on-demand world. But as Jerry Seinfeld told his sold-out audience at New York City’s Beacon Theater this past weekend, “there’s not really anything new in the news."

He’s not wrong--either in the stories covered or in the presentation of them.

Which brings us to the other thing we saw over the last weekend. A Sunday afternoon of professional football. Some seven hours of it. And we watched it all via perhaps the greatest invention for short-attention-span viewers ever created, the National Football League’s RedZone channel.

If you’re not familiar, the RedZone channel is best described as a live “whip around” that switches between all the live games each Sunday afternoon whenever any team is in the “red zone,” meaning the ball is inside the opposing team’s 20-yard line. The channel’s fundamental premise is that it will show "every touchdown from every game.” And they absolutely do.

While this premise may sound relatively simple, it is anything but. The production team from the NFL Network does a fantastic job in executing this frenetic coverage for seven straight hours—without more than an occasional quick break of thirty seconds for a single commercial. (And they just added the commercials this season, much to the chagrin of the channel’s fans.)

Perhaps the most essential element that makes NFL RedZone work is host Scott Hanson.

According to Wikipedia, the 54-year-old Hanson, a Syracuse University graduate and football walk-on, began his broadcasting career as a summer intern at WXYZ in Detroit. His career in local television took him from Traverse City, Michigan, to Springfield, Illinois, and then to Tampa Bay, Florida. He would then join Comcast Sports Net, first in Philadelphia in 2000, before moving to the network’s Mid-Atlantic operation in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2002. Then in 2006, Hanson joined the NFL Network as an anchor and reporter.

Then, in 2009, when that network launched RedZone, Scott Hanson was at the desk, and he has been there ever since. The reason is apparent when you watch the channel for even a short time. His impressive knowledge and ability to smoothly transition from game to game is impressive. (At times, the network will put eight games on the screen at once in its trademark “octo-box”.) Our view is that his ability to deliver 7 hours of coverage with nonstop enthusiasm is what makes RedZone work.

Notably, Hanson doesn’t even appear to take a break to use the bathroom.

It is this combination of energy and urgency that we think is hard to find in watching television news these days. The combination of having anchors who can project a true knowledge of all the stories in the news, with a delivery that communicates the urgency and importance of the news of the day. Once upon a time, this style was known in the industry as being “the command anchor.” Shorthand for an anchor who always appeared in command of the newscast, especially in unscripted, breaking news coverage.

It would be appropriate to call Scott Hanson a “command anchor” in every aspect of that label, even if he is confined to the world of professional football for one afternoon of one day each week. We’re sure some viewers might not be fans of his presentation, which, to be clear, consists mainly of voicing over all the action throughout his marathon shift each Sunday afternoon.

But even that is something for newscast producers and directors to remember: the video from the scene is always more important than seeing the anchor(s). And then for the anchors to be able to see what is being shown on the screen. We’re reminded of a heated discussion years ago during the construction of a new set, when the shiny new acrylic desktop made it impossible to see the monitors mounted beneath it. After much discussion, the top was modified to solve that problem—much to the chagrin of everyone involved, except for the anchors who had to sit behind that desk.

Of course, Scott Hanson has to keep an eye on many monitors. We’re not specifically familiar with the studio setup for NFL RedZone. But we assume they have optimized it over the previous 15 seasons to make it as efficient as possible for him to stay on top of all the games coming into the control room. Given that RedZone will smoothly handle multiple scoring plays at once, there must be a replay capability in place for each game, allowing replays within seconds of each scoring play. (That’s a workflow that local stations should deploy in breaking news situations to be able to replay crucial moments. Much easier in the age of servers to ingest recordings of live feeds.)

The bigger point we are trying to highlight here is that what made television news “must-see TV” once upon a time was the sense of urgency in the presentation. It’s why Al Primo’s “Eyewitness News” concept changed everything when it debuted in Philadelphia and later in New York City. Then there was the debut of a faster-paced, video-centric competitor in Philadelphia when WPVI debuted its “Action News.” These formats were studied, emulated, and deployed across the country. The same thing was true when Joel Cheatwood and company delivered the hyperdriven presentation of “7 News” on Miami’s WSVN in the 1990s.

The closest thing to that we have seen lately to capture the same sensibility is ABC’s “World News with David Muir.” The reason that newscast is the most watched of the current network offerings is, at least in our view, because it is the best execution of having a “command anchor” leading what is typically a news broadcast with a sense of immediacy in covering the day’s news. We know Muir may not be everyone’s “cup of tea” for whatever reason, but give him and the people working on that newscast credit for understanding the assignment and executing it consistently. From the stack of headlines that often runs past the first two minutes of the newscast--to the closing story franchises designed to leave the viewer with some modicum of a good feeling, there is much about “World News” that is built on the lessons learned from those dominant local news franchises from the past.

It is also our view that these strengths can be brought back to local news in many markets. Once great stations that have abandoned the brands and the philosophies of their past, all for chasing some new age idea that doesn’t place a premium on the one thing that truly distinguishes one television newscast from its competition.

In his 1968 memo introducing the concept of “Eyewitness News” to the staff of WABC-TV —a copy of which is in front of us as we write this —news director Al Primo said it best: “The most important aspect of Eyewitness News is People.”

Many stations and their owners have forgotten this point—the people who bring you the news matter. Not everyone, no matter how well-intentioned or hard-working they might be, can be a “command anchor” for a newscast. Some people, with investments of time and coaching, can become the face of a news presentation that people choose to watch.

And yes, that news program today might not air at 6 and 11 pm over a traditional TV broadcast station. Our position is that in 2025 and beyond, the platform matters less than having the right people and the presentation does. A principle that is still borne out on social media platforms today.

We would suggest again that anyone interested in the survival of television news study the NFL RedZone channel and understand why it works. And yes, we get that very few may be in a position to go outside the safe choices that are leading so many stations and networks to fill their program schedules with more cost-efficient, but ultimately mediocre newscasts. These productions don’t create any sense that, no matter what headlines you may have seen on your smartphone or computer throughout the day, you haven’t really seen the stories behind those headlines and what’s happening with them right now.

Or as Primo put it back in 1968, “Eyewitness News is the concept of comprehensive news coverage by professional broadcast journalists, presented in a bold, creative manner designed to directly involve the viewing audience.”

That still sounds like a winning game plan today.

-30-