A piece from KABC-TV on how bad the drought is in Los Angeles. While the lead is crucial to drawing the audience's attention, Cope says the rest of the show is just as important. Not only can zappers leave your program when they become bored, zapping can work for you, too. If a viewer is watching the competition and doesn't like a story, they may zap into us. She says it's not enough to just get them to tune in.
Every story is the lead to the rest of the newscast.
They don't have to watch. In Richmond, WWBT-TV packages the major hard stories of the day in two ways. It starts in a box with graphics. When possible, the Cover Story is also the lead to the show. But, if a big story breaks late in the day, that may become the lead and the Cover Story gets moved down.