There’s a new morning show that will go on the air in about a week. What’s different about it? Well, it’s being produced at a newspaper.
SouthFlorida.com Live is the brainchild of Tribune Co., owner of the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida’s Sun Sentinel. In addition to owning the newspaper in South Florida, Tribune also owns CW affiliate WSFL-TV. That’s where the new morning show will air, starting April 13 from 5 to 9 a.m. Both the newspaper and the TV station are run out of the same Fort Lauderdale office building.
Can a newspaper really produce a morning TV show? You can judge for yourself. It’s a bit more like The Daily Buzz than a traditional morning news show. The show’s anchors have been doing rehearsals this past week — streaming them live on the Web at SouthFlorida.com. A clip from Friday’s show is below.
As newspapers see their print edition numbers fall, look for them to seek other ways to deliver their content — including via TV. It’s not that far-fetched. Recently, the Detroit Free Press announced it would produce the news on the CBS O&O in Detroit. Years ago, the Orlando Sentinel used to help deliver content to Central Florida News 13 in a deal that now looks ahead of its time.
Anyway, check out SouthFlorida.com Live — as I’m sure many in South Florida will be soon. (And, for disclosure, I met a couple of the anchors on a business trip to the Sun Sentinel a couple of weeks back. They’re a good group, they’re trying something new and I wish them all the best.)