The last night of the first pool... and we are going to say... good evening Baltimore.
As we reach out to the world in 2026 and beyond (a teaser for the future perhaps), we are emphasizing your safety on the internet in the age of AI. And, that is why we believe the best choice for a VPN (where you can lock in US pricing for your trip to spend your time looking at Baltimore's inner harbour, perhaps perusing Harborplace for souvenirs (only to find that it's about to be redeveloped), or figuring out how much a trip to the National Aquarium will actually cost you, or just checking out pricing at Walmart/Target without leaving your house in Australia) is Surfshark VPN. A VPN can make your life a whole lot easier when organizing your next trip to Baltimore, (or Australia, if reading from the US: we'll leave the shrimp out to defrost while you come across the Pacific). Follow our link, and it helps deliver better content for you, and drives the challenge home.
And, now: onto the ground rules.
THE GROUND RULES
Our focus, in Content Survey Live will be monitoring multiple news services over a significant timespan (a benefit of technological change, now allowing us to watch American news bulletins here in Australia), using a slight modification of the same criteria we used in the “Great Local News Study” from Kuttsy's Pitch XI in August, 2019 and in Content Survey Live between 2020 and 2024.
-Locally sourced stories: that is stories reported by local journos. Really big local market stories with national impacts, also fit here. Voiced over local stories are counted separately.
-Live crosses: stuff that is used to embellish a story.
-Weather and traffic reports are not counted.
-Sport stories are counted for one point if it’s a voiced over piece: but… if you have a reporter on the scene reporting on the event, it counts for two points. This sports reporting scoring system is a modified version of the “Ray Robinson Number” from the 2024 special event, and the 2025 edition of Content Survey Live, which was utilized to examine overnight news, and will be counted up at the end of the regular season as a special secondary achievement going to the market who has the highest sports score.
This number, will be named… the David Hill Number: in commemoration of the role Hill played in revolutionizing sports coverage in Australia (as VP for sport for Nine in the mid eighties), the United Kingdom (launching UK cable powerhouse Sky Sports) and in the US (the founding father of Fox Sports, whose innovations reshaped NFL and other sport coverage for the better).
In addition, all scores in 2026 will be reported in a new format: a ranking out of 10: David Hill Number (e.g. 5.8/10 and a David Hill Number of 3) rather than separating these figures out.
THE TALE OF THE TAPE... BALTIMORE.
Baltimore, as a city can easily be compared with Brisbane in Australia. Much like Brisbane, it has a addiction to waterfront urban renewal: Baltimore's began in the late seventies, Brisbane's in the mid-eighties (although Brisbane beat Baltimore to second generation waterfront urban renewal (i.e. tearing down a result of first generation waterfront urban renewal in Eagle St Pier for a new tower due in 2028).
Much like Brisbane has it's "TV Hill" on Mount Coot-tha, Baltimore has it's own, in the suburb of Woodberry, where transmitters not just stand there for signals, but no less than five stations have studios nearby while the 300m+ red giant of a tower (whose repainting a few years back, ultimately saw fines issued due to incorrect procedures concerning paint removal: unlike the Mount Coot-tha towers (in bushland with a buffer to residential areas), the Baltimore TV tower is in the middle of residential neighborhoods with no serious buffer) serves all three pre-Fox Baltimore commercial TV stations (with WJZ and WBAL plugged directly in, WMAR microwaved in from studios near the Baltimore City/County line).
It's 11pm, and WJZ's late news is about to go on the air, for a market with more similarities to Brisbane... than differences.
And, one similarity Brisbane needs to take up... is the WJZ news service's slogan.
AMERICA, YOUR SEASON LAUNCH IS READY.
4. Proud as A Peacock, NBC: 1979-1981.
Fred Silverman’s tenure at NBC can be summed up in one word: shambolic. It all started with a commission for NBC that almost sent the network broke: Supertrain (the most expensive television program in history at the time: and only lasted nine episodes), followed by a expensive retool of a fledgling Saturday Night Live in 1980 after the departure of founding EP Lorne Michaels (only for Lorne to return in 1985) that ultimately saw the person responsible for the product in 1980/81 sacked, in favour of bringing in Dick Ebersol (who literally rehabilitated the product, that was almost at cancellation under his predecessor’s watch: especially as the ’81 WGA strike gave him more time to rebuild).
NBC, to sell itself: it simply went with the line “Proud as A Peacock”.
The disdain however, for Silverman not turning things around significantly (some success did happen: Little House on the Prairie (not to be confused with the Sesame St parody) and Differn’t Strokes), somehow ended up at the production studio for the Proud as A Peacock campaign when it returned in 1980, and ended up with this stinging rebuke: quite simply, “We’re Loud”.
NBC even distributed it as a Christmas tape to affiliates to play at Xmas parties only… that is until Don Imus somehow played his copy of “We’re Loud” on his WNBC radio show… and forced the destruction of any remaining copies.
The road got worse for NBC: cancellation of Moscow 1980 Olympics coverage, due to a US boycott, and then ultimately Silverman was shown the door in mid-1981, although the footprints of Fred were still there: “Our Pride is Showing” resulted for Fall ‘81.
A new face would lead NBC once Fred Silverman left: Brandon Tartikoff, who had risen from comedy under Dick Ebersol, who not only brought back the shine to NBC… but led it back to the top and ultimately was able to shake off the Proud N ghost of Silverman in May 1986.
And, as for Saturday Night Live: it got two shots in at Fred Silverman during that run: “Smart As a Peacock”, in 1979, and after Fred’s departure, “Our Age is Showing” in 1981.
40 years ago tonight, WJZ weatherman, Marty Bass sent his wig on a long vacation to Florida. The story goes, Marty got inadvertently stung in a police sting (concerning a lady of the night)... and had to shed his wig (he'd been balding for years, and used a toupee nicknamed "Fido" to maintain a hirsute full head of hair image on-air) as a response, to shift attention away from the negative news he'd inadvertently created for himself.
In late May, Marty says goodbye... to WJZ for the last time after a near fifty year career: and proof that a setback: even one that ultimately changes your look forever: can only make you look stronger in the end.
Baltimore, may have gone out with a loss at pool stage, but their post-Bass future is looking somewhat bright, especially with Cutter Martin at the helm of the late night weather, somewhat dreaming of finding his own Don Scott, like Marty did many years ago.
That's it, for Pool 1. Next week, four more cities come up to the plate: this time for Pool 2. Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Boston and the landmark 100th edition of Content Survey Live: Houston (the sole CBS affiliate in this event: although the former CBS affiliate in Atlanta may well be ready to pinch hit in Pool 3)
America, your survey is here... and the shape of the postseason is now taking form with San Francisco securing it's place there: for a shot at facing Brisbane in September.
A reminder of our socials:
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Substack: https://veritasonkw.substack.com/
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