If you can figure out what all the cities this week have in common, let us know over at Veritas on KW at Bluesky.
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 secure accommodation at whatever hotel/casinos still remain in Atlantic City, or perhaps organizing a combination Rocky/historical tour of Philly, 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 the Delaware Valley in general, (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... PHILADELPHIA.
A news market famously known for servicing four states: Pennsylvania, the southern half of the Jersey Shore, and parts of Maryland and Delaware, and a history dating back to the very genesis of the United States (Independence Hall in Philadelphia's heart, after all: was the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776). The historic peak promotion wise for KYW, was the late seventies: with this disco-focused series selling their news service as the "Direct Connection".
Tonight, it's 11pm: and just two weeks away from losing it's news lead-out, KYW is about to go into a content survey... that could see it with a direct connection to the post season... if it plays it's cards right.
Whoever in Harrisburg, who had secured the NFL Draft for Pittsburgh, and the PGA Championship for Philly, and somehow ended up in our survey you ought to be applauded.
We kick off tonight's news with significant restrictions for the St Mary of The Lake carnival in Medford, in light of events in recent weeks concerning other fetes, such as one in Maple Shade.
We have absolute mania concerning the PGA Championship (one of the big 4 majors in golf) coming to Aronimink Golf Club in Delaware County (DelCo for short).
And yes, even the coverage of the PGA Championship locally... has a sponsor.
"Fine wine and good spirits" because all the beer got drunk at the LIV Golf tournament.
We get a full story on a bus running down a child in Gibbstown, voiced over pieces on a denied request by a criminal for leniency in a double murder, a police chase/crash in suburban Philly, hantavirus potential victims sent to isolation, A couple of pieces on the Iran war, inc. one on a potential fuel tax cut (big problem for America: it'll make no damn difference due to state taxes), AAA prepares for Memorial Day, Lower Merton school board considers plans for free devices for all students, Delco PGA benefits, World Cup preparation seminar by Visa in Fishtown and the announcement of the first pitch for the Phillies Salute to Service game on Memorial Day weekend.
Sport gives us a preview of the NFL draw's release (Eagles set to travel to Dallas for Thanksgiving this year), a wrap on the Phillies, and the fallout concerning the 76'ers crashing out of the NBA playoffs last night.
But, the quirkiest highlight is with the "Hyundai Weather Sphere"... There apparently is a blimp flying around... yes, a digitally generated blimp.
Overall, a pretty good night to kick off the pool.
THE SCORES:
-Two local stories.
-No live crosses
-Ten voiced over pieces.
-Very PGA-centric thinking on a news night where the 76'ers crashing out 4-0 out of the NBA Playoffs deserved a higher slot.
Tonight, Philly scored: 7.7/10, with a David Hill Number of 5.
The big question now: will it get them over the line come week's end?
13. Six Fabulous Weeks… of The Chevy Chase Show. (Fox 1993)
The biggest loser, out of the whole post-Johnny Carson vacuum (which gave us Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, David Letterman moving to CBS as well as Conan O’Brien replacing David Letterman on Late Night), was someone who should have known better, than to take advantage of said upheaval for their own gain. The first Fox attempt at late night was expensive and shortlived (first poaching long-term Carson fill-in Joan Rivers, only to change gears at the end of the 1986-87 television season, paving the way for a rotating roster of guest hosts (with one standout Fox in hindsight failed to lock in: you’ll be seeing the story about that one tomorrow), before ultimately pulling the plug in late 1988.) Fox, in 1993 however, was a different beast: now supplying programming to affiliates every day of the week: thus the late night fight would be more viable… The result: the Chevy Chase Show, out of the “Chevy Chase Theater” in Los Angeles (in reality, the former Aquarius Theater, once home to the LA version of musical Hair: later to be Nickelodeon on Sunset), hosted by none other than... SNL alumni, and star of three successful National Lampoon films: Chevy Chase.
This series didn’t even make it until November sweeps in 1993: with a abrupt cancellation in mid-October, with Fox ultimately giving the 11pm timeslot back to it’s affiliates… a boon for news-heavy affiliates, especially in the lead to the moment that Fox had finally made it as a network… poaching NFC coverage from CBS in the last days of 1993.
And in case you were wondering... Chevy Chase wasn't the first to try the idea of late night hosts playing basketball on the set. The "Lanky Yank" Don Lane, was doing it in Australia in 1988, as part of his own ill-fated late night talk venture for Network 10. By 1993 however: he was introing NFL games for the ABC, and ultimately did the finale for the D-Generation's Late Show... just weeks after Fox in the US axed The Chevy Chase Show.
On that note, we wind up tonight's survey. Tomorrow night... we somehow do Dallas.
See you, tomorrow.
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