You've got to have good stories to keep me from watching Seinfeld

You probably think the Grape and the wife are locked down in front of the tube at six, firing the remote at the set like Bruce Willis with a gun, flipping around to see who's got the best lead story.

Nope. Unless I've seen a tease during the day for a story I absolutely have to see, I'm watching Seinfeld. It says a lot that I'd rather watch a rerun of a show I've seen a dozen times than the same old stories on local news. The names may change, but the stories are the same.

When I got into this business we'd all hang out in the newsroom at six and watch the newscast. You'd come back from shooting your story, look at the board, and actually want to see a story another reporter had done because it just looked interesting.

About halfway into my career this changed. The stories were the same every day. At six o'clock, the newsroom was pretty much empty. It said a lot that even the people who worked in the business didn't find the product interesting enough to watch.

These are typical of the daytime teases that make me wanna watch Kramer chase a rickshaw or Elaine dance.

"An escaped convict is on the loose..."

Don't care. The cops always catch them.

"A drug deal gone bad leaves two dead."

Really don't care for obvious reasons.

"A car wreck..."

I've hit the mute button before the anchor can finish the sentence.

"It's going to be cold tonight, we'll tell you how to get ready."

You shoulda done that yesterday. (And geez, I've never been cold before.)

"Local thieves are targeting you..."

OK, so I'll lock the door while I watch Jerry and the Pez dispenser.

One problem is that producers are teasing the wrong stories, but in many cases that's all they have to work with. As reporters you have to find compelling stories, stories so interesting that when they're teased the viewer has to watch.

Same with resume tapes.

If you're starting your resume tape with something ordinary, it's the same as a boring lead story in a newscast. Your first story has to be memorable, compelling, interesting, and just plain different. If you want to make an impression, if you want a ND to sit up and take notice, take a good hard look at your current resume tape. If the story is something that happens every day, you've got the wrong story leading off your tape.

Enterprise is the word. Put yourself in the viewers' shoes.

Make a News Director watch, and you'll get hired.