Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of July 24, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of July 24, 2022

Live to Playlist

Thanks for making our transition to the Live to Playlist system a big success! With this system, we will improve production values and provide more punctual starting times. And now it's easier to see yourself on the air - just watch your episode when it premieres the next day. This will help you review and improve your style. Note also that with LTP you should avoid referencing the day or date during your show, because the episode is aired the following day.

Contact Info

If you want viewers to be able to contact you after a show, we can display your email address and/or phone number on screen. This could be helpful since we no longer accept questions on air. Just add the contact info in the Website to Display field on our Show Information Form.

News Hook

After a brief introduction of the subject and guests in the show, you should ask your first question. This question should include a "news hook," that is, a reference connecting the scope or guests to something in the news. You only have a few seconds to grab the viewer's attention, so get to it right away. Also, make sure to include the subject of your show in your episode title, and include words that viewers are likely to search for. An episode about the Ukraine invasion should have "Ukraine" in the title. To stimulate out-of-the-box discussions, ask thought-provoking, hard-hitting questions. For example, "why would X union want to endorse you," is more interesting than "did X union endorse you." Ask yourself, if you are only asking soft-ball questions, are you actually "raising public awareness"?

Promotion Tip

Remind your guests that they can help promote the shows you do with them. Ask them to share the links we send them after the show, using their email, text messages and social media. The best result is when you promote them, and they promote you.

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of July 17, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of July 17, 2022

Live to Playlist

Reminder: our Live to Playlist (LTP) system starts tomorrow, June 18. Talk shows we used to play live as they were being taped will instead be played the following day and so on through the week. This will give our engineers time to edit every show for technical issues before they're viewed by the public. As a result, viewers will have a better viewing experience with improved production values and prompt starting times. Click here for more information. Hosts will tape new promos for your shows with updated airdates. 

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Last chance to vote! This month's Distinguished Guest election and Current Events Survey ends tomorrow,  July 17. Click here to cast your ballot. Vote only once, but feel free to share the link. The results will be announced in our email advisories on July 20.

New Studio Manager

We're pleased to announce that our broadcast engineer Michael Pangilinan has accepted a full-time position as our Station Manager! Michael Headshot.png He has been working hard on our transition to the LTP system, and he will continue to maintain our broadcasts across platforms. Congratulations, Michael!

Graphics

Please be sure to include a completed permission form when submitting graphics, so make sure to send them in the same email or at the same time. We will not be able to accept late graphics or permission forms; they are due 10 pm HST the night before the show. If you need any help figuring out the form, let me know at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Promotion Tip

Include popular but relevant search keywords in your show information. These draw viewers to your videos by increasing the chances that your video will show up when people search on Google or YouTube. For example, effective keywords for the episode "Covid is Surging in India" would be covid, India, pandemic, variant, mutation, masks, vaccines, surge. 

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Announcing New Live to Playlist System

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Announcing New Live to Playlist System

What

Starting Monday July 18, your shows will be produced on their scheduled show dates and times, but they will no longer be streamed live the same day. Instead, they will be streamed from a smart playlist the day after, so shows produced on a Monday will be played at the same time on Tuesday, and so on through the week.

Why

This will give our staff time to edit each show to correct production issues, improve the video and audio, graphics placements, and program exact start times. This will make you, your guests and ThinkTech look and sound better on the shows uploaded that day and played the day after.

Effects

The new system will have no effect on the daily schedule for the production and uploading of your shows, but only the dates they are streamed on ThinkTechHawaii.com and our other streaming platforms. We will, of course, create new promos to promote these new air dates. You should likewise advise your guests accordingly.

Thanks to you all as we move to this new "Live to Playlist" system. This will give our staff time to edit each show to correct production issues, improve the video and audio, fix graphics placements, and schedule exact start times.

 Please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com if you have any questions.