Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of August 7, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:
Host Bulletin, Week of August 7, 2022

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Only a couple spots left! Click here to nominate a guest from one of your July shows to be a Distinguished Guest! Only the first ten nominations will make the ballot. Nominations close today, August 7 and voting will begin on August 10. The results of the election will be posted in our email advisory on August 20. The winning candidate will be profiled in a short video for our livestreams and social media. Last month's winner, Khendum Gyabak, was nominated by host Chang Wang of "A Nation of Immigrants.”

Episode Titles

Episode titles should be more specific than a series title; your episode titles should convey the precise topic of the episode (show content can be broader than the title). Including a "news hook" (something connecting the topic or guests to something in the news) should encourage viewers to watch your show. Questions, contact Jay at jay@fidell.com.

Reading Text

Avoid reading lengthy resources (articles, statistics, biographies, etc.) on air. That will bore and turn off viewers. Instead, quote the most important points (NMT three sentences) or summarize the resource. Slides with bullet points about the resource can be helpful visual aids. In any event, never read more than 90 seconds.

Lighting

Make sure your camera is at eye level and that your light source is in front of you. Avoid lighting from behind you or directly above you - that will cast dark shadows on your face.

Promotion Tip

Engage with your fellow hosts! Watch, like, share, and comment on their videos and social media posts. If you enjoyed a particular episode, share the link with your network through social media, email, and/or text messages. If you have suggestions on how they can improve their shows, please let them (or shows@thinktechhawaii.com) know!

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of July 31, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of July 31, 2022

Binge ThinkTech

Starting Sunday, July 17, ThinkTech introduced its new binge-worthy event “Our Special Sunday Collection” featuring shows covering a unique topic of the week. Shows are selected from our videos over the past nine years (including our very first videos), airing 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Last week's theme was the crisis in Ukraine, and this week's theme is gun violence and policy. See our Stories of ThinkTech post for more information. Enjoy!

Weekly Advisories

Our Weekly Advisories are now published on Mondays, the same day that we broadcast the Top Five and Staff Pick of the week. The broadcast times are listed in the ThinkTech Daily. We strive to celebrate the Top Five and Staff Pick winners and showcase their shows through the broadcast day on Mondays.

Virtual Backgrounds

When you don't have a green screen, virtual backgrounds don't work at all - they result in distracting artifacts around your head and shoulders. If you do have a green screen, you should wear clothing that distinguishes you from the background, and avoid white or seersucker clothing. Ideally, please use the Blur function in the Virtual Backgrounds video settings in Zoom. Blur will help us achieve better and more consistent video quality. In any event, please refrain from leaning back and forth or swiveling in your chair during the show - this also creates distracting artifacts. Note that changing your proximity to the mic will mess up your audio signal.

Vocabulary

When using acronyms, terms of art, or important names -- "collective bargaining”, “HPU” (Hawaii Pacific University) and "Sidney Powell", for example -- take a moment to define and explain them to your viewers, or ask your guest to do so. The host should represent and address the curiosity of the average viewer, who may not be familiar with your subject. Make sure we don't lose or confuse them with jargon. Science@SOEST excelled in this.

Promotion Tip

Use our resources! ThinkTechHawaii.com is our most valuable resource and is full of information about our platforms and productions. You can send prospective guests a link to our Hosts page, Press Kit, About ThinkTech, and A Brief History of ThinkTech to let them know more about you and about ThinkTech. You might also let them know that if they appear on your show, they may be eligible to run for Distinguished Guest.

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

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.