Shelley Lewis
This week, Inside Thirteen had the chance to speak with Need to Know’s Executive Producer, Shelley Lewis, to go behind-the-scenes of the new cross-media show and find out what makes Need to Know unique.
Need to Know debuted on May 7, 2010 and is filmed at the new WNET.ORG Studios at Lincoln Center. The show airs Fridays at 8:30p.m on THIRTEEN.
Ms. Lewis answered our questions via email.
Inside Thirteen: What differentiates Need to Know from other news programs?
Shelley Lewis: First of all, Need to Know is both a website and a broadcast, one entity. We cover five basic “beats” — National Security, Economy, Health, Energy/Environment, Culture and Arts. On the broadcast we have the luxury, and audience demand, for in-depth, nuanced stories that provide some historical perspective and context. We’re not a news program…we’re a news magazine, and as such, we have the freedom to cover a wide range of topics in any given week, from hard hitting investigations, to profiles of artists and bloggers and musicians. But the biggest differentiator is our multi-platform structure.
IT: What has been your favorite story covered thus far?
SL: That’s a tough one, because I like so many of them. Our profile with the singer K’naan, whose song Wavin’ Flag you may have heard if you watched the World Cup, was wonderful. He’s terrific, it was a fascinating interview with Alison Stewart, and his music — I downloaded a bunch of his songs after we did the piece. I have been very pleased with our Gulf oil spill coverage, too.
IT: Need to Know is produced as a cross-media program, with the TV program and the Web site working hand-in-hand. Has this allowed you greater freedom in terms of what you cover (and how much you can cover)?
SL: Absolutely. Because we’re both Web site and television program, we can, and do, publish stories as soon as they’re finished; we don’t hold them for broadcast. Sometimes a story just doesn’t fit in the broadcast, but we’re glad to feature it on the Web, where thousands of people will see it. The Web also allows everybody on the staff to post on things they care about and believe we need to know about, regardless of what the broadcast might be covering that week.
IT: What is the best part of your job, and what is the most difficult?
SL: The best part is watching stories develop from an idea to a fully realized, well-crafted segment. The most difficult? Sitting through meetings that have nothing to do with making content.
IT: How are stories ultimately decided on?
SL: First of all, of course, we ask, is this something we need to know? Can we bring a new angle, or perspective? Ultimately, though, it comes down to choosing stories that we believe will engage our viewers and web visitors, because the characters are compelling, the issue discussed is important, and it’s got resonance to a wide group of people. And there’s nothing wrong with simply being intriguing sometimes.
At the end of the show tonight (July 24th) You included a funny bit about “new words” in Sarah Palin’s “Fictionary.”
I am not a supporter, in fact I support Obama. But since I am a Woman- I object to her being ridiculed as if she was a Dumb Woman. I wouldn’t like to see Obama ridiculed in a similar way- and I don’t think he has been.
It feels like we Liberals are getting a bad name for ourselves by constantly making fun of certain Conservatives in this way. We are going to get less votes in Nov and 2012 if we continue. What ever happened to NOW? They never defend her rights as a Woman. We are going down a slippery slope acting like we are the” experts “and therefore allowed to personally attack anyone on the right to make a political score. I’m not liking this game- we are better than this. Why did you include this piece? Because of the dumb poll that said she would beat Obama? Are we just going knee jerk react and fulfill the other side’s portrayal of us being elitist, smug, and arrogant? Why did you decide to do this piece? Don’t we want to be non-partisan at 13? Fair? Not biased? What’s going on?
This show, if it were to stand on it’s own, is titillating at best. In terms of getting news, it’s weak at best. To look at it as the best PBS can think of to replace Moyers & Now is astounding. PBS & CPB is asking its loyal Moyer’s audience to dumb down and shift to “center right”. Shelley’s “news magazine” thinks it’s OK to have “intriguing” news like a television show, “Mad Men”. When it comes to airing important news like the Gaza Flotilla, the report is so shallow, it’s worthless. When it comes to an analysis of the critical story of Wikileaks, the magazine concept is to have a shallow synopsis and the opinion of a pro-military author. Hardly investigative journalism.
Meacham, when on a recent publicity tour, dismissed the criticism of NTK as the complaints of an audience going through the 5 stages of grieving; that they were in the “anger” stage. The thought that we want intelligent, thought provoking news is dismissed offhandedly. I imagine Meacham’s implication is that sooner or later we’ll reach “acceptance” and gleefully clap our hands when Allison and Meacham snigger during Andy’s Next Week News.
It’s true though it’s a tough problem, how do you follow a program like Moyers? Do you replace it with a fluffy news magazine that is afraid to ruffle feathers? Apparently PBS, CPB & thirteen do.