1996 KRON-TV.
The Site
If you don't already know, this summer a new cable channel called MSNBC kicked off. It's kind of an interactive television channel. One slick new show is 'The Site.' First Cut Reporter Bridgette Morgan stopped by their San Francisco studio.Shot in a San Francisco wherehouse, 'The Site' is the newest addition to a growing list of high-tech TV shows. But 'The Site' is not just a technology update; the show airs seven days a week for a full hour.
And because it's a daily show, host Soledad O'Brien says they're constantly planning, in addition to responding, to breaking news. "All the shows that are on the air about technology do not respond to breaking news," remarks Soledad. "A plane crashes; what's happening on the Net. We respond to that."
The main focus is the Internet; covering online news as well as highlighting the show's own Web site. And there's always a new Web site to shoot. But why put the Internet on TV? "I think people who are really into being online love it so much that they want any information they can get about it," says Soledad. "I think people who aren't really comfortable being online have no other place to go where they feel like someone's explaining it."
To help explain all this technology, 'The Site' uses some technology of its own -- such as a "virtual" employee.
This "virtual" character spends his airtime behind the coffee bar, but he has no limitations. "He can go in and out of Web sites," says Soledad. "He can be anywhere. I mean, he doesn't really exist."
Away from the cameras, there are still a few non-technical jobs, such as make-up artist. "Lisa here is not actually present," jokes a staff member. "She's a virtual makeup artist Soledad downloads daily from the Internet to apply her makeup."
"I don't know that the Internet will be the be-all, end-all future; we'll all just sit around and e-mail each other for the rest of our lives," she says, "but I think the Internet is here and people are all of a sudden realizing, 'I need to understand this technology.'"