Nice write up about newspapers getting into video, especially video news shows (sometimes called vlogs), from trade pub Broadcast & Cable.

I love it when I read head-in-the-sand thinking for TV executives.

But station managers, for the most part, don’t see the newspaper Webcasts as stiff competition. Allan Horlick, president/general manager of Gannett-owned WUSA Washington, says newspaper anchors have a way to go before they’re considered “talent.â€?

“A lot of what goes into a TV newscast is the appeal of the presenters because of their communication skills, ? Horlick says.  “If you don’t have credible presenters, [the user] can just click on the stories. I’m not terribly concerned with newspapers as competition with their newscasts.”?

Another station general manager, who asked not to be named, also zeroes in on the talent issue. “What people want is better personalities, and the [newspaper anchors] are really bad. You have to deliver content in an entertaining way.”

Nothing like completely missing the point. Gordon Borrell, however, gets it, and he does a lot of consulting for TV stations, so don’t expect station managers to remain dumb forever (though getting it and doing something about it are two different things, as some newspaper execs have learned).

And many industry insiders applaud the newspapers’ efforts as a clever move. “It’ll take a long time to beat stations at their game, but at least they’re experimenting,� says Gordon Borrell, CEO of media- research firm Borrell Associates. “Newspapers are tired of being the disruptee, so they’re trying to be the disruptor.�