Barry Nash & Company

07/16/2026

Our research suggests that the way you START a news story has real impact on how people value it (and, possibly, how they value you!). Details in my latest blog post, which you can find at https://tvheadcoach.substack.com/p/i-see-it-in-your-ledes.

07/03/2026

This week, we talked about why the way you start a story is a really big deal. It teaches viewers as much about you and your newsroom as it teaches them about the story to come.

Barry looked at how language, context and detail reveal whether you're simply performing the news or capable of having a real conversation about it.

Read the full blog here: https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/i-see-it-in-your-ledes?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

06/30/2026

The way you start tells viewers as much about you as it tells them about the story you're sharing.

It tells them how you think, what you value, and whether you truly understand what the story means to them.

Barry’s latest blog looks at what anchor ledes reveal about anchors and the newsrooms they represent — and why getting delivery right begins with getting the lede right.

Read it here: https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/i-see-it-in-your-ledes?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

06/19/2026

Researchers say anchors are out. Context-driven newscast “quarterbacks” are in.

But changing the label doesn’t change the system.

If anchors are expected to deliver context and depth, the newsroom process has to be built for it too. You won’t get anything on the air that isn’t baked into the process off the air.

If you haven't already seen it, my latest blog post -- Anchors are out! Quarterbacks are in! -- explores the “quarterback anchor” model — and what it really asks of anchors and the teams that support them.

The post features Raj Mathai and the context-driven team at NBC Bay Area News Tonight, a newscast built around conversation, context, and connection.

Read the blog here: https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/anchors-are-out-quarterbacks-are?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

06/16/2026

Researchers say it’s time for newsrooms to ditch multi-anchor formats in favor of newscasts led by one context-driven “quarterback anchor.”

But quarterbacks are ultimately only as good as the teams that surround them.

And in many newsrooms, those teams are younger and less experienced than ever.

So are researchers calling for context at a time when many organizations may be historically incapable of delivering it? Are the prognosticators being realistic about what it really takes off the air to deliver what they’re calling for on the air?

In my latest blog post -- Anchors are Out! Quarterbacks are In! -- I take an in-depth look at one newscast seriously committed to meeting those challenges — and doing a damn good job of it.

If you haven't already seen it, you can read the blog here: https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/anchors-are-out-quarterbacks-are?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

06/05/2026

Anchors are out! Newscast "quarterbacks" are in!

Researchers say they're telling their clients to retire multi-anchor formats for context-driven formats led by one newscast "quarterback."

This week we’ve been talking about how that challenges the way many newsrooms are built. Even the best quarterbacks are only as good as the teams around them. If you want to change what you're getting on-the-air, you'll have to start by changing what you're doing off-the-air.

In my latest blog, I break down the “quarterback anchor” performance model and what it actually requires to work in practice. I get great help from anchor Raj Mathai and the team at NBC Bay Area News Tonight -- a newscast built to deliver on context seriously and consistently.

Read the full post here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/anchors-are-out-quarterbacks-are?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Newscast researchers recommend retiring multi-anchor formats in favor of systems built around one main “quarterback” anchor.

06/02/2026

Researchers say it's time for newsrooms to ditch multi-anchor formats in favor of newscasts led by one context-driven "quarterback anchor."

But quarterbacks are ultimately only as good as the teams that surround them, and in many newsrooms the supporting teams are younger and less experienced than ever.

Are the researchers calling for context at a time organizations are historically incapable of it?

Is anyone being real about what it really takes off-the-air to deliver what they're calling for on-the-air?

In my latest blog, I look in-depth at one newscast seriously committed to meeting those challenges -- and doing a damn good job of it. If context and depth really are the future of the anchor desk, they have a thing or two to teach us about what it may take to get there.

Read the blog here: https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/anchors-are-out-quarterbacks-are?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

05/23/2026

Founder and Head Coach of Barry Nash & Company, a firm specializing in coaching journalists and other professionals to communicate authentically and powerfully on camera, drops his latest blog, The News Gods Have Spoken: https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/the-news-gods-have-spoken?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

05/09/2026

Researchers at Magid recently declared definitively that the era of breaking news is history and that TV news has evolved into the era of context and depth.
This week we began considering how that might impact the way we think about anchors and the ways they work on air.

As an industry, we've been prioritizing the delivery of breaking news for decades. From a performance and delivery point of view, prioritizing the delivery of depth and context changes the ball game.

More in my blog, The News Gods Have Spoken: https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/the-news-gods-have-spoken?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

The researchers have been to the mountaintop and returned with Big News.

05/05/2026

The high priests of TV news research at Magid proclaimed the end of the Era of Breaking News this past week, and the trades have been buzzing about it. We are now, they report, in the Era of Context.

As an industry, we've been prioritizing breaking news and coaching talent to deliver it for decades. Delivering on promises of depth and context will demand something more and different of talent and of the people who support them at almost every level of the process.

I'm considering what all this means for on-air performance in my blog this week on Substack: The News Gods Have Spoken. You can read it and comment here: https://open.substack.com/pub/tvheadcoach/p/the-news-gods-have-spoken?r=1oeaox&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer

I'd love your thoughts.