EXCLUSIVE
Former TMZ executive producer Lisa Hudson has signed on with the new series "RightThisMinute," which premieres on Cox, Scripps and Raycom stations nationwide Monday. Hudson will serve as the series' executive director.
The hour-long, daily news show will offer a particularly modern take on the news of the day, bringing the Internet and social and mobile media into the mix, along with citizen journalists to cover stories from a multitude of angles.
Based in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, “RightThisMinute” will be hosted by congressional candidate-turned-journalist Beth Troutman, along with KTAR radio personality Gayle Bass, multimedia journalist Nick Calderone, Channel One anchor Steven Fabian and Los Angeles-based freelance host Christian Vera. (The series is being distributed by Sony Pictures Television.)
While Internet clips have become a staple on news broadcasts looking to fill out their schedules, Hudson says that "RightThisMinute" will distinguish itself by exploring all angles of the clips and stories that find their ways into America's in-boxes, tracking down both the subjects and creators of the content to dig up the back story.
"It makes all the stuff you see better when you know, 'Oh, that's the story behind it' — that's the sweet spot for the show," Hudson told TheWrap. "Lots of shows show the videos, but they don't have the time to follow up."
Hudson also said that "RightThisMinute" will expose viral videos as frauds when it turns out they were set-ups — a fact that often gets lost in the mix, when there's always another video to toss up for a quick giggle or "awwww."
In a nutshell, Hudson says, "RightThisMinute" will strive to unearth "a cool element to a story that's everywhere."
The content on 'RightThisMinute,' Hudson added, will be a mix of hard-hitting news and light-hearted fare, with the main thread being the news team's efforts to find a new angle on a story that would typically get the quick-hit treatment on other outlets.
"There's a great niche there, and if there's a story behind the story, we're there," Hudson said.
It's an approach, Hudson opines, that the older news outlets have been reluctant to adapt — but they might do well to consider, if they want to stay in business.
"The world changed and it took traditional media a long time to adjust to it," Hudson said. "I don't think you can play ball in this world without exploring every aspect of a story."
