Last week, ABC did a series called “Hunger At Home” on all of its news program. One of the pieces was about a pastor in Arkansas who helps his small town by running a program that distributes 22,000 pounds of food to 750 desperate people each month on a budget of only $700.
ABC heard about the story because of a guy named Ken Kupchick, who had taken it upon himself to alert the media about Pastor Bob’s efforts. He got some local attention, and then got a call from ABC News in New York, which sent a producer and reporter to be there when the food bank did its monthly food giveaway.
They shot several hours of material, but ended up with a piece that lasted three minutes on “World News Tonight.” Ken took to his blog to explain everything that happened behind-the-scenes in getting the story on TV, and it’s a nice insight into how the news process works — when it’s about you or someone you know, you can’t understand why it isn’t given more attention, but in the context of a 30-minute broadcast, there just isn’t enough time for it all.
Ken’s blog comes in part one, part two, and part three. Here’s the piece that aired on ABC.