Tampa Bay's 10 finds new attitude as 10 Connects

The change came at 4 p.m. Thursday, summing up months of slow adjustments in a single, bold redesign.

Viewers checking into that early-evening newscast on St. Petersburg's WTSP-Ch. 10 saw the station's slogan had changed from Tampa Bay's 10 to 10 Connects -- signaling a new emphasis on interaction with viewers.

The names of newscasts have changed:  10 Connects News at 4, 10 Connects News at 6 and so on. The station's Web address will change from TampaBays10.com to 10connects.com (though both addresses currently work).

And the station is constantly emphasizing connecting with the audience, as anchors encourage viewers to trade instant messages during commercial breaks and reporters ask questions of subjects culled from e-mails and message boards. See the pitch by the anchors and a general promo.

"Wev'e been talking about this for a year now, so we decided let's just claim this and make it our name," said Pete Nikiel, director of marketing and promotions for WTSP. "It's getting to the point where the consumers tell us where the stories are, instead of us telling them. We're basically doing a lot of things most people are doing a little of."

Besides creating newscast names that can sound a little awkward, the change also creates more work for a leaner staff. Anchors have less time to review scripts during commercial breaks and it can take more time for a reporter to get feedback from the public while completing a story. The station is also developing a citizen journalism project, paying a cadre of non-journalists nominal fees for any video they collect that  gets used on air or online.

But Nikiel said the 10 Connects approach unites the station's various platforms -- including a Web site for Moms and the Metromix entertainment site -- while distinguishing WTSP in an increasingly crowded field.

"It's going to be positioned as an umbrella brand . . . helping define the whole operation," he said. "It's not just a TV station anymore."

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Comments

[Robert Cyr]

About the 12 pack of pepsi going to an 8 pack, they still charge the same price, thats not right

[mike bailey]

cow bells they are hard to find but you can get a cow bell at the tractor supply store not rays bells but cow bells hope this helps people looking. go rays!!!!!!!!

[Ann Still]

Sunstar ambulance services are operated by Pinellas County. Why do I mail my payment to a P O Box in Tampa? Can't anyone in Pinellas County collect fees?