FBN’s New Web Show: “This is What TV Has to Become”

Fox Business Network’s new show takes place in the same, spacious HD studio used for “Hannity,” but the similarities end there. The NoonET program, “FOXBusiness.com Live” has a small crew (just two crew members on set), minimal camera movement…and it is entirely based on the Web. Jenna Lee and Connell McShane anchor the hour-long Web show, which places a major emphasis on viewer interaction. Lee and McShane, also the co-anchors of “Fox Business Morning,” use Twitter, Facebook, email and (soon) Skype to communicate with those watching on the Web. “This is about interaction,” FBN director of business news, Ray Hennessey, told us yesterday. “The whole purpose is to engage the audience.”

Hennessey and FBN’s SVP of operations Brian Jones watched the action yesterday when we visited the set from the control room. So far, they’re happy with the experiment. “We’re testing destination viewing on the Web,” said Hennessey.

Back on the set, guest John Rutledge (@johnrutledge) liked the idea. “This is what TV has to become,” he said. As for the rest of the Twitter’s, you can follow @FBNLive and @ConnellMcShane (but not @JennaLee yet).

After the show we caught up with Lee and McShane, who talked about audience interaction, lessons in Facebook and handling a show without commercial breaks:



Click continued to see some behind-the-scenes video of yesterday’s show…

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