Producer's Notebook: New CBS4 Show 'Together With Karen Leigh' Launches

DENVER (CBS4) - How do you start a show from scratch?

When our News Director Tim Wieland first approached me with the idea behind "Together with Karen Leigh," I was excited. What a perfect way to share important community stories and really live out our station brand.

But then, I got nervous. I've never launched a brand new show before. As the producer of the 6 p.m. newscast, I'm used to the more traditional news shows. We wanted to make sure this show felt different than a newscast. So where to begin?

We decided to take our inspiration from one of my favorite shows, "CBS Sunday Morning." It's the perfect blend of feature stories that are interesting and impactful, and the pace of the show feels right. "Sunday Morning" is already a part of my weekly viewing routine, but once I knew we'd be launching "Together with Karen Leigh," I started to watch it with a much different lens.

I watched "Sunday Morning" and asked myself, What makes this show different than a newscast? What is it about the pacing of the show that makes me feel relaxed and excited to watch?

I realized the biggest difference was the welcoming feel of "Sunday Morning." The slower pace. And of course, the quality of the storytelling.

With those distinctions in mind, I got to work. I wanted to make sure "Together" had the tone we liked -- but also felt like something new and different. I thought the best way to do that was to make sure we emphasized the community feel.

I got to work creating a rundown for the show. I picked some of my favorite Together 4 Colorado stories we've done, added some updates to past stories, put in a Community Calendar, and made sure to include some of my favorite Colorado pictures and showcase the state's beautiful scenery. The idea is to create a show that highlights what we all love about the state!

But getting a rundown together is only one part of the process. Behind the scenes, our production team set up new camera shots in the studio, the graphics department worked on making sure "Together" had its own distinct look, and our editors made sure every piece of video looked great.

With all that done, we were ready for our first practice show.

There's a reason they say "Practice makes perfect." After our first rehearsal, we realized we needed to make it feel less like a newscast. That wasn't easy for someone like me who is used to only producing newscasts. But that's where teamwork came in. There's a reason the show is called "Together" -- it took working together with everyone both on-air and off-air to get this show perfect!

After a few solid practice runs, we knew we were ready. What you'll see now is the hard work of dozens of people that took at least two months to produce.

We hope you enjoy the show as much as we do! One of the things we're most proud of is the community feel. So if you have an example of someone coming together in your community, or even just pictures of you and your family exploring our great state, send them our way! Just email Together4Colorado@cbs.com.