{{Short description|Journalism term referring to content that is not time-sensitive}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}} Within the context of journalism and broadcasting, '''evergreen''' content is content that is not time-sensitive. Evergreen content does not rely on current events; thus, an evergreen story can be prepared, then mothballed until it is needed to fill time on a slower news day or on a holiday when fewer journalists are on duty. The term is derived from evergreen trees.

==Journalism== An evergreen news magazine has more flexibility in production, not having to be produced on a set time frame; instead of producing a new newscast every day or week, a show consisting of evergreen content can produce several episodes at once and release them in sequence. In contrast, such content is not as responsive to breaking developments.<ref>Gleiser, Paul. [http://www.ktbb.com/news/View.php?ArticleID=23377 What happened to Paul Harvey at 7:30 each morning?]. KTBB news release. Undated. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713173259/http://www.ktbb.com/news/View.php?ArticleID=23377 |date=July 13, 2011 }}</ref> Feature stories and human interest stories are usually evergreen.<ref name="pro feature writing">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TLeRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|title=Professional Feature Writing|last=Garrison|first=Bruce|date=April 4, 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135676773|pages=13–16|language=en}}</ref> The term is also used for long-lasting content in marketing materials and advertising.<ref name="marrs">{{cite news|url=https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/10/16/guide-to-evergreen-content-marketing |title=What is Evergreen Content? |last=Marrs |first=Megan |date=December 19, 2017 |work=Wordstream |access-date=July 5, 2019}}</ref>

==Television== Evergreen television shows are ideal for reruns. ''Seinfeld'', for example, has been one of the most successful sitcoms in off-network syndication for over two decades,<ref name="craw20170208">{{Cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2017/02/08/steve-bannon-is-still-making-money-from-seinfeld-reruns/ |title=Steve Bannon is still making money from 'Seinfeld' reruns |last=Craw |first=Victoria |date=February 8, 2017 |work=The New York Post |access-date=September 7, 2017}}</ref> as its observational comedy did not rely on pop culture references that could become dated. Garry Marshall often set his shows in the near-past, such examples including ''Happy Days'' and its spinoff ''Laverne & Shirley'', on the suggestion of one of his producers, Thomas L. Miller, who noted that shows that are somewhat old or retro to begin with and become popular hits do not lose their popularity or freshness as years pass.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTDz6nDJh2E&t=1m42s Garry Marshall discusses creating Happy Days] with EmmyTvLegends.org (posted to YouTube on July 13, 2012)</ref> Both shows went on to have a long afterlife in syndication; ''That '70s Show'', a Carsey-Werner sitcom, followed a similar concept and lasted several years in reruns.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/arts/television/12hoch.html?_r=0|title=Even Those 70's Kids Should Have Seen It Coming|quote=Like 'Happy Days', 'That 70's Show' blends smart comedy with light social commentary.|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 12, 2006|last1=Hochman|first1=David}}</ref> In contrast, ''Murphy Brown'', a show of similar longevity and popularity from the same era as ''Seinfeld'', was a syndication failure in part because of its frequent reliance upon current events of the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|first=Alan|last=Pergament|url=http://buffalonews.com/2018/01/25/english-is-back-with-murphy-brown-revival-that-fits-political-climate/|title=English is back with 'Murphy Brown' revival that fits political climate|work=The Buffalo News|date=January 25, 2018|access-date=January 25, 2018|quote=The attention to current events – which became old – is one of the reasons that "Murphy Brown" was never as big in syndication as expected.}}</ref>

A show's evergreen status can also be grounds for cancellation once it has built up a backlog of episodes which can be continually re-run. After ''The Jerry Springer Show'' was cancelled in 2018, television analyst Bill Carroll remarked, "Realistically, I don't think the audience is able to look at the show and say, 'that's one from this year, or two years ago or four years ago.' It has become so homogenous".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/tv/2018/06/20/jerry-springer-stops-making-his-talk-show|title=Jerry Springer Has Stopped Making His Talk Show|last=Rice|first=Lynette|date=June 20, 2018|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=June 21, 2018}}</ref> Byron Allen regularly relies on keeping his shows evergreen to allow him to reduce the number of episodes he has to produce.<ref name="LA">{{cite news |last1=Battaglio |first1=Stephen |date=August 11, 2025 |title=Who will be late-night TV’s last man standing? Byron Allen takes his shot |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-08-11/byron-allen-comics-unleashed-cbs-late-night |access-date=August 12, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

==References== <references/>

{{journalism-stub}} Category:Journalism terminology