By that logic the average TV anchor is only on 48 minutes for a 8 hour shift. Why not just hub them out too.
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Allen Media lays off local TV weather staff
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
If the economics gets that bad just stop local news. Period.
In smaller markets they probably will.
They already have. My market (Mankato, MN #199 out of 210) has a mix of news now. Gray owns all the nets in Mankato (CBS, FOX, NBC and CW). A couple months ago Gray got rid of alot of folks in Mankato and gave us Rcohester, MN news (Gray owns NBC and FOX there). The only local news is at 5,6 and 10. Rochester news is morning, noon, and 9pm and all news on weekends. They recently did it in North Platte, Nebraska. The only local news there is at 6 & 10 on KNOP NBC. The other newscasts come from Lincoln from KSNB.
Scripps and Sinclair are beginning to get rid of anchors and just have reporters introduce their own stories. The VP of news for Graham stations is saying anchors that retire need not be replaced. The Tegna CEO is talking about AI newsrooms.
You just reminded me - KYOU in Ottumwa/Kirksville partnered with KCRG in Cedar Rapids, which is owned by Gray, to do their weather as of a few years ago. I don't know if there are other TV stations in Ottumwa or Kirskville that have staff meteorologists.
It will be the case in almost every small market across the country if it keeps up. Either with syndicated programming, The National Desk (Sinclair stations) or even AI newscasters, AI meteorologists and AI sports updates.
I hope not, but it is 2025, and more and more people aren't watching OTA/cable TV anymore. My guess is Reed Timmer gets more viewers than TWC during a tornado outbreak?
IMO the main difference is that the anchors often are deeply involved in reporting the day's stories, every day.
If you drop a fresh journalism graduate from a far-off university into Fresno, without mentorship they will struggle for a while. The anchors and assignment editor help them make contacts and write an interesting and complete story. In a small market, you're always working with young reporters. Even in a larger market, usually the anchors/assignment editor will have a deeper connection to the market than a reporter who maybe has done their time in Rockford and Savannah but is new to Philadelphia.
There's only one other TV station, KTVO, which is owned by Sinclair. Otherwise, the Iowa side of the market is covered by Des Moines; the Missouri side is a patchwork among Kansas City, Columbia/Jeff City, or Hannibal/Quincy. I don't know if there's any sharing with other Sinclair stations, particularly KHQA Hannibal/Quincy or KRCG Jefferson City.
Mark, KTVO and KHQA started sharing newscasts in December as "Tri-States Trusted News." The ones I watched had the news anchors at the Kirksville studios and weather out of Quincy. There was a mix of stories from the two markets.
Thanks; I wish I could say I was surprised, especially considering how proud KTVO used to be of its news heritage, but I wasn't surprised.
The Kirksville-Ottumwa market is tiny, sparsely populated, and economically depressed. I wonder if, eventually, the Missouri counties will end up going to Hannibal-Quincy and the Iowa counties either to Des Moines or the Quad Cities.
I can see where in small adjacent markets, news will be consolidated. One station hub for 3 or 4 markets.
You're probably right, but that's likely to cause viewership to drop even more. People in city A will complain that it's all news from city B and vice versa. They'll watch another station or just stop watching.
But there are areas where there is no other option
Mankato all the stations are owned by Gray. So when they dropped the local news for morning and afternoon (see my previous post for more info) there is no other option for people unless they watch a different station via internet and some areas the internet isnt the greatest
That makes no sense. Aren't there statutory limits to how many TV stations (2, IIRC) can be owned in any market, and the maximum percentage of the audience (39%) that one company can command? How did Gray come to own the only four stations in Mankato? That's not a market, it's a monopoly.
I could see some stations doing what NBC North Dakota did when i lived in williston in 2005.
News originated in bismarck and there was like a 4-5 minute cut in for news and weather from some williston studios
News originated in bismarck and there was like a 4-5 minute cut in for news and weather from some williston studios
can AI do non stop coverage that pre-empts primetime?
Simple
KEYC is CBS on -1 and Fox on -2
KMNF-LD is NBC on -1 and CW on -2
They are legally allowed to own both as subchannels don’t count and KMNF is low powered so doesn’t count.
Legally they can’t own two full powered stations. You can own a full powered and a low powered station. Until 2020 Mankato was just a one station market (KEYC). When Gray bought KEYC they added a low powered station with NBC and CW.
The small markets this is common.
Lima, Ohio big 4 is owned by same company by same setup (NBC on Fox on big station, ABC and CBS on low powered).
Parkersburg, WV same thing. NBC on full powered, CBS and Fox on two low powered stations. Gray owns them.
Presque Isle, Maine same Gray setup. CBS on-1 and Fox on -2 WAGM and NBC on low powered station.
North Platte, Nebraska they own NBC, Fox and CBS (NBC on full powered, the other 2 on low powered)
That’s how stations get around the rules. Either they move a network to a subchannel or a low powered station. Sinclair is notorious for the first option.
In Mankato cable gives you Minneapolis stations due to fcc rules (they are considered significantly viewed). Satellite gives you ABC from Minneapolis.
While it may sound crappy but other than news I don’t mind as I am antenna only and pre-Gray ownership all we had was CBS and Fox. Now we have Ion and Oxygen also on KEYC and NBC, CW and the365 on KMNF-LD
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