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Financial News Getting Worse for Local Station Owners

T

Teddyo

E.W. Scripps, owners of KNXV, ABC15, announced they lost $220 million in their 1st Quarter.

Revenue for their local tv stations, which include ABC15, was down 22% from last year (and that was a bad year.) 15 has historically been one of their poorer performing local stations.

E.W. Scripps (stock now at $1.69) announced they are cutting salaries, eliminating bonuses, and freezing company pension plans. On the print side, you probably know that Scripps, in desperation, closed down their Rocky Mountain News in Denver in late February. The newspaper had operated for 150 years.

Times are tough in old media land and it will likely get worse. Lots of rumors flying that E.W. Scripps is getting ready to break up the company.
 
Any specific reason for the TV problems?

Offhand, I'd say ABC probably has the weakest network lineup. I can think of only one show I watch regularly on ABC.
 
landtuna said:
Offhand, I'd say ABC probably has the weakest network lineup. I can think of only one show I watch regularly on ABC.
Click to expand...

I don't think the Network is to blame in this case. In the "money" demo ABC has 6 of the Top 20 shows in Phoenix. That's more than any other network...FOX and NBC only have 5, CBS and Univision each have 2. Plus ABC's biggest shows (Grey's Anatomy, Dancing With The Stars, etc) tend to do VERY well with women.
 
landtuna said:
Any specific reason for the TV problems?

Offhand, I'd say ABC probably has the weakest network lineup. I can think of only one show I watch regularly on ABC.
Click to expand...

Across the country, NBC is currently the weakest of the four major TV networks. Although, KPNX seems to be bucking the trend and actually holding steady in the ratings (the Cardinals making the Super Bowl - which was on NBC - probably helped too).

Don't forget that Phoenix was one of the hardest hit markets of the recession, and there has got to be some hurting at the local stations right now.
 
Since Michael Hagarty went to work for ABC15, we haven't seen the news ratings for Phoenix. However, I've got to think that stations may generally have to pare back some more -- particularly ABC15 seems to have the largest reporting staff (at least when you compare websites) per hour of news broadcasted. On the other hand, perennial news leader 12 News seems to have one of the smallest news teams per hour of news broadcast.
 
This goes back to something I said earlier on another thread....

Why do TV station news directors feel the need to have a 'reporter' (and, I assume, a sound guy, tech truck and someone back at the station receiving their feed) in front of the local courthouse reporting on a trial when the video has absolutely nothing adding to the story? Same with weather reports, car crashes and interviews with the latest dumbski on the block.

If the station were in a financial squeeze wouldn't it make more sense to return to the 'old days' where a talking head reports from the station news desk and leaves the remotes to really important stories?

TV seemed at one time to have something to prove in news reporting in the competition with radio. It doesn't any longer.
 
landtuna said:
Why do TV station news directors feel the need to have a 'reporter' (and, I assume, a sound guy, tech truck and someone back at the station receiving their feed) in front of the local courthouse reporting on a trial when the video has absolutely nothing adding to the story?
Click to expand...

Or worse--at 10pm standing in front of a darkened courthouse, state capitol,
or other "real important-looking" building where something may have happened
six or eight hours earlier.

It's called "live just to be live" (review chapter 14 in TV News 101).

Why? Because it's way much sexier than the anchor reading it, and still sexier
than tossing to a reporter in the newsroom, or--what's the latest buzz phrase--
the "content center" (?) on the news set. Just phony glitz.

Think "high-speed sports wire" on steroids.

And it's been going on for upwards of 30 years now, since your Eyewitless News
Team got its first live truck.
 
Doesn't that just come back to the viewing public, though? I'm assuming that most people posting in this forum appreciate no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point, hard news, but how many people do you encounter that think that "live to be live" is a good thing because it makes them feel connected to the story? And Fox is probably the biggest offender, with their graphics and video game sound effects that add nothing to the story but time. I first saw/heard that in their sports coverage and it drove me nuts. But I figured I must be in the minority; when it comes to opinions, I usually am.

Face it, glitz sells, and not just in TV news. It's an Oprah world; we just get to live in it.
 
I must agree that newscasts have gone overboard with graphics and sound effects. (Cue the ominous music when talking about grim news from Iraq.) In addition, some anchors -- particularly in the am -- tend to talk too much and overemote. The anchor is there to present the story, not to react personally to the emotional stories.

On the other hand, the new graphics and music save us from the overly long newscast introductions of the 80's: Cue the news theme, show a shot of the downtown area (must be a night show with tall buildings in it), show the state capitol building, mix in a nature shot at the local state park, show a traffic shot on the freeway and don't forget the reporter running toward the copter, then it's "Live from the KXYZ studios in downtown ...., Joe Henderson, Marge Hill, Bob Jones sports, and Tom Sikorsky weather, THIS is KXYZ Eyewitness Action Newscenter Newswatch 12 at 6!"
 
formeraa said:
On the other hand, the new graphics and music save us from the overly long newscast introductions of the 80's: Cue the news theme, show a shot of the downtown area (must be a night show with tall buildings in it), show the state capitol building, mix in a nature shot at the local state park, show a traffic shot on the freeway and don't forget the reporter running toward the copter, then it's "Live from the KXYZ studios in downtown ...., Joe Henderson, Marge Hill, Bob Jones sports, and Tom Sikorsky weather, THIS is KXYZ Eyewitness Action Newscenter Newswatch 12 at 6!"
Click to expand...

Don't forget the naming of every hick-town in the market, one by one in 1/2-second intervals, right before the long-shot of the entire anchor team thumbing through their copy (maybe they didn't have the pages in order) or jabbering about where they were going for a beer after the newscast.

Remember..."When you're good, you get watched." ;D
 
dhett said:
Face it, glitz sells, and not just in TV news. It's an Oprah world; we just get to live in it.
Click to expand...

Maybe you're right. Just wait until one of the blow-dried talking heads changes their hair style and the switchboard lights up with comments.
 
formeraa said:
On the other hand, the new graphics and music save us from the overly long newscast introductions of the 80's: Cue the news theme, show a shot of the downtown area (must be a night show with tall buildings in it), show the state capitol building, mix in a nature shot at the local state park, show a traffic shot on the freeway and don't forget the reporter running toward the copter, then it's "Live from the KXYZ studios in downtown ...., Joe Henderson, Marge Hill, Bob Jones sports, and Tom Sikorsky weather, THIS is KXYZ Eyewitness Action Newscenter Newswatch 12 at 6!"
Click to expand...

Good point. So then, what are you trying to say? That the "good old days" were just old? :)
 
formeraa said:
In addition, some anchors -- particularly in the am -- tend to talk too much and overemote. The anchor is there to present the story, not to react personally to the emotional stories.
Click to expand...

Especially when a story is prefaced with "we have some sad news this morning..."
But of course that's the anchor showing he/she is involved with the news.


On the other hand, the new graphics and music save us from the overly long newscast introductions of the 80's: Cue the news theme, show a shot of the downtown area (must be a night show with tall buildings in it), show the state capitol building, mix in a nature shot at the local state park, show a traffic shot on the freeway and don't forget the reporter running toward the copter, then it's "Live from the KXYZ studios in downtown ...., Joe Henderson, Marge Hill, Bob Jones sports, and Tom Sikorsky weather, THIS is KXYZ Eyewitness Action Newscenter Newswatch 12 at 6!"
Click to expand...

Now we're all trying to figure out which market this was. ;D

Let's see, there is a KXYZ in Houston, but it's 1320 AM ("muy reverb radio"), and the
nearest channel 12 is in San Antonio.

I don't recognize the news team, although maybe Tom Sikorsky should have been
the guy running toward the chopper. ;)

Alternately, you could have had a shot of a reporter and photog running...if they
didn't run they'd miss the beginning of that extremely important staged presser
where the idiot mayor holds up a glass of water from the municipal system, then
drinks it as he assures everyone it's tasty and good! ::)

BTW, the official jock speak back then (and is still the case, I believe) would be
"Bob Jones on sports."
 
Maybe it's time for ABC15 to relinquish its "Weather Rate Most Accurate Forecast" certification, which stations PAY to claim (it's the J.D. Power awards for weather forecasting). That should save them a few dollars.
 
Eric Stein said:
Maybe it's time for ABC15 to relinquish its "Weather Rate Most Accurate Forecast" certification, which stations PAY to claim (it's the J.D. Power awards for weather forecasting). That should save them a few dollars.
Click to expand...

That, or does one of these stations give up doing news entirely? If that happens, which station is the first to pull the trigger? 3TV? Fox10?
 
Wait...I forgot that you have to dwell on the picture of each newsteam member for several seconds and they have to be seriously looking at copy or pretending to type something on their typewriter.

A bit of trivia: A female anchor in Seattle went "missing" for a few weeks. Supposedly, she stormed out of the newsroom after a dispute of some kind. There was a quote of another newsteam member, "I don't know why she left. She has the best typewriter in the newsroom." :D

For the younger posters, a typewriter was the predecessor to the computer and printer. You've probably seen one in a museum somewhere. ;)
 
KOHS said:
That, or does one of these stations give up doing news entirely? If that happens, which station is the first to pull the trigger? 3TV? Fox10?
Click to expand...

Most likely, a scenario will likely be similar to my prediction from last month, which was KTVK and KPHO merging its news departments, then KPHO pulling the plug on early morning news, replacing it with a fast-paced traffic/weather/pre-recorded headline loop, and KTVK dropping its midday show (and possibly part of its evening report).

I don't see 10 getting out of the news business at all. Aren't they still ahead of KTVK at 9pm by the strength of the FOX lead-in? They can go ahead and cut the 6pm and 10pm show, but would be best leaving everything else alone.
 
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