How important is local to you?

[Holland Cooke]

Hey, what's "a TV station" now? Or "a newspaper?"

Look for more do-it-yourselfers to fill-in holes in broadcasters and publishers' coverage.

Example: http://www.westportnow.com/ (by ex-CBS-er Gordon Joseloff), a very-well-done hyper-local news portal.

The old gag was that "Freedom of The Press was the right of anyone who owned one."
Now EVERYBODY owns one.
Using the software that came pre-installed on your computer, you can produce audio, video, text, whatever.

As, as that example demonstrates, these small-is-beautiful projects can work for a geography like Cape Cod.
http://newsofstjohn.com is published by someone-who-worked-for-me at WTOP and USA Today, and owns property in the USVI.
Same idea.

See a hole?
Fill it!

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

For today's Cape Cod, I think a low-power TV station could also be part of the mix, provided that overhead was low enough, and they were able to get carried on all of the Cape's Cable-TV systems.

But a full-power TV station?......Not a chance.

This is basically the argument that the original licensees of VHF Channel 6, Martha's Vineyard had put in front of the FCC in the late 50's/early 60's. The FCC agreed with that argument, and changed the license to the nearest mainland city (New Bedford), and, after some short-spacing issues were resolved with co-channel TV stations in upstate New York, and Maine, the transmitter was allowed to be moved to Tiverton, RI.

The rest...as they say...is history.

 

[necrat123]

OK A couple of points to be made, backing what Dighton stated.

1) Cape cod DOES in fact have it's own FULL POWER TV station. Channel 58.1,2,3,4 (Digital 40), and while it carries ION television, it is still a full powered station.
2) What does driving distance have to do with radio signals? New Bedford is a lot closer to Rehoboth air miles than driving miles. See my point? The mileage for markets in US is based on Air Miles, not driving miles.
3) Even if the cape was to form it's own market, it would be a very small TV market. Small TV Market = Low Ad Revenue. Do you know how much it costs to launch a full fledge news operation? It would be absolutley cost prohibitive, other than to do something like 5 minute cut ins. (Which even then is rediculous)
4) In the winter time, when a lot of the seasonal places close, you can forget about that ad revenue.
5) New England viewership habits are very stubborn. Residents on the cape now watch Boston news, they are used to watching Boston news, and even if a local station were to launch today, you would not get a lot of viewers to change from watching the Boston newscasts.

So the point is, the Cape becoming it's own TV market is absurd. Maybe 40 years ago? It would make more sense, but not today.

 

[Skynet74]

1) Cape cod DOES in fact have it's own FULL POWER TV station. Channel 58.1,2,3,4 (Digital 40), and while it carries ION television, it is still a full powered station.

Great! After the Bankruptcy is complete the new owners should put some local news on the station. Thanks

 

[wknd92]

1) Cape cod DOES in fact have it's own FULL POWER TV station. Channel 58.1,2,3,4 (Digital 40), and while it carries ION television, it is still a full powered station.

Does it have any local origination programming?

 

[necrat123]

Does it have any local origination programming?

I don't believe so. Do any of the ION stations do? (outside of possible local 10pm newscasts)

Great! After the Bankruptcy is complete the new owners should put some local news on the station. Thanks

Read the rest of what I posted, and understand why this won't work. Thanks.

 

[Rick]

Mapquest - Providence to Hyannis 76 Miles / Boston to Hyannis 70 Miles
Bing Maps - Providence to Hyannis 75 Miles / Boston to Hyannis 70 Miles
Mapsonus - Providence to Hyannis 75 miles / Boston to Hyannis 70 Miles
Google - Providence to Hyannis 75 Miles / Boston to Hyannis 71 Miles

We're talking air miles here and not road miles... big difference. Is the above listed from those 4 sources actual air miles?

 

[Skynet74]

I don't know why everyone is talking air miles. I'm the one who started the thread. So I know which one I was talking about.

 

[wknd92]

I don't know why everyone is talking air miles. I'm the one who started the thread. So I know which one I was talking about.

Because TV/Radio signals don't stop to make a right on Rt 44 in Taunton

 

[Skynet74]

I don't know why everyone is talking air miles. I'm the one who started the thread. So I know which one I was talking about.

Because TV/Radio signals don't stop to make a right on Rt 44 in Taunton

That's nice. If you live in the Hamptons on Eastern Long Island I guess Providence is local to you since you can pick up WPRO there. Now do me a favor and get in your car and drive there. Tell me how local it feels after your 5 hour drive there and then your 5 hour drive back. Just because a radio signal goes somewhere, DOES NOT MAKE IT LOCAL. Anybody catching on yet?

This is why I am talking about ROAD MILES. So unless you own a helicopter.. I would think that road miles are what you use to figure out if something is LOCAL to you. Comprende?

 

[necrat123]

I can see what John is saying now. He's not talking about signal coverage more than he is localisim.

Providence TV signals come in at "local" strength in Norfolk county, Mass, but if you live in Norfolk county you don't consider yourself part of the Providence metro, you think of yourself as being in the Boston area...

 

[Skynet74]

I can see what John is saying now. He's not talking about signal coverage more than he is localisim.

Providence TV signals come in at "local" strength in Norfolk county, Mass, but if you live in Norfolk county you don't consider yourself part of the Providence metro, you think of yourself as being in the Boston area...

Oh Thank you. Someone finally understands me. I thought I was pretty clear with this from the start. Now I know how Holland must feel. I would put a smiley picture here if the emoticons wern't still broken.

 

[Holland Cooke]

"Dubba-yew"

"Local, local, local..."

Now I know how Holland must feel.

Don't be so sure.
After a couple hours in the dental chair, I'm wishing he gave me more-than "a local..."

In WHICH Denny's parking lot can I find Rush Limbaugh?

 

[Skynet74]

Re: "Dubba-yew"

"Local, local, local..."
In WHICH Denny's parking lot can I find Rush Limbaugh?

All of them!

 

[wknd92]

I don't know why everyone is talking air miles. I'm the one who started the thread. So I know which one I was talking about.

Because TV/Radio signals don't stop to make a right on Rt 44 in Taunton

John, which is my point exactly without the paranoia of thinking I'm bashing you.
Taunton, Freetown, Acushnet, Bellingham, Whitinsville, Somerset et al feel more of an affinity with Boston because they are in the same state as them as opposed to RI/Prov; the clear fact of the matter, though is that while newspapers travel by roads, Tv/Radio signals have no such boundaries, so while Providence Tv/Radio may pay more attention to a murder in New Beige or Fall Rive than Boston, the "home audience" in those locations may find wanting more Boston coverage (especially if at this point their cable system doesn't provide them w/ Providence stations (as some neighboring companies do not in terms of TV and poor recognition on the part of FR/NB stations to focus on their primary audience and keep bashing away at state/national topics).

 

[Skynet74]

John, which is my point exactly without the paranoia of thinking I'm bashing you.

Sorry.. I just think I misunderstood you.

 

[MissAM]

Live local radio is like the old Mom and Pop stores which were driven out by the big chain stores, i.e. the satellite shows. Good to save a station owner $$$, but with all the same conservative drivel and the same advertisements, which is all you get on the satellite shows. Stand them on their heads and they all sound alike. One is forced to NPR to get the other view to try and find the truth somewhere inbetween!

 

[MissAM]

And, furthermore, once the small stations are gone or surviving by using satellite shows with little local avails, the only info we citizens will get will be distorted one sided funny men like Mr Savage whose reality is just a tad bit distorted, and whose ego is big enough to sink a cruise ship, and whose callers are shoe licking goons.

 

[LA_Guy]

Don Moore, the Cape Cod local who originally signed WQRC-FM on, brought it to number one and sold that station for 4.75 million dollars to build channel 58 on the Cape. He envisioned it as a completely local station with local news and sports, remotes, etc. He lost EVERY PENNY of his WQRC money and a lot of others' money too!

The cable company there refused to carry him and it ruined him. Later on, he bought 103.9 from Ed Perry (owner of WATD in Marshfield, MA and a very old friend of Don's) for essentially no money down. He made Ocean 103.9 a profitable, successful station, sold it, paid Ed and a few others back and retired, never to be heard from again.

Don knew the Cape backwards and forwards-and HE couldn't make local TV work there!

I highly doubt that anyone else can either.

 

[provgrays]

I think that stations underestimate the loyalty that local audiences have to local talent. It's practically a proverb that local radio is dead but who is making any effort to save it?