Stock Market Reports

[JerryStevens]

Has anyone conducted any recent research that shows that people need hourly, or even daily, stock market reports?

It seems to me that anyone who is that obsessive about the current Dow Jones Industrial Average (i.e. neurotic investors) would be checking online.

At 3:00pm today, ABC News reported in their TOH that the DJIA was "down 1". An hour later, I'm told it is "down 10". Since the Dow is at about 10,600, it is a mere technicality to say that it is down at all. It is essentially flat, since it's less than a percent and in any event, will just as likely make it up in another hour. The Dow is at about the same level as it was in January. The ups and downs between then and now are of little consequence to anyone.

Does anyone care about this? Why do they still do it? Mayber pre-internet it was worth something to somebody but now?<P ID="signature">______________
Jerry

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts" - late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan</P>

 

[doc9464]

> Has anyone conducted any recent research that shows that
> people need hourly, or even daily, stock market reports?
>
> It seems to me that anyone who is that obsessive about the
> current Dow Jones Industrial Average (i.e. neurotic
> investors) would be checking online.
>
> At 3:00pm today, ABC News reported in their TOH that the
> DJIA was "down 1". An hour later, I'm told it is "down 10".
> Since the Dow is at about 10,600, it is a mere technicality
> to say that it is down at all. It is essentially flat, since
> it's less than a percent and in any event, will just as
> likely make it up in another hour. The Dow is at about the
> same level as it was in January. The ups and downs between
> then and now are of little consequence to anyone.
>
> Does anyone care about this? Why do they still do it? Mayber
> pre-internet it was worth something to somebody but now?

I havent done any extensive research but you make an excellent point. With the advent of day-trading via online sources and an increase in electronic training...i know of few day traders or stock traders who would count on anything from the networks. While there are many many companies that provide "real time quotes" most of that data is licensed or purchased from News providers like Bloomberg and of course Reuters. Real time quotes are available on Reuters.com or Bloomberg.com. Some people have to watch for delayed information on a web site...a lot of websites can provide delayed quotes (20 mins or more) for free or for a very low cost...so one has to make sure its clear that the data is real time. the data the newscasters speak of on radio are already out of date when spoken on the air.

The radio part is interesting as both vendors have moved from radio delivery in remote locations to Satellite/Internet for update delivery of many of the trades...there are still remote locations all over the world that use radio to capture stock data from the vendors...it runs at a max of 9.6bps in the remote carribean locations or you can get the data on k-band satellite connections at higher speeds.
>

 

[JerryStevens]

> I havent done any extensive research but you make an excellent point.

It's actually subtext to a larger question: To what extent are programmers creatures of habit who air things for no other reason than they've always done it that way?

I have long been amazed at how many times I have asked program directors why they do things a certain way and they have no rationale whatsoever except that they will cite some nameless research they don't actually have a copy of.

To be fair, my experience with advertising sales managers is that they are even more hidebound and traditional than program directors.<P ID="signature">______________
Jerry

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts" - late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan</P>

 

[doc9464]

> I have long been amazed at how many times I have asked
> program directors why they do things a certain way and they
> have no rationale whatsoever except that they will cite some
> nameless research they don't actually have a copy of.

Media consolidation has stifiled creativity to a point where I dont believe its just an issue with program directors.....a lot of strategy in the industry is driven by fiscal success in the boardroom and stock market... rather than creative thinking....and its my opinion...but I think the flaws are beginning to show...

(for example ive seen a lot of upset people here about the new JACK format, this doesnt seem based out of creatavity..but out of saving $$$$$.....again my opinion...and I don't know enough on how the stations are flipped to the format but it seems lame)


> To be fair, my experience with advertising sales managers is
> that they are even more hidebound and traditional than
> program directors.

this i am quite familiar with.....and I couldn't agree more........Radio could use more clever marketing and advertising sales managers....commercials are tired ....sometimes I really enjoy some the PSA's better....now that hurts ...LOL....lack of originality and risk...due to too much focus on the bottom line again hurts here too (my opinion).

 

[JerryStevens]

Warning! Severe thread drift.

"Media consolidation has stifiled creativity to a point where I dont believe.
its just an issue with program directors.....a lot of strategy in the industry is driven by fiscal success in the boardroom and stock market... rather than creative thinking....and its my opinion...but I think the flaws are beginning to show..."

I've worked for single station owners and I've worked for Clear Channel and Entercom. I didn't see too much change from a programming perspective, not because bureaucracies aren't capable of doing damage, but because consultants had already flattened the radio landscape. Worrying that consolidated radio companies might impose conformity on radio stations after consultants reduced formats to mere templates is like worrying about hand grenades after B1 bombers have decimated a city. It's not that they're evil or unimaginative, although some I've worked with are both, it's that people who owe a lot of money are averse to risk. So they hire consultants to impose standards to protect their assets. A consultant will prevent a horrible program director from doing anything really stupid, but he will also prevent an excellent program director from doing anything really brilliant.

"Radio could use more clever marketing and advertising sales managers....

My thoughts are more radical than that. I believe that traditional radio advertising is a mature business and the executives should be working to cut the huge transaction costs. Instead, they throw money at the sales departments hoping to increase the top line while programming is relatively starved for capital. The true cost of sales is astronomical.

due too much focus on the bottom line again hurts here too (my opinion).

You can't get away from the bottom line. The question is: What is your investment horizon? For publicly traded radio companies, it's this quarter. The difficulty in managing for the long-term is that it can become a manager's excuse for nonperformance. I'm not as hard on radio executives as most. It's easy to kibitz from the sidelines. Those are tough jobs. <P ID="signature">______________
Jerry

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts" - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Moynihan">late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan</a></P>

 

[jh]

> > Has anyone conducted any recent research that shows that
> > people need hourly, or even daily, stock market reports?
> >
> > It seems to me that anyone who is that obsessive about the
>
> > current Dow Jones Industrial Average (i.e. neurotic
> > investors) would be checking online.
> >
> > At 3:00pm today, ABC News reported in their TOH that the
> > DJIA was "down 1". An hour later, I'm told it is "down
> 10".
> > Since the Dow is at about 10,600, it is a mere
> technicality
> > to say that it is down at all. It is essentially flat,
> since
> > it's less than a percent and in any event, will just as
> > likely make it up in another hour. The Dow is at about the
>
> > same level as it was in January. The ups and downs between
>
> > then and now are of little consequence to anyone.
> >
> > Does anyone care about this? Why do they still do it?
> Mayber
> > pre-internet it was worth something to somebody but now?
>

I think it's probably habit, and sometimes ABC seems to do it right before the spot or right at the end of the cast as fill so it times out right. I would agree anyone who really has an interest in the market isn't relying on ABC top of the hour news for market information.

 

[regionear]

Couldn't the same be said for....

> > > Has anyone conducted any recent research that shows that
>
> > > people need hourly, or even daily, stock market reports?

>
> I think it's probably habit, and sometimes ABC seems to do
> it right before the spot or right at the end of the cast as
> fill so it times out right. I would agree anyone who really
> has an interest in the market isn't relying on ABC top of
> the hour news for market information.
>

Weather (the Weather Channel and websites)

Sports (sports stations, ESPN, and websites)

Traffic (online and even signs on the roads)

And for that matter NEWS (CNN, Fox News, and websites)....

Really all of the "sevice" elements are just "ear candy" and are mostly used to "appear" that the spectrum of news and information is being covered....also these elements provide the only local content on LOTS of stations.

I would say that a LONG and carried out stock market report is outdated....but ABC using it to fill the cast just makes it seem like more is being covered...