Why Are There No All-News Stations in Red States?

[MikefromDelaware]

I realize that I'm in the minority about not wanting to watch or listen to the "if it bleeds it leads" stories. For that reason, I rarely watch local TV news other than the Wilmington PBS Channel that does a local Delaware newscast. I also do not watch the network news, but prefer The News Hour on PBS. I do listen to radio news both local and radio networks, but do prefer the NPR newscasts to the hyped up (Starbucks induced) newscasts of some commercial stations. I realize that the "Action News" format on TV, at least in the Philly market has been a winner for 20+ years. So the majority do seem to prefer the blood and guts stories.

The only small town NPR station that I can recieve in my area sometimes is the Salisbury MD, affilate that plays Classical Music with NPR hourly news and local news. Based on the couple of times I've heard their local newscasts, it seems to be OK, but as NPR stations in small towns probably have very tight budgets I could understand how their news staff's would be less experienced and have less resources available to them than the metro NPR affiliates. Sort of like the small town TV newscasts that also seem so ametur as compared to the major market TV stations. Those are the learning grounds for the next generation of radio/TV reporters.

 

[justareporter]

I was brought up in the "eyewitness news" format...telling stories through people. It is not so much about blood and guts but telling people what happened in their day. By definition that is anomaly. A newscast full of "good News" gets no viewers....stations have tried and failed. No one cares.

It appears as though NPR runs everything through a prozac sieve. Once any and all emotion have been removed they'll broadcast it. fact is, life is in large part about how we fell and how we think and to cull out part is just silly.

Small market TV is getting better all the time (some is even better in terms of journalism than larger markets) whereas I have heard little to no improvement in most small market NPR affils....that I have heard.

Too bad radio news is a dying art.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Well we do live in a very visual society. Radio is at a disadvantage there. People want to see what is happening even more so today than ever before. One radio station in Wilmington, WDEL, even airs a video newscast on their station's website. Their radio newsreporters no longer go to a news story with a taperecorder for sound, they instead lug a video camera equipped for sound so that they can get the visual and the sound. Obviously they can only use the sound on the radio, but they have the video and sound for their video newscast.

I'd agree that radio news is a dying art as the demand for it continues to decline, especially in the U.S. With internet and television both there to provide the day's news with both picture and sound, most folks will opt for the visual over just radio for news. My guess is most people are using radio mostly when in their cars. When they get home on goes the TV or the Internet. You may not like NPR, (be it their programming or political views) but they at least are attempting to keep radio a viable force in news, talk, comedy, quiz shows, drama, and even a live musical variety show with Garison Keeler. No other radio network is doing all that. They at least are making the effort. I say hats off to them and keep it up.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I'd agree that radio news is a dying art as the demand for it continues to decline, especially in the U.S. With internet and television both there to provide the day's news with both picture and sound, most folks will opt for the visual over just radio for news.

I basically agree with most of what you just posted. I do want to key off of this part of what you said with something of a challenge. Some people absorb best, learn best, through visual means. Some people abosorb best, learn best through aural means. A company that puts all of its employee communications into writing does a dis-service to some of its employees. A company that call meetings and explains everything orally does a dis-service to those who need to see it visually to wrap their brain around it. Churches fall into the same trap. Labor unions have this problem. Political parties and lobbyist need to recognize this phenomina.

I would propose to you that if radio has problems today, and I would suggest that it does, it may be that the inability or unwillingness of those who manage the business of radio, those who manufacture the sounds of radio, don't recognize or think very often about this people-trait.

The natural watershed that feeds into the stream that turns radio's waterwheel has to be people who need to HEAR it if they are going to absorb it. Someone point me to the radio station where that concept is obviously framed and on the cubicle walls of the people who make it work. I want to experience and study their product!

 

[ajhenderson]

Mike, most radio listening is outside of the car, although you might be right about radio news being limited to those with no better options. Personally, however, I can't stomach the local news, and haven't watched a network (or cable news) newscast since all three anchors were different.

 

[genius]

CFFR Calgary

Here's the small list of All-News radio stations, all owned by CBS except for WTOP, KOMO, KQV and the Canadian stations. And all of them except in LA, Pittsburgh and Montreal are among their market's top AM stations.

Don't forget the station CFFR in Calgary they are an all news radio station in one of Canada's most conservative areas.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

There are almost no "all news" stations left anywhere. Even most of the stations listed at the top of this thread are not all news, all the time (24/7) any more. They carry ballgames. They run talk, advice or even brokered shows evenings, overnights and weekends.

Most news/talk stations once did a mix of news blocks and talk shows (hence the name), with news blocks in morning and/or afternoon drive and often middays, too (like was was described in Wilmington which seems to be something of an anachronism). Now stations claim to be "news/talk" because they talk about news (more accurately politics). Most have minimal news departments or out-source their news (which they get from Metro Networks or a local TV station).

All News was always an expensive and personnel-intensive format. You needed people to do it. Both AP and NBC tried to do a service to make All News affordable (national feed with local cut-ins) and both gave up. Stations can take audio from CNN Headline News but since they started running talk instead of all news, all the time, most radio affiliates have dropped out and flipped. Even on TV, the so-called news networks have become far more talk than news. Maybe not many people (who aren't already listening to NPR) really want news on the radio. Maybe people prefer talk; certainly they listen longer to it.

For the record, Denver used to have an all news station (I worked there). News 24/7 and all of it locally produced (except for network TOH news and features). Possibly some of the other "red" markets mentioned have had all news, as well. All the current all (or mostly) news stations have been so for a long time. It may be possible to keep one going but not to start one in today's radio climate. Audience for news radio has been shrinking and aging (although if PPM ever gets off the ground, it may turn out that more people check in with newsradio than wrote it down in their diaries).

Why do all news? You can do syndicated talk a lot cheaper? And with all news you have to sell a lot of avails to get in the black and radio is becoming a much tougher sell.

 

[amfmsw]

Mike DE...

You're partially right. But Philly's Action News on Ch6 is nearly 40 years old, not 20. Hell, just listen to the theme music..it screams 1967...and is in MONO!!

Beginning with the moving out of Gunnar Back and moving-in fresh face Larry Kane as anchor, "Action News" is still #1. I disagree about all of the "blood 'n guts" though. It's #1 because they have a solid, guy-down-the-street staff. The reporters and anchors are relateable, and they tend to hand around with some on staff since the '70's.

They're community involvement is textbook and a standard for all other broadcast operations to live up to.

As far as News Stations in "Red" states, communities define what formats are needed to serve their needs. Here in NJ, we have no News stations because the South is served by KYW in Philly, North is served by WINS and WCBS in NYC. The community doesn't need one. Although WKXW comes close, and does an excellent job.

 

[Don62]

ommunities define what formats are needed to serve their needs. Here in NJ, we have no News stations because the South is served by KYW in Philly, North is served by WINS and WCBS in NYC. The community doesn't need one. Although WKXW comes close, and does an excellent job.

Have to disagree with that one.
Today, it's the broadcasting companies that determine what formats are offered, not necessarily the listeners.
Take Tampa. There is not one "talk" station that has a local daily call-in talk show, and only one (WWBA) that has a morning drive show that features calls (WFLA's great a.m. show is news and interviews, but no calls except for contests).

I think many listeners would like local interaction and more compelling programming than that slanted Hannity mouthing off about how people of the opposite political persuasion are like responsible for all the evils in the world...

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Mike, most radio listening is outside of the car,

Isn't morning and afternoon drive the "prime time" slots in radio? Surely that's because that's when most people are listening as they drive to or from work. Sure people have a radio on while at work, but that's more passive listening and not all folks have a radio at work. Since the mid 1950's radio lost out to TV at night, so I'd be surprised that more people listen to the radio at some other place than in their car.

 

[amfmsw]

DON,

You're right of course. It is always the owners that determine format. BUT, if in Tampa, your exapmle, someone with smarts puts on a BETTER talk format, or News, the listeners will ultimately decide it fate. The dollars will follow the better effort. That's what I think I meant to say.

And yes, LOCAL content is best, but you can't always get that level of quality to be local and live 24/7.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

Mike, most radio listening is outside of the car,

Isn't morning and afternoon drive the "prime time" slots in radio? Surely that's because that's when most people are listening as they drive to or from work. Sure people have a radio on while at work, but that's more passive listening and not all folks have a radio at work. Since the mid 1950's radio lost out to TV at night, so I'd be surprised that more people listen to the radio at some other place than in their car.

Surprise! According to Abritron, 43% of news-talk-information listeners during morning and afternoon drive are in cars.

 

[genius]

Denver all news?

Julius Leonard Marx,

Which station did you work at? I lived in the Denver in the late 80s and early 90s working at KCNC but I don't recall a station being all news. Please help my ailing memory out!

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

Re: Denver all news?

Julius Leonard Marx,

Which station did you work at? I lived in the Denver in the late 80s and early 90s working at KCNC but I don't recall a station being all news. Please help my ailing memory out!

KBTR 710

 

[ajhenderson]

Mike, most radio listening is outside of the car,

Isn't morning and afternoon drive the "prime time" slots in radio? Surely that's because that's when most people are listening as they drive to or from work. Sure people have a radio on while at work, but that's more passive listening and not all folks have a radio at work. Since the mid 1950's radio lost out to TV at night, so I'd be surprised that more people listen to the radio at some other place than in their car.

Surprise! According to Abritron, 43% of news-talk-information listeners during morning and afternoon drive are in cars.

Not everyone is in an office during the (entire) day. Sales people, drivers, people who work in factories at night, etc. The majority of these workers are male, which is the majority of news/talk listenership.

 

[markwooldridge]

Well All-News was tried in Greensboro at one point. We had WXII-830 AM- simulcasting WXII-12 TV news when it was on and AP Network News when they weren't. Plenty of PSAs populated that station. WXII just couldn't make the AM pay by doing all news so it got sold to a religious broadcaster.

If you were looking at numbers though: WXII-AM got 1-2 market share often. Its replacement, WTRU hasn't even shown up in the numbers. But even the TV-Simulcast and the straight-from-feed AP Network News didn't bring in the $$$ that the station owners wanted.. so to the religious broadcasters 830AM went.

 

[justareporter]

So from what I read Greensborro didn't have an all-news station....it had network news and local TV news on a radio station.

That's not radio news or a radio NT.

That takes money, time and patience...none of which owners seem to have these days.

 

[quadraphonic]

Yeah Pulitzer (or was it Hearst then) gave up on 830 as an all-news station too soon.
And they didn't seem to put much effort into it even before they sold it out.

There was more of a broader news/talk effort when they tried WETR "Entertainment Talk Radio" but they didn't try that long either.