The State of the Local Media

The Enemy is Us

“The State of Local Media” was addressed by John Bridges, a senior editor with the Austin American-Statesman and I during Texas State University’s Mass Communications week Tuesday, October 20, 2009. Speaking to a packed lecture hall, we agreed, local media is in a state of flux.

I recorded the session moderated by Dr. Susan Weill. So, this will read something like an edited transcript of the first part of the 1 ¼ - hour give and take.

What is the state of the local Austin media? Bridges spoke first:

Because of the Internet and 24/7 cable, the local newspaper is publishing different stories now contrasted with just a few years ago, Bridges said.

“We know we can’t bring you the world like we used to. We don’t need to. Today, on most days you’ll set three or four locally-produced stories on the front page. Not very long ago, there would have been maybe two stories. You can’t go to ESPN to get the same kind of local news that we have. The San Marcos paper can do San Marcos better than we can.”

“You own all but two of the surrounding local community papers. So, you’re also ‘hyper local’,” I interjected.

“Yes, it’s sort of a business strategy. It’s turned out to be fairly profitable as a news organization. There is not a huge overlap. There is not a lot of sharing of stories. They do their thing and we do our thing,” Bridges said.

“What you see now is that a little, bitty paper is doing well because it is really giving you the meat and potatoes news for its area. At the Statesman, we are writing stories of regional issue while the Westlake Picayune is doing stories about construction at an intersection that we would never touch.”

“The media business used to be a gold mine, because you were the only game in town,” said. “It was wonderful. What these small newspapers do—he said that they’re very successful in terms of revenue—is they create separate revenue streams.

“All of the media are trying to find ways of increasing revenue. The American Statesman has an incredible printing business. You’re probably the biggest print house in this part of the state, and they distribute stuff all the way to Colorado,” I continued. “They have a brand new packaging plant—They’re packaging up all of these little inserts and stuff that go into local papers. It’s all automated. People don’t do that anymore; machines do it.” [Only about 20-percent of the employees at the Austin American-Statesman are journalists working in the newsroom.]

“And, what’s happening in television? The same thing,” I continued. “This revenue problem that television stations and media in general has had has been going on—it has actually been building—for decades because of the technological advances, if nothing else. Cable television came along. It started small. Then, it just grew, grew, grew. Then came the Internet came along and became more pervasive all in your lifetime, IN YOUR LIFE TIME! [I was speaking of the current TSU students life times.]

“Let me stress that, IN YOUR LIFE TIME!!! This change is happening at a mercurial rate and some of its results are just as toxic as mercury,” I said.

The available audience is pie being cut into smaller and smaller pieces with digital channels, cable, and the Internet. “Each one of these TV stations is trying to make each one of these pieces as profitable as possible.” Local stations are using their sub channels in an attempt to tap into the growing Hispanic/Spanish speaking audience in Central Texas. They are hoping to bring in revenue streams from all of these.

“We are living in a time of flux right now. We’re in the middle, and there is no telling where this will go,” I concluded. Turning to Bridges I asked, “Can you answer where it’s going to go? I don’t know.”

“I think right now, we’re in fluxed,” Bridges said.

We were asked what are the biggest challenges facing news now.”

“It’s the business side of it. Our staff is getting smaller,” Bridges said.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“It’s because we don’t have as much money coming in,” Bridges replied. “For us, the big part of the revenue problem is classified advertising.” [It] used to be if you were having a garage sale or if you were looking for a certain type of job, that’s where you went [the newspaper]. Now, probably not, because the business has gone elsewhere to Craig’s List and online job sites and all that kind of stuff. “That’s down to a page or two a day. That was the equivalent of printing money for us. The Statesman remains profitable, so they tell us. [The Austin American Statesman is owned by Cox, a privately held company.] It’s making money. It’s just not making as much money as it used to.

There have been staff reductions at the Austin American-Statesman through attrition and buy-outs to save money. “Over all we’ve gone from a newsroom staff of 195 to 152, something like that,” Bridges said. “In the past two years as people go out the door. We say, “So long.”, and then we try to figure out how to do without them, and figure out what we don’t do anymore. To me, that is the biggest threat that if newspapers continue to slide in terms of a business model, then how long can they afford to keep all of around who are out chasing news and doing the news business. That’s the number one threat.”

“One of the threats is that every medium is being asked to do more with less,” I said. “You still have to put out the newspaper. You have a beast that has to be fed. It’s hungry every day, starting at 5 a.m., 6 a.m. You have to feed it at noon maybe and maybe at 4 O’clock, 5 O’clock, 6 O’clock, and 10 O’clock. The beast is hungry, and you have to feed it something, and if there is no news, you must think of something that looks and tastes, and feels like news, because the beast must be fed.

“Media has gotten away from enterprise. Media is doing the easy stuff. There is too much crime reporting. Why is it? Because it’s so easy. Is this really what we need to put out every day? Does it really affect your life? Probably not. There is too much crime, because it is easy. They’re doing more with less.” Stations are adding newscasts without increasing the size of the staff significantly because they want to create a new revenue streams. Without adequate staff, it is questionable whether the medium will have a product that the audience wants,” I said.

“This is an axiom: People (reporters and staff) = Content (Content is what you’re looking for, isn’t it?)=Audience=Money or revenue.”

If you cut your staff, you have fewer people to gather content, you are going to have less content. The audience is going to figure it out, and there is going to be fewer people in the audience; and therefore, you can’t charge as much for your commercials. What is your revenue going to do?” It goes down.

It thrust of the first third of the TSU session on “The State of the Media” was basically “I have seen the enemy, and it is us!”

© Jim McNabb, 2009

All You Want to Know About Mass Com in Four Days

Mass Com Week at TSU

Mass Communications is changing so rapidly that universities have been retooling for the past several semesters to address new media and its ramifications in the future. Meanwhile, traditional media still lingers although fewer and fewer people are in the more and more segmented audiences.

So, each year the Journalism and Mass Communications Department of Texas State University in San Marcos attempts to make sense of it all during Mass Communications Week. The 2009 Mass Communications Week is October 19-11 on the TSU campus. Panels and guest speakers are asked to foretell the future, but who could have made a successful prediction about the 2009 state of the art a decade or two decades ago? Research says consumers eagerly adopt new media, if it works, but they don’t in general immediately dispose of the traditional media. Audiences adapt and integrate the new media use with the “old”.

The use of traditional media may diminish over time. Look what has happened to the film camera. There are, however, some surprises. I don’t expect the return of 8-track tape players. Vinyl LPs (Long Playing records)—yes, the 33 1/3 discs spinning on a motor driven turntable are said to be making a come-back. Enthusiasts say there is a greater chance that the LPs will outlast CDs (Compact Discs). I’ve been encouraged to have my music pressed for preservation if nothing else.

Never the less, experts and others of all stripes will converge on the TSU campus next week carrying their crystal balls. Crystal balls break easily when dropped. The question-answer sessions at these events can be testy when skeptical students call theories into question. That’s all good. It’s in the name of education.

Some of the highlights:

Gary Vaynerchuk, author of “Crush It!” and host of “Wine Library TV”-“Making a Name for Yourself With Social Media”, speaks 3:30 p.m.-4:40 p.m. on October 21^st.

Brian Cuban, Dallas attorney—“The 1st Amendment, the Internet, and Hate Speech”, appears 2 p.m.-3:20 p.m. on October 21^st.

Patti Smith, President and GM of KVUE TV (ABC)—speaks on the “Past, Present, and Future of Television News”, 11a.m.-12:20 p.m. On October 20^th.

Daniel Pink, author of “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future”, will also speak Wednesday, Oct. 21st at 8 p.m. His talk, part of the university’s Common Experience program, and will discuss how creativity and innovation are the way of the future. It is also free and open to the public.

Many of the presentations are on nuts-and-bolts topics such as “Preparing for Entry-Level TV News Jobs” and “Using New Media to Keep Up with Changing Times”. Others are more forward thinking such as “Beyond Mad Men: Life in Today’s Ad Agency” and “Love/Hate Relationship Between Reporters and PR People”. Along with Kevin Benz, News 8 news director, John Bridges of the Austin American-Statesman, and I will grapple with the subject “State of Local Media”, 12:30-1:50 p.m. on October 20^th. It should be interesting. I’m not sure how to prepare for it.

These are just a few of a full four days of stimulating dialogue about Journalism and Mass Communications at Texas State University. Find much more information at www.txstatemcweek.com.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

New Political Reporters Bound for Austin

New or Traditional?

Labor Day is the unofficial start of the political season, and as sure as there is another Texas blue “norther” on the way, new journalists are making their journey to Austin to join with others in the Constitutional commitment of covering the capitol. Statistics show that there seem to be fewer members of the fourth estate as the years go by.

KVUE TV (ABC) News Director Frank Volpicella confirmed this afternoon that their new capitol reporter will be arriving in a few days. Martin Bartlett is coming to KVUE from El Paso ABC affiliate KVIA TV where he was a reporter and weekend morning anchor. Bartlett will replace Elise Hu who moved over to the Texas Trubune, a soon-to-be-launched news portal on the web covering politics and public policy.

Bartlett graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2005. CNN’s Kyra Phillips referred to Bartlett as “… our go-to-guy” when he was doing a live shot for them on the drug cartels operating across the border in Juarez.

Also leaving El Paso to cover the capital here in Austin is The El Paso Times education reporter Zahira Torres. Ms. Torres is a rarity. More and more, media outside of Austin rely on local reporters to cover here. If the story is big enough, an out-of-town crew may make the trip. The crews may use facilities at local news media to send the stories back home. If it as legislative story, television crews may shoot a ton of video and interview a host of people to keep “in the can” for possible use later.

More often than not in these lean days, the burden falls on Austin media to cover the stories. If the out-of-town media wants something the local media isn’t covering, they may hire free-lancers to get what they want.

Is that coverage, however? Or is it something that looks, tastes, feels, and smells like news. It is probably only what I call shallow “sound-bite” reporting of little value.

Politics matters in Austin. Close to 20-percent of Austinites work for the government. When the legislature is in session, those working in the service industries are directly affected. That’s why most media have beat reporters for the capitol and politics. Jenny Hoff at KXAN TV (NBC) probably has the longest tenure. News 8 has a brand new capitol reporter.
Karina Kling was the Williamson County bureau chief for News 8. Kevin Benz, News 8 news director, says Kling covered state capitol politics in Lincoln, Nebraska before coming to News 8. News 8 also calls on Capitol pundit Harvey Kronberg for analysis. Rudy Koski at Fox 7 has been around long enough to know the ropes. Alexis Patterson covered the capitol for KEYE TV (CBS) during the last session. She is no longer with the station.

According to the office of the Speaker of the House, for the past three sessions there has been a steady decline in the number of journalists requesting credentials. The high water mark was set in 2003 for the 78th session of the legislature, when 864 journalists were credentials. In 2005 it dropped to 647. It fell further in 2007 to 551. The last session saw only 447 credentials issued. Those numbers may seem high, but the credentials may have been for one day, and the crew packed up and went home.

Robert Wood, capitol bureau chief for Texas State Network, is witnessing a change. Wood has been covering the capitol since 1992. “There are definitely fewer bureaus and reporters these days,” Wood says. “If you look just ten years ago there were television bureaus from Dallas and Houston. The [Houston] Chronicle and San Antonio Express/News were separate and both had staffs. The Dallas Morning News bureau was much larger.”

Some longtime traditional news services remain like Long News Service and the Associated Press, but Wood sees growth in the non-traditional news. New media. “I think you are seeing a far different dynamic starting to emerge in the press corps,” Wood says. “If you went up to the House and Senate galleries during the session, you saw a lot of laptops and that's because there were a lot of bloggers hanging out writing about what was going on. Of course, you also have main-streamers blogging too with better access to elected officials during the session since we have floor access.”

“I think one question that will have to be asked pretty quick is when will the bloggers get the same kind of access that the traditional media gets. I don't think it will happen next session but it will happen, probably when the audience for those publications grows. Right now the traditional media and myself have a far larger reach than do any on-line only blog or publication,” Wood says.

With the Texas Tribune “going live” online November 3rd, floor access may come sooner than later. That’s more than a year away. There are plenty of political games to be played between now and then.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

Only One New KVUE-TV Meteorologist

Change

in the

Weather

KVUE TV (ABC-Austin) is cutting back on staffing in the weather department. You may have noticed that Chief Meteorologist Mark Murray has been splitting time with Mehgan Danahey for weeks with a little help from their past friends. Murray and Danahey’s pictures were the only faces in the Austin American-Statesman and on the KVUE TV web site.

Using Facebook , Murray announced tonight that Albert Ramon, the chief meteorologist of KZTV-TV in Corpus Christi will be joining the KVUE weather team. “Now, help me welcome the newest member of the KVUE Storm Team, Albert Ramon! Albert is from Corpus Christi, where he worked as the Chief Meteorologist at KZTV. Albert will normally be working our weekend newscasts.”

No longer will KVUE have four meteorologists on staff. “Yes, like many other stations around the country, we are a three-person weather department,” says Mark Murray. “Our two former weekend meteorologists, Tom Harris and George Kanuck, split their time (about 50/50) between the weather office and doing some news and environmental reporting for the newsroom. The difference with Albert is that he'll be spending almost all of his time working in the weather office. When he's not covering his regular weekend newscasts, he'll often be filling in for me and Meghan, as well as covering holidays and vacations, so staffing and scheduling really isn't an issue for us.”

KVUE TV is the #1 news, weather, and sports in Austin. The #2 station, KXAN TV (NBC) has four meteorologists who do stories during the week.

The tip-off that change was afoot at KVUE was on the air Sunday (October 11, 2009) when former KVUE meteorologist Ilona McCauley (a little help from my friends) said on the air, that she would be going away again. McCauley left KVUE and television news to pursue her dream of becoming a science teacher. She now teaches middle school science here in Central Texas.

Ramon will apparently start work this weekend. He is still on the KZTV-TV web site, but the web site, but the web site also has a posting for a new meteorologist. Murray’s Facebook announcement also included Ramon on the KVUE set.

Albert Ramon grew up in Beeville, Texas, right outside of Corpus Christi. His parents still live and work there. After high school, Ramon studied Atmospheric Science at Texas A&M University. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications in Media Studies from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. “Honestly, I think that one of the things that attracted Albert to KVUE is that he was able to make the jump to a much larger television market, yet still be close to his family,” Murray says.

“There's a great story that I wasn't aware of until Albert came to for his interview,” Murray says. “When he was growing up, he would often visit his grandfather who lived out near Bastrop. Even as a young boy, Albert had a very strong interest in the weather. Many years ago, with the help of his grandfather, Albert wrote me a letter requesting an autographed picture. Believe it or not, he still has it!! So, of course, we had to hire him!”

Ramon joined KZTV Action 10 News in May, 2005. He worked all shifts at KZTV, including weekends, and mornings/middays, according to the KZTV site. As chief meteorologist, Ramon appeared on their 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. newscasts.

Ramon was the only meteorologist in the Coastal Bend who earned both the American Meteorological Society's Television Seal of Approval and the National Weather Association's Seal of Approval. Both awarded for excellence in meteorology and broadcasting.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

Red McCombs Media of Austin Acquired by LIN TV

KXAN Owner Steps Up

When LIN TV (TVL), owners or operators of KXAN TV (NBC), KNVA (CW), and KBVO, claims to be a forward-thinking, multi-platform business, they mean it. Today (October, 6, 2009), LIN announced acquisition of Red McCombs Media based here in Austin. The LIN corporate offices are in Providence, Rhode Island. Red McCombs Media is an online advertising and media services company.

Yeah, you’ve heard of Red McCombs. Red McCombs media is a brain child of THAT Red McCombs—The one with the automobile dealerships, the one how was a cofounder of the radio, TV, and billboard giant Clear Channel Communications, the one with his name etched on the school of business at The University of Texas at Austin. That’s just some of what’s he’s done with his good and great fortune. Did you ever wonder what McCombs real name is? Billy Joe “Red” McCombs. Anyway, check out the Red McCombs Media web site www.redmccombsmedia.com for much more information.

According to the LIN TV release, “the acquisition significantly expands LIN TV’s local multi-platform offerings by providing national advertising and enhanced services, including targeted display, rich media, video advertising, custom-built vertical channels, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, and mobile marketing.”

Al this means that LIN just got a lot bigger. “RM [Red McCombs] Media advances LIN’s transformation from a local broadcaster to a digital media company with a national footprint,” said Vincent Sandusky, LIN TV president and chief executive officer.

Austinite and Internet entrepreneur John Flatt founded RM Media in 2004 with Red McCombs in 2005. RM Media connects targeted audiences with advertisers and publishers based on demographic, psychographic, and consumer behaviors. “As part of LIN TV’s digital media strategy, we will be able to benefit from important synergies and have greater resources for growth, enhanced service, and innovation,” Flatt said. According to Forbes Magazine (August 12, 2009), RM Media is one of the nation’s fasting growing companies in the nation with a growth rate over the past three years of 230.6%.

The last paragraph of the LIN TV release posted on the LIN website is perhaps the most important and telling. “LIN TV’s acquisition of RM Media will further diversify and augment the Company’s digital marketing and sales business, as well as providing new opportunities for growth. [Here it is:] By integrating RM Media’s in-depth online media properties with sophisticated technology, LIN TV will be well positioned to deliver and monetize [my emphasis] a vast array of multimedia product offerings.

I keep writing about how local TV stations all of the way up to the networks are searching for new streams of revenue. The LIN TV acquisition of Red McCombs Media has the potential of doing just that only LIN is taking serious leaps on to multi-platforms instead of constantly catering to the insatiable appetite of the television beast. There may come a time when LIN TV will become LIN tv or just LIN.

LIN TV should benefit in another way from its acquisition of Red McCombs Media. RM Media has a really cool web site. LIN should use talented folks at RM Media to fix the LIN TV site, www.lintv.com. It’s pretty, er, lame in comparison.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

[My thanks to “Anonymous” whose comment to www.newsmcnabb.blogspot.com turned me on the news release on the LIN TV web site.]

JB & Sandy on TV in the Mornings

KEYE TV May Have a Winner!!!

Perhaps I should drink more coffee. I am not a morning person. I don’t talk in the mornings, and I generally don’t want people talking to me.

That said, the new KEYE TV (CBS) morning show featuring JB & Sandy et al of Mix 94.7 FM with Kelly Sifka back at the TV station handling weather and traffic just might work. Monday, (October 5, 2009) was the first morning. JB & Sandy (J.B. Hager and Sandy McIlree) didn’t make a big deal out of it. They just did their thing. They made it look easy doing radio on TV. Besides, they wouldn’t want to give up their radio identity for their new TV friends.

The discussion was topical: David Letter reactions, the Austin City Limits Festival, and audience involvement with nominations for the worst intersections in Austin. It moved. All five people involved in the on-the-air performance participated. Their observations were fun, but not over-the-top. It looked easy. Can they keep up this level of energy and creativity five a week, month after month.

Let me tell you, it wasn’t as easy as it looked. I know there was much planning and extensive rehearsals to make this thing work. Think about it. The radio station still had to play its own commercials that would not air on the TV station. (I really don’t know what was going on during the TV breaks. I TiVoed the KEYE broadcast as I’m not normally available at 6 a.m. See the first paragraph.) Back at KEYE, it was clear that they knew what content would be covered during the hour-long broadcast (6 a.m. to 7 a.m.) They had video and graphics to fit the topics.

Much of the video was looped, however. I don’t like that, but they did have matching video and not just merely a group of people sitting around in a studio. The use of graphics was clean. Sifka got a minute and a half for weather and traffic.

My only major criticism is that two of the TV breaks were really, really, really long, probably to cover whatever the radio station was doing in the mean time. The first break didn’t hit until nine minutes into the show. After weather and traffic there was a four-minute-:30-second break—4:30!!! That 4:30 contained multiple commercials and promotional spots, making it seem even longer. The break at the bottom of the hour was shorter, only four minutes. Yaaaahhh! Normally, breaks that long would create a punch-out opportunity, but this a morning show. People were coming and going all of the time anyway. During the break, the commuters can get in their cars and continue listening.

The other concern is this: What happens if there is major spot news in the morning. What about a bad ice storm bringing the city to a sliding halt or a flood washing cars down creeks? Those things have happened in the morning, both KEYE and Mix 94.7 would have to cope. “We both have contingency plans in place for when there is breaking news and/or life threatening news,” said Amy Villarreal, KEYE president and general manager.

You gotta hand it to Amy. She keeps throwing ideas against the wall, hoping something will stick. This new morning show just might stick.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

How Well Do You Deal With Change?

No Networks on Free TV?

There was a time, not that long ago, that we made appointments with our TV. We’d watch Walter Cronkite at 5:30 p.m. followed by some local news. Then, we’d anticipate our favorite network shows: “Saint Elsewhere”, “Hill Street Blues”, “Thirty Something”, or decades ago it might have been a variety show like “Garry Moore” or “Perry Como”.

We didn’t need a TiVo or DVR. We knew the times and the networks by heart. For most of us, those times are ancient history. There are some who may have read the above paragraph and said, “Uh?”

I’ve been sitting on this topic since at least June, but the news of the day dictates that I write about the very live possibility that we’re about to see the beginning another rather wrenching change in television programming. We’ve already waded through the DTV transition twice.

Now, think of what it would be like if there were no network programming on the local TV stations, with the possible exception of news. Unfortunately, I do not have local sources for this post. In June, I floated email to local general managers and the Texas Association of Broadcasters (TAB) asking what would happen if networks took their programming to cable. Only Ann Arnold at the TAB responded saying that they had no position on the issue at that point. What could this mean to you local, free, off-the-air TV stations? Read on.

Networks in all likelihood might continue providing news programming, but all of the rest of it would move to cable TV. Why not news too? Two of the networks, Fox and NBC, already have several news streams on cable TV. That’s the idea, though—create more revenue streams. Rather than filtering the revenue through local TV stations, the networks would have their own channels for various programming old and new on cable.

What precipitates the discussion today? At least in one case, a cable company might even own a network. The Washington Post, Broadcasting and Cable Magazine, and the Associated Press (AP) say that “NBC Universal executives declined to deny a report Wednesday night that Comcast, the cable giant, is in talks to buy the television and movie company from General Electric.” The Washington Post story cited sources and a Hollywood blogger, TheWrap. Attorneys for Comcast and NBC University also reportedly met Tuesday night. Broadcasting and Cable writer Claire Atkinson is more confident in her wording. “Comcast is discussing the formation of a new joint venture company in partnership with General Electric, according to executives familiar with talks. The B&C report indicates that Comcast would own 51% of the network if the deal goes through.

“If the reported discussions led to a sale, it would give Comcast an enormous amount of content for its distribution pipeline. The take-over would also mean a new owner for NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, as well as the Spanish language Telemundo network and USA and Bravo cable channels,” the Washington Post reports.

According to the AP, “Comcast Corp. is in negotiations to buy 20 percent to 50 percent of NBC Universal, according to people familiar with the negotiations. The deal hinges in part on whether French conglomerate Vivendi SA decides to sell its 20 percent stake in NBC Universal. General Electric Co. owns the rest.”

Such a deal would send shockwaves through the industry. Note that Time-Warner, not Comcast, is the primary cable provider in Central Texas. Advertising Age Magazine reported last April that NBC had been looking for options (AKA new revenue streams) for some time. “NBC feels it's taking proactive steps and keeping costs in line as consumer habits shift with technology. ‘We absolutely believe in the future of broadcast TV,’ NBC Universal said in a statement. ‘But to be truly successful we need to take into account the contemporary media environment and all the different ways viewers today are watching TV.’"

For instance Bloomberg News reports that Time Warner is announcing Enhanced TV. Its features that allow customers to watch shows without planning ahead, said Peter Stern, Time Warner Cable's chief strategy officer. Subscribers can restart programs if they missed the beginning, watch shows up to three days after the air date, and eventually view programs older than three days. If you have digital cable, you don’t need no stinkin’ TiVo or DVR. The company is enhancing the value of its bundled services, said Chris Marangi, an analyst with Gabelli & Co. It's been at the forefront of creating on-demand features that can't be duplicated by satellite, he said.

"Cable's always had the platform to deliver the largest library of content to its customers, and they're really now beginning to exploit that," Marangi said. This also allows viewers to see the shows they want on TV rather than the Internet. NBC and other networks regularly supply programming online. “Enhanced TV is not yet available in Austin. Time-Warner is the #2 cable company behind Comcast.

“NBC has made moves in recent months that some consider shocking,” Advertising Age writer Brian Steinberg says noting the network’s move to run Jay Leno five nights a week, considerably cheaper programming to scripted productions. “Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal president-CEO, continues to play up the importance of his company's broader cable assets, warning that the broadcast medium faces wrenching technological change. Radical shifts in business practices are essential, he has suggested.”

And what would your local television station’s programming look like if they no longer had network programming? Parsimonious programming. Cheap stuff. Some of it might be good and lots of it might be bad. Without a network at least one station in the market might look a lot like News 8 with 24/7 news containing recorded segments interspersed with live updates. Another station might look like KEYE’s 4 O’clock as one prescient reader said in a comment to an earlier post. Stations would find usable syndicated programs. Some stations might return to the practice of signing off the air in the overnight hours.

Oh well. There is always the DVD player. Does the VCR still work?

© Jim McNabb, 2009