Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Audience Retention One of the most striking findings this year had to do with audience retention. By finding ways to hold onto or build upon “lead-in audience,” stations have managed to justify ad rate increases even as audiences have decreased. Better journalism is the surest way not only to hold the audience you inherit but […]
By Tom Dolan Reporter Jaime Garza of KCAL in Los Angeles positioned his live shot in El Cajon Pass with care. Not only was it a scene-setter for the 10 p.m. news, but it also helped to explain visually the story of the day and let you know tomorrow’s commute might be even worse in […]
By Marty Haag Not long ago I came across an internal station memorandum from a local TV news operation that said: “We are an oasis in a sea of change.” Perhaps that’s the problem. We don’t know what we are in local TV news anymore — even metaphorically. No question plagues television news executives more […]
Our definition of quality is the same established by our design team of local TV news professionals three years ago. We stress the basics: A newscast should reflect its entire community, cover a broad range of topics, focus on the significant aspects of stories, be locally relevant, balance stories with multiple points of view, and […]
If elections are a battle for control of message through the media, George W. Bush has had the better of it on the question of character than Albert Gore Jr., according to this study of coverage leading up to the GOP convention. But the public may not be getting – or believing – the message.
Introduction and Summary American voters, who continue to divide their support equally between Al Gore and George W. Bush, have not been strongly influenced by the way the American news media have covered the personal character of the presidential candidates. As the conventions approach there is ample opportunity for the campaigns to make powerful appeals […]
While television news viewership has fallen off in recent years, credibility ratings for the major TV news outlets have remained relatively stable. As was the case in 1998 and 1996, CNN is rated the most believable TV news source. Roughly four-in-ten Americans who are able to rate it (39%) say they can believe all or […]
Might-Miss TV? Just one-in-ten Americans (13%) plan to watch all or most of the television coverage of the GOP convention, while another 28% say they’ll watch some of it. Older Americans are both more interested in the convention and more apt to watch the television coverage. But even among Republicans, there is scant interest in […]
Introduction and Summary A Survey of Journalists in Association with Columbia Journalism Review Self-censorship is commonplace in the news media today, according to a survey of nearly 300 journalists and news executives by the Pew Research Center and the Columbia Journalism Review. About one-quarter of the local and national journalists say they have purposely avoided […]