A funny thing happened on the way to writing the obituary for the battered institution that is local TV news.
While the number of people sitting in front of the tube at 10 p.m. has declined consistently the past decade and the form itself seems an antiquated aspect of the popular culture, the audience for local TV news stations’ output has expanded.
More people are seeing content from local TV outlets than ever, most of it in short bursts and much of it away from the television screen.
“The audience is not where it used to be,” said KUSA news director Patti Dennis.
Whether by phone, social media, e-mail alerts or, occasionally, on the TV screen, the public is expressing interest in news of a specifically local nature. And stations are responding with more output.
In terms of volume and types of content, “We’re doing 10 times what we did with a 54 share (percent of the viewing audience) in 1981, when three stations were doing 10 p.m. news and there were no other distribution points,” Dennis said. They’re fighting for ever-smaller slices of the pie: KUSA is now No. 1 at 10 p.m. with a 14 share.
Tech-savvy audiences have abandoned the TV set in favor of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and iPhone apps. But they’re still turning to local stations on those platforms.
“We’re reaching more people than ever in our history,” Channel 4 news director Tim Wieland said. The cyber-presence represents “an opportunity to recruit” audiences to the main TV product.
In a turnaround from the dark days of 2008-09, some Denver stations are adding staff. Most are adding news programming.
Channel 31 is getting into the 10 p.m. fray at the end of the month. Channel 9 recently added a 4:30 a.m. newscast, expanded its Sunday newscast and boosted the 9 p.m. news on sister-station KTVD to an hour. Channel 4 is bracing for the day, next year, when “Oprah” quits syndication and the 4 o’clock hour opens for another newscast. And Channel 9 hints at more hours of local news to come, perhaps around the clock on sister station KTVD, perhaps in partnership with this newspaper.
All say they have reached a new level of calm after two years of contractions.
“We’ve stabilized,” said KCNC’s Wieland. “We lived through a very difficult period.”
“We’re out of panic mode,” according to KMGH news director Jeff Harris. “This was a year for us to focus on content. We’re not as anxiety-ridden about the business. As things even out, it’s about how do you draw distinctions?”
Each station must build its brand: Channel 9 is the longtime news leader; 7 is the proud underdog. Channel 4 is full of familiar folks, big on Facebook and Twitter. Channel 31 is loud and busy, while 2, no longer The Deuce, is in search of an identity. Channel 50 is Spanish.
The next task will be overtaking the kingpin. KUSA’s news has been the market leader since Gerald Ford was in office and “Charlie’s Angels” ruled prime time. 9News is still No. 1 by a comfortable margin, but the gap has narrowed. Competitors see vulnerabilities.
“They’re not impenetrable anymore,” according to KCNC’s Wieland.
“I see, over a period of five years, a far more competitive landscape,” KMGH’s Harris said. “(Channel) 9 will fall from No. 1 at 10. It’s not going to be as in-the-bag as it has been.”
Noting a slight dip in the 9News morning numbers, KDVR’s VP for content Carolyn Kane said, “This is how you slide. It starts.”
KCEC news director Luisa Collins: “Channel 9 is No. 1; I’m right behind them. We sell a younger demo than they do.” The Univision station is competitive because of the growth of the Latino community. “More people are coming here because of the Arizona situation,” Collins said. “Let’s see what happens in a month.”
Crowd-sourcing
Making decisions about the day’s news, KCNC staffers frequently reference Facebook postings, online “hits” and Tweets from viewers. At a recent morning editorial meeting at Channel 4, editors gleefully noted that 12 people had commented on a topical story.
Twelve people? Really? Is that who they’re programming for these days? Somehow the reliance on a self-selected dozen suggests fear and lack of focus more than a public-demand groundswell.
“If 12 people comment within a minute, that’s unusual; that means (a story) has touched a nerve,” Wieland said. “It’s not just the number, but the type of person who communicates.” He likens the dozen commenters to the “messengers” in Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point” — it’s “the law of the few.” Those few tell people who tell people, and it becomes contagious.
When a transformer fire knocked out power to 31,000 east Denver customers in June, the best video came from bystanders with cellphones.
“We never fear there’s not a picture coming,” Harris said. These days, he said, getting video is like getting a quote. And nobody’s paying for it.
The danger is letting the crowd lead in mindless pursuit of Facebook attention. Audiences may not seek information about a Supreme Court nominee as often as they request information about a local murder-suicide or thunderstorms. News directors know they still have an obligation to serve folks their spinach, even if it’s “world-in-a-minute” news headlines.
Crowd-sourcing, in journalism, is the use of a large group of readers or viewers to report a news story. The information isn’t gathered through shoe leather or over drinks but via a website.
“At its heart,” according to the Online Journalism Review, “modern crowd-sourcing is the descendent of hooking an answering machine to a telephone tip line.” There’s no way to avoid bogus submissions.
Denver’s news directors claim crowd-sourcing is just one more tool in the modern journalist’s kit. Wieland says his staff gets tips all the time from the website.
Channel 31’s Kane maintains that the public leads, and the TV station follows. “The people dictate. We didn’t dictate ‘watch TV on a phone.’ “
She is directing for three screens these days, Kane said: computer, TV and phone. Stories usually break on the Web, then migrate to other screens. Unlike Channel 4, which promotes its Twitter presence as a big piece of its brand, Channel 31 uses Twitter for “source building” or developing contacts for a story.
KCEC’s Collins says her station embraces Facebook in a different way, using it to bring viewers into the news process. “Our intern (Sonia Gutierrez) is ‘The Facebook Girl,’ behind- the-scenes with reporters, with a flipcam, asking me questions . . . Sonia is already a brand.”
The ratings race
Most of Denver’s TV news directors acknowledge that the individual late-night newscasts are remarkably similar. The personalities are key. And the ratings reflect more than just viewer preference. The network lead-in, the effect of DVRs, the cable and Web alternatives all factor in.
The race is tight and getting tighter. Any shift in the rankings may show up first in total household ratings, not demographics. Already, KCNC beats KUSA two or three times a week in total household numbers. Advertisers concentrate on the demographic figures, not households, which allow them to pinpoint the most lucrative news audience, adults 25-54.
KUSA remains the one to beat.
When Channel 31 launches its 10 p.m. newscast in two weeks, Kane realizes she’ll be fighting for a tiny sliver of an already splintered audience. In the May sweeps for the 10 p.m. time slot, Channel 9 scored a 4.9 rating; Channel 4 had a 2.9 rating; Channel 7 had a 2.5; and Channel 50 had a 2.0.
“If I start with 1’s,” she said, “we’ll be happy.”
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
Luisa Collins, KCEC
KCEC News director, Channel 50
Challenge: Find a way to capitalize on surging Latino demographics, which favor the Univision affiliate
How advertisers see it: After a lousy first quarter, revenue came back in a big way, thanks to the World Cup. A great market for sponsors who can take advantage.
News about the news: The 5 p.m. Spanish-language newscast on Univision regularly beats English-language competitors, often ranking second behind frontrunner KUSA-Channel 9. A new 10 p.m. weather anchor will be added in September.
Flavor: Spanish-language “I have the smallest staff in the market, and we make it happen every single day,” Collins says.
Patti Dennis, KUSA/KTVD
KUSA/KTVD News director, Channel 9/Channel 20
Challenge: Keep the station’s momentum as No. 1 with more “networks” (9News, KTVD, 9news.com, Accuweather, Universal Sports) needing servicing and a diminished staff. “There is no resting on laurels,” Dennis says.
How advertisers see it: They’re still buying. They get that the station aims to be a 24/7 news provider.
News about the news: The market leader has launched a wee-hours newscast at 4:30 a.m., expanded its Sunday show to an hour and boosted the KUSA-KTVD local-news load from 48 to 56 hours a week. With more coming.
Flavor: “We’re 9News: You love us because you love us!” Solid, comfortable and subliminally patriotic.
Jeff Harris, KMGH
KMGH News director Channel 7
Challenge: Make local viewers aware of the station’s regular work while aspiring to national awards for investigative specials.
How advertisers see it: The audience is small, but young and diverse.
News about the news: DVRs are a challenge. The more people record shows and watch later, the fewer chances to tease upcoming newscasts.
Flavor: “We’re Murrow’s boys.” John Ferrugia, Tony Kovaleski and company do the digging that results in journalism prizes.
Tim Wieland, KCNC
KCNC News director, Channel 4
Challenges: Capitalize on the CBS lead-in and turn the bragging about Twitter and Facebook into TV ratings.
How advertisers see it: The audience is old, but weather in the first 10 minutes of the newscast works. The integration of online and TV works as “value added” for some brands.
News about the news: Station will launch a newscast at 4 p.m. in 2011 when “Oprah” leaves syndication.
Flavor: High-tech and interactive with emphasis on social media. “There’s an advocacy edge to our journalism,” Wieland says; they answer audience questions. It’s a graying staff: Wieland calls it “the most experienced veteran journalists with 20-plus years’ experience.”
Carolyn Kane, KVDR/KWGN
KVDR/KWGN News director, Channel 31/ Channel 2
Challenge: How to keep the Fox rock ‘n’ roll style without sacrificing the journalism. How advertisers see it: What will the new 10 p.m. show look like?
News about the news: The station will launch a 10 p.m. newscast July 26; currently there are six job openings. “I’m producing for three screens now (TV, computer and cellphone),” Kane says. There may be a Spanish-language subchannel in the future.
Flavor: Fox31 is everything, everywhere and appeals to youths with short attention spans, while Ron Zappolo and Libby Weaver are Denver’s longest-tenured anchor team. Channel 2 is unformed.
