Fnj
May 21st 2009, 02:30 PM
Local TV News Stations to Join Forces
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 21, 2009; 4:30 PM
Three local TV stations -- channels 4, 5 and 9 -- said today they will create a common newsgathering operation that will share daily news footage, in another sign that the financially pressured industry is moving swiftly to reduce costs.
WRC (channel 4), WTTG (5) and WUSA (9) said they will begin operation of the local TV news service next month. Each station will contribute two news videographers to produce "pool" footage of breaking news stories and press conferences. The stations will then be free to use the commonly produced footage on their newscasts, which will continue to maintain their own separate newsgathering operations. No reporters or anchors from each of the stations will be involved in the cooperative.
WJLA, channel 7, which has the largest newsroom among local TV stations, is not participating in the pool service.
The agreement among the three Washington stations is the most extensive to date in the market; in January, NBC-owned WRC and Fox-owned WTTG began sharing the cost of a news helicopter. It follows a similar news-sharing operation in Chicago that involves three stations. In addition, the NBC and Fox-owned stations in Philadelphia have been sharing some of their coverage since January.
As advertising dries up and news audiences scatter, local stations have been frantically searching for ways to save money. Over the past two years, they have been cutting costs through layoffs, salary reductions and other arrangements.
"Clearly in this day and age there is not going to be a whole lot of adding employees to our payroll," said Camille Edwards, vice president of news for WRC, the top-rated news station in Washington. "Because of the cost challenges we are facing we have to come up with creative new approaches" to covering the news. Edwards declined to spell out specific cost savings from the arrangement.
WRC, has declined to renew contracts of several of its on-air reporters and anchors, including longtime sports anchor George Michael. WJLA, whose parent company, Allbritton Communications, also owns the cable operation Newschannel 8, laid off 26 news staffers in January. WTTG is in the midst of dismissing some of its technicians. In December, Gannett-owned WUSA--the lowest rated among Washington's four largest news stations--signed an unprecedented agreement with its labor unions that will do away with multi-person news "crews," and turn most of its news staff into solo cameramen and reporters, with each journalist handling sound, photography, reporting and editing on stories.
In a news release today, the stations said management of the news service will be "independent" of the stations, and will determine which stories are covered each day.
The operation, which will be called Local News Service, will be housed in the basement of WUSA's building on Wisconsin Avenue NW.
The arrangement foretells a day when images of a major traffic snarl, parade or press conference are standardized, appearing the same way on three stations.
But the stations said the pool will help them save money by making more footage available to all. It will also enable them to free their own reporters to cover stories that are unique to each station's broadcast.
The Washington Post has a cooperative news-sharing agreement with the Baltimore Sun in which the two newspapers make non-competitive stories available to each other.
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 21, 2009; 4:30 PM
Three local TV stations -- channels 4, 5 and 9 -- said today they will create a common newsgathering operation that will share daily news footage, in another sign that the financially pressured industry is moving swiftly to reduce costs.
WRC (channel 4), WTTG (5) and WUSA (9) said they will begin operation of the local TV news service next month. Each station will contribute two news videographers to produce "pool" footage of breaking news stories and press conferences. The stations will then be free to use the commonly produced footage on their newscasts, which will continue to maintain their own separate newsgathering operations. No reporters or anchors from each of the stations will be involved in the cooperative.
WJLA, channel 7, which has the largest newsroom among local TV stations, is not participating in the pool service.
The agreement among the three Washington stations is the most extensive to date in the market; in January, NBC-owned WRC and Fox-owned WTTG began sharing the cost of a news helicopter. It follows a similar news-sharing operation in Chicago that involves three stations. In addition, the NBC and Fox-owned stations in Philadelphia have been sharing some of their coverage since January.
As advertising dries up and news audiences scatter, local stations have been frantically searching for ways to save money. Over the past two years, they have been cutting costs through layoffs, salary reductions and other arrangements.
"Clearly in this day and age there is not going to be a whole lot of adding employees to our payroll," said Camille Edwards, vice president of news for WRC, the top-rated news station in Washington. "Because of the cost challenges we are facing we have to come up with creative new approaches" to covering the news. Edwards declined to spell out specific cost savings from the arrangement.
WRC, has declined to renew contracts of several of its on-air reporters and anchors, including longtime sports anchor George Michael. WJLA, whose parent company, Allbritton Communications, also owns the cable operation Newschannel 8, laid off 26 news staffers in January. WTTG is in the midst of dismissing some of its technicians. In December, Gannett-owned WUSA--the lowest rated among Washington's four largest news stations--signed an unprecedented agreement with its labor unions that will do away with multi-person news "crews," and turn most of its news staff into solo cameramen and reporters, with each journalist handling sound, photography, reporting and editing on stories.
In a news release today, the stations said management of the news service will be "independent" of the stations, and will determine which stories are covered each day.
The operation, which will be called Local News Service, will be housed in the basement of WUSA's building on Wisconsin Avenue NW.
The arrangement foretells a day when images of a major traffic snarl, parade or press conference are standardized, appearing the same way on three stations.
But the stations said the pool will help them save money by making more footage available to all. It will also enable them to free their own reporters to cover stories that are unique to each station's broadcast.
The Washington Post has a cooperative news-sharing agreement with the Baltimore Sun in which the two newspapers make non-competitive stories available to each other.