WSI buys WXC

[JJ]

Originally Posted by rdale

Make sure you confine that "we" to "you" because in many markets the TV stations are NOT the go-to websites or apps... In my market the newspaper still is the best source of breaking news through the day. However the local TV affiliates have become quite "successful" at saying "Tune in at 6 for my story on ..." which leads me to go to the newspaper site to read what she wants me to wait 3 hours to see.

This type of set up is the stereotypical of small or maybe midsized markets. In the majors, like media competes with itself...TV/TV, radio/radio, print/print. But, in the smaller markets, all media competes with all media. The battle between print and TV is particularly vicious. But, that was the case even when I started in the provinces more than twenty years ago.

I do concede, print has led the charge in Internet visibility with news coverage, followed by radio and local TV bringing up the rear. Some TV stations have done great leaps in just recent years. But, many smaller stations fall into this trap of taking some substory idea and holding for air. The staff hears something on a national newscast, or national story they read maybe even yesterday, assign a reporter in the morning to it, then ‘hold’ it to air on their ‘prime newscast.' I’ve seen us shoot teases on a 'new idea’ we heard that morning but won’t air until the next night. Well, it’s not new, not breaking, and our news staff are not the only people to think of this substory. But, that’s part of the problem with limited resources in small markets. In the majors, 11 PM teases are dark video and shot THAT night.

By the way, if you are talking about the newspaper in Lansing, MI, it’s a Gannett property. I’ll pause for a moment, as some of the journalist purists among us cry or vomit. ** Gannett is one of those newspaper chains which specifically buys into small town America. They have a few large markets (i.e...Phoenix and Cincinnati and suburban areas of the major leagues), but by and large, they are the print media of...states I know...cities I don’t. I have worked for one of their TV stations (where they play more in the majors) but their business hasn’t been that robust in the last ten years, only recently recovering. They were also a print competitor of my last station but we comfortably kicked their butts.

[rdale]

I'm not saying they are a good paper I'm saying they are the best in the market when it comes to posting news stories as they happen.