commentary

On July 19, 2012, a sharp CW social media staffer posted this: “#Emmy nomination day! Or as we call it, Thursday.” Those early days included Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as the Gilmore Girls, Brandy as Moesha and others — none of whom received their Emmy due at the time. The kudo drought continued as The CW launched in 2006, even as it launched a new round of enduring franchises. But where Emmy really fell short was with standout female-led shows like Nikita (Maggie Q), Jane the Virgin (Gina Rodriguez), iZombie (Rose McIver) and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Rachel Bloom).

Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief foreign correspondent — or someone equally well-versed in the purpose and value of journalism, a real reporter — should be at the top of an organization dedicated to journalism. If we want better journalism, we need respected journalists to run important outlets.

Common Cause VP Kathay Feng says that hedge funds’ bottom-line mindset leads to less-robust local news operations. “The rapid decrease in local news should alarm everyone, especially heading into yet another consequential election year. With fewer resources to combat disinformation and hold power accountable, we have to do what we can to protect our local newsrooms.”

Just as with the previous writers strike, the longer this one goes on, the more likely its effects will be permanent and significant. Nor is that only a problem for writers; in the era of TikTok and YouTube, producers also have a lot on the line.

There’s a missed opportunity in local markets for TV stations to capitalize on: Super serve smaller communities within DMAs where competition is scant.

If nothing else, the recent NewFronts presentations established one thing: everyone’s going FAST … and fast. Media companies are multiplying their free ad-supported TV channels, services and original programming like rodents in rut, with lots more coming soon.

“Precise measurement and accurate counting are the foundation of a healthy and high-functioning TV advertising ecosystem. When marketers have the right data, they can make the right decisions. That’s why we’re unifying our audiences and ushering in a modern-day approach to measurement for local advertisers. To better reflect today’s sophisticated consumer, we are vastly increasing the number of households we measure: We used to measure 1 in every 1,600-2,000 homes in a Local DMA. Now we’re going to measure 1 in every 2-5 homes—giving advertisers an unprecedented understanding of the true size and value of their audience, while also allowing them to pinpoint the exact audience they want to reach. And there’s more: With 48-hour TV measurement reporting at this scale, we’ll be able to help our clients optimize and improve the precision of their media buys in near real time.”

The closing of five news departments at Sinclair stations across the country may just be an effect of one company’s regional sports network gone sideways. It may also signal that a major local TV news shakeup is finally upon us.

Scientists can be highly relevant and additive to TV news stories that aren’t just about science. The context and research base they bring is a welcome hedge against so much widely circulating misinformation.

It’s not just Fox News that has been battered by the self-inflicted injuries exposed in its $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. By putting pandering before honest journalism, it has sullied the Fox brand and harmed other journalists far removed from its demagoguery and slanted reporting.

Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (N.J.) took to the Senate floor to express his concerns over the Federal Communications Commission’s review of the proposed Standard General-Tegna transaction. His is the latest in a chorus of alarm bells sounding over a flawed merger review process that risks undermining both investment in local television stations’ free service to the public and media diversity.

After a long career in television, I’m hoping to do my bit to secure the future of trusted information and civility in media by launching a not-for-profit newspaper company in Maine.

The disgraced NBCU chief is only the latest in a long line of C-suiters who have abused their positions, and their companies have paid the price.

Free ad-supported television channels offer media companies a new potential source of revenue, a streaming destination for reclaimed library content and a relatively frictionless pathway to execution.

Eugene Robinson: ” ‘Fox News’ is a misnomer. Rupert Murdoch’s cable network isn’t really a news organization. It just plays one on television — and deserves to lose the $1.6 billion Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit that soon will go to trial. I generally root for the defendant in libel and defamation suits. Journalism is a human endeavor, which means that however hard we try to get everything right, sometimes we fail. The Supreme Court has rightly set a high bar for plaintiffs who claim they were wronged by the media, recognizing that the First Amendment’s protection of press freedom must allow for tough reporting, sharp commentary and honest mistakes. This case, for me, is a glaring exception. What Fox did to Dominion was not journalism. It was more like a mugging.”

The communal experience of watching the Final Four tournament reminds us of what can bind us, happily, as a culture. Local TV stations can tap into that vein everyday by mining and celebrating what is unique to their communities.

There are no quick fixes in a major overhaul, but signs are that new CNN chief Chris Licht is having an impact despite serious headwinds. His critics should give him the time such a Herculean task needs to be realized.

William Barr: Victory for the plaintiff would severely weaken the First Amendment protection all news media enjoy.

Soo Kim, managing partner of Standard General, calls the FCC Media Bureau’s decision to refer his company’s proposed $1.6 billion acquisition of Tegna to review by an administrative law judge an “unaccountable power grab.”

It’s becoming abundantly clear that conventional ways of reporting won’t hook younger viewers, who consume their news in dramatically different ways than their parents. Stations need younger, less tradition-bound journalists to help them connect.

in light of steep falloffs of new subscribers and millions of existing customers jumping ship, where can streaming companies find additional revenue? Companies need to begin exploring new ways to monetize existing subscribers, beyond the obvious ad revenue. I hold that two creative options can be found in augmenting product placement and in harnessing the metaverse.

As they look to bolster support from the FCC, broadcasters would do well to get behind its Advanced Emergency Information component.

Every story in your newscast is really about humanity. Even if you’ve got 10 or 12 or 24 hours of news every day, it’s still true. News teams that don’t understand the importance of human connection in stories have a hard time understanding why viewers don’t find their newscasts valuable.

Michael Felicetti: “Like politics, all news is local. Even when there’s a big national or international news story (whether it’s Russia invading Ukraine, the World Cup or one of the biggest news moments of all time), it’s the local angles that ultimately interest us most. In fact, well over half (62%) of Americans watch local news on television daily. Even when national news seems to drown out local angles, there are still stories close to home that viewers care about: weather, sports and traffic. And for advertisers, local TV news is still a powerful way to reach a very targeted and engaged audience. On both strategic focus and practical planning levels, it provides a way to persist amid the tumult of national news cycles playing out in the background. It provides a means for sustainability.”

Paramount Global is using its latest Fubo TV negotiation to offer an untenable deal to affiliates and reset the entire retransmission consent landscape. The FCC’s response should be obvious: Make everyone play by the same rules.

Former FCC Chairman Mark Fowler on the commission ordering a Media Bureau formal hearing on the Standard General-Tegna merger: “The commission has applied the standard in an unprecedented, unconstitutional way by modifying the intended purpose of the statute to its customized purpose.”

The FCC chairwoman doesn’t see (or doesn’t care) that by weakening retrans, she is chipping away at the viability of the station business and a “cornerstone” of the agency’s longstanding broadcast policy: localism.

Cloud archiving, an uptick in regionalized viewing and the continued growth of remote production will have a profound impact on the industry this year.

Quin Hillyer: “In Fox News’s defense against the well-publicized defamation lawsuits by voting machine companies, Fox needs to remind a jury that there’s a large distinction between what is unethical and what is illegal. If Fox eventually needs to appeal an unfavorable jury decision, the network should freely acknowledge that many of its shows are opinion rather than news because libel law gives more protection to opinions.”

The shooting death of News 13 Orlando reporter Dylan Lyons (left) and wounding of photojournalist Jesse Walden last week is but the latest urgent signal that we are deep in the throes of a public health crisis. Local TV has an obligation to seize the moment and address the problem head on.

The wildly popular app reaches 2 billion people globally, but newsrooms have been slow to embrace it. Two news startups in South Africa and New Hampshire are showing that WhatsApp can be fertile ground for engaged audiences.

ChatGPT may be grabbing attention and lots of experimental early use, but the technology’s limitations are already widely evident. Media ought to take stock of the caveats, especially as chatbots are destined to play a larger role in the business.

Newly minted TV station general managers are often thrown into their jobs with little or no training. It seems like a needless risk for station groups to take with their multimillion-dollar profit centers.

The show is poised to capture a new generation by making ordinary people famous for something other than being hot.

The reboot that changes nothing will be uncanny and lifeless; the one that thinks itself more clever than its predecessor will turn out cynical and sour.

The commission should heed broadcasters’ request to prioritize the ATSC 3.0 standard and launch a task force to concentrate the agency’s resources in getting it unstuck. Broadcasting’s future wellbeing may depend on it.