local news

Women’s concerns are news, and KOKI Tulsa is leaning into that. “What matters to women belongs on local TV news” says Michelle Linn, KOKI anchor and reporter.

Executives from Scripps News, Gray Television, NBCUniversal Local and ProPublica told a NewsTECHForum panel last week that their cross-group collaborations, as well as with organizations outside their own, have become critical to delivering on their news mission and their viability.

TVNewsCheck Editor at Large Harry Jessell and Editor Michael Depp look back over an eventful year in broadcast business news and ahead to the steepest challenges it will confront in 2024. A full transcript of the conversation is included. [Ed. note: Jessell erroneously noted Nexstar stock took a 32% hit, when it actually lost 32 points. Since this episode was recorded, its stock rebounded to 155 yesterday.]

A man accused of holding an Atlanta News First crew against their will has been arrested in Clayton County. Gray’s Atlanta News First (WANF) reporter Asia Wilson and photojournalist Lauren Swaim were preparing to give a live report from the parking lot of the Clayton County Sheriff’s office just before the 11 p.m. newscast on Monday. That’s when the crew said a man approached them, indicated he had a gun, and threatened to shoot them if they called for help. About an hour and a half into the encounter, police arrived at the scene and took the man into custody.

Sinclair has made changes to how Tulsa, Okla., ABC affiliate KTUL produces local news. The station group has moved news production for the station to a hub system it shares with its KOKH Oklahoma City.

Recent research shows news outperforms all other categories in the FAST ecosystem, yet another reason for local broadcasters to leverage their content there and on as many CTV platforms as they can.

It’s not unusual for local TV news personalities to work at the same station for 20 or more years. But news directors, not so much. It helps if you’ve worked your way up.

Digital news startups and struggling newspapers can make excellent partners with local TV stations that still have the power and platforms to engage like no other media.

Stations use all available dayparts and platforms to connect with Angelenos.

WQAD, Tegna’s ABC affiliate in the Quad Cities of Moline-Rock Island, Ill., and Davenport-Bettendorf, Iowa, has added Corey Spencer as news director.

More than 70 local newsrooms launched during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, according to Penny Abernathy, professor at the Medill School of Journalism, but challenges remain. Startups have been concentrated around metro areas. Lower-income regions are less likely to see a replacement when their local outlets fold, Abernathy says. And “what really worries me about the digital startups is how we’ve been stalled right around 550,” she adds, noting that for practically each fledgling enterprise, another flames out.

Johnny Green, president and GM of CBS-owned WCBS New York, and Sarah Burke, the station’s VP and news director, say its community-focused reporters are gaining traction — and trust — in the neighborhoods where they’ve been embedded, a strength to draw on in a fractious news year ahead. A full transcript of the conversation is included.