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The Shifting Local News LandscapeStrategic
InsightsJuly 2007
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Strategic Challenges
The Shifting Media Landscape

• Changing Dynamics of Local News
• The world of local news has changed 9/11
• The audience has changed convenience dictates
• The way we reach the audience has changed
  digital distribution
  
• Local News Still Matters
• 71 of 25 to 54 year olds are watching local news
  at least once a week.
  
• 65 of morning viewers are watching every day for
  increasingly longer tune-ins.
  
• Key Questions We Need to Address As An Industry
  (While We Still Can)
  
• What are our obligations to our viewers in a
  world of 24/7 news delivery?
  
• How do our values shift (if at all) in a world
  where convenience rivals credibility?
  
• Where does the editorial role begin and end?
• Are we prepared and equipped to become digital
  merchandisers?
  
• How can we deliver urgency and immediacy while
  not compromising on quality and credibility?
  

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Strategic Challenges
The Shifting Media Landscape Capturing
Engagement

• Engagement touches on a broad range of
  fundamental news concepts
  
• Differentiation
• Volatility
• Impact of News
• Momentum
• Talent Affinity
• Trust and Credibility
• Relevance
• Social Connectivity
• Engagement exists at two or more levels
• In the moment and transient (topical hooks)
  cognitive
  
• Brand affinity and enduring (loyalty) affective
  
  
• The Consequences of Engagement
• A richer connection emotion inspiration ?
  action and momentum
  
• The audience experience of our news brand
  emotion, relevance, differentiation
  
• Attributes of news viewers commitment,
  volatility, length of tune, psychological well
  being
  
• Attributes of news programs tone, story telling,
  impact
  

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Local News Equity
The Shifting Media Landscape The Local
Perspective

• Local news and information remain the primary
  drivers of news consumption
  
• Local news captures the largest weekly reach of
  all news outlets.
  
• Local news delivers the greatest relevance in key
  touch points driven by local weather, and
  breaking news.
  
• News urgency and immediacy Frequency (online
  and on-air)
  
• Utilities weather, traffic, morning needs
• Local expands and is no longer just local
  whats happening in my local area ? whats of
  interest to those who live in my local area
  
• Television station allegiance is vulnerable to
  day-to-day behavior, with greater volatility, and
  weaker levels of commitment
  
• Viewer volatility defines nearly half of the
  local news audience
  
• Local news as a commodity
• Ubiquity of news content

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Digital News Consumption
Sources Used for News and Information

• Web portals (65) eclipse cable news and all
  television news outlets except for local news.
  
• Of the 14 news sources assessed, news viewers
  utilize an average of 6.7
  
• Half of news consumers use seven or more sources
  for news

SOURCES USED FOR NEWS AND INFORMATION ( YES)
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Local News Equity
The Shifting Media Landscape - Imagery

• Local news continues to hold a dominant position
  in key news imagery representing a unique
  opportunity to migrate users to digital
  platforms
• Not surprisingly the greatest advantage of local
  news is localism (but not at the expense of
  complete news coverage)
  
• Breaking news taking place in your area
• News coverage from in and around your city
• Coverage of severe weather affecting your local
  area
  
• Equity in national and international local
  stations meet or exceed cable news and network
  news for national and international coverage
  
• National news reports Local TV at parity with
  cable news
  
• Reports from Iraq and the War on Terror Local
  TV at parity with cable news
  
• International news coverage - Local TV
  competitive with cable news

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Digital News Consumption
News Sources Used Most Often
NEWS SOURCE USED MOST OFTEN FOR TYPES OF CONTENT
(1 of 2)
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Digital News Consumption
News Sources Used Most Often
NEWS SOURCE USED MOST OFTEN FOR TYPES OF CONTENT
(2 of 2)
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Strategic Challenges
The Digital Shift

• The appeal and dominance of television as a
  medium has been reduced and even marginalized in
  many areas, particularly for younger news
  consumers.
• Among Internet users, the web has become a
  preferred choice for a broad range of
  news-related items that have traditionally been
  the domain of television in general and local
  news in particular
• To get the latest news headlines
• To feel more connected to the world around you
• To stay up-to-date on the latest trends
• To learn new and interesting things
• To learn things that can help you in your daily
  life
  
• With proliferation comes eventual replacement
  consequently local news viewing trends are in
  decline
  
• One-in-six are watching local news programs less
  often than they used to, while nearly half are
  using the internet more often.
  

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Digital News Consumption
Media Most Likely to Turn to
MEDIA MOST LIKELY TO TURN TO FOR EACH ACTIVITY
(1 of 2)
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Digital News Consumption
Media Most Likely to Turn to
MEDIA MOST LIKELY TO TURN TO FOR EACH ACTIVITY
(2 of 2)
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Strategic Challenges
The Shifting Media Landscape

• Urgency and Convenience are Defining
  Characteristics
  
• News consumption on the web is primarily
  characterized by convenience and accessibility
  and not by a purposive news mentality.
  
• Streaming content has conditioned users to be
  able to pick and choose their content, with
  broadband clips or DVR selections quickly
  supplanting passive television viewing
• Alternative platforms have proliferated 73 of
  18 to 49 year olds are watching television on
  some digital or time shifting platform (DVR, VOD,
  web) in addition to live television.
• The internet is quickly becoming synonymous with
  television -- rich media allows content providers
  to be in a leadership position migrating users
  between platforms and reinforcing existing
  viewers.
• One-in-eight (12) now choose the web as their
  primary destination for laughter and humor (25
  of 18 to 24 year olds)
  
• Four-in-ten (42) have watched online video of a
  news report in the past week
  

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Digital News Consumption
Attributes Describing News Sources
ATTRIBUTES DESCRIBING VARIOUS NEWS SOURCES (1 of
2)
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Digital News Consumption
Attributes Describing News Sources
ATTRIBUTES DESCRIBING VARIOUS NEWS SOURCES (2 of
2)
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Strategic Challenges
The Shifting Media Landscape New Fundamentals

• The Consumer is Now Dictating Change, Not the
  Media Industry
  
• The combination of proliferating content and
  availability of digital platforms have shifted
  the balance in the media landscape to the
  consumer.
• Media consumption has become both more ubiquitous
  and more fragmented.
  
• Media companies alone will not dictate change,
  consumers will play an increasing role in shaping
  the future.
  
• Network web sites are still not top-of-mind, even
  as the web begins to dominate news and
  entertainment needs.
  
• Two-in-three (67) are watching online video at
  least once a week 34 are daily viewers.
  
• News urgency and timeliness have the potential to
  be important frequency drivers for local TV
  websites, complementing local relevance.
  
• News consumers expect local news web sites to
  report breaking news as soon as it happens
  (67)
  
• Most (53) would use a local TV Stations website
  more often if they knew it reported breaking news
  and updated weather forecasts throughout the
  day.

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Technology Attitudes and Usage
Ways You Would Watch Video
WHICH WAY WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO WATCH VIDEO IN EACH
OF THE SITUATIONS DESCRIBED?
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Strategic Challenges
The Shifting Media Landscape New Fundamentals

• Elements Defining Media Usage Have Shifted
  Toward Convenience and Immediacy
  
• The biggest catalyst driving shifts in media
  consumption today is a need-it now mentality,
  driven by a sense of time poverty among users.
  
• Media consumers are no longer willing to be on a
  programmers schedule.
  
• Television viewers are more distracted, with
  multitasking encroaching on traditional
  relaxation hours such as early fringe, access,
  and even prime time.
• Programming expands from appointment viewing to
  24/7 distribution.
  
• Convenience has become the defining element
  driving online entertainment and news
  consumption.
  
• Convenience and urgency of whats happening right
  now are now taking precedence over traditional
  attributes of trust, credibility, institutional
  weight.
• The world of news is becoming a partnership
  between audience and professionals at an entirely
  different level of engagement.
  
• Program and network allegiance are beginning to
  play a role in daily web behavior.
  
• 15 are visiting any network web site at least
  weekly to watch episodes online.
  
• Television viewers are watching online primarily
  out of convenience over half (56) choose to
  watch an episode online because they missed the
  scheduled airing of a favorite show on
  television.
• One-in-four (28) are watching an episode again
  after seeing it on television.

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Internet Usage
Weekly Use of Internet
YOU USED THE INTERNET FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING
REASONS WITHIN THE PAST WEEK (1 of 2)
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Internet Usage
Weekly Use of Internet
YOU USED THE INTERNET FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING
REASONS WITHIN THE PAST WEEK (2 of 2)
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Strategic Challenges
Online Content and Features

• Although local news on television holds a
  behavioral advantage with perceived coverage
  strengths, allegiance to local news shows signs
  of vulnerability.
• A large share of the audience perceives all news
  to be a commodity
  
• Four-in-ten say there are so many different
  places offering news online that the do not need
  to make the effort to go to a specific news site
  
• Local news suffers from a lack of viewer
  urgency
  
• Nearly half say the internet is the most
  convenient way to get news and information
  
• Three-out-of-ten use the internet during the day
  for news so they feel they have already gotten
  the news when they arrive home
  
• More news users say the internet is the most
  timely and up-to-the-minute (33) than credit
  local news (24)
  
• Lack of trust in news in general is driving
  viewer volatility
  
• FOX News has ramped up the cynicism
• Nearly half of news consumers feel there is no
  single source of news they can trust so they need
  to use multiple sources to get the whole story
  
• Yahoo and other content aggregators benefit

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The Shifting Local News LandscapeStrategic
InsightsJuly 2007