The Stories Behind the Stories: September 2012

TV stations experience ad revenue surge

While political ads can be unpopular for viewers, local television stations view them interchangeably with dollar signs.  Between now and November 6, it’s safe to assume that every available television advertising spot will be purchased by political campaigns.  If presidential elections took place annually, local TV stations probably wouldn’t be struggling nearly as much.

While television remains the dominant medium for campaign messaging, more candidates are bringing their advertisements online because an increasing number of viewers are skipping commercials with DVRs or watching TV online.  According to comScore, an all-time high of 188 million Internet users in the United States watched 37.7 billion online videos in August, with 9.5 billion video ads viewed.  We expect online advertising to make an even greater impact on future elections.

Major office downgrade for local newspaper

The Hudson Star Observer announced it’s moving to a space that’s 98% smaller than its longtime downtown location.  According to original reports, newsroom staff at the 150-year-old newspaper in Hudson, Wisconsin, will work from home and operations will be moved to River Falls.  The paper’s new office is just 215-square-feet, compared to its former 15,000-square-foot location.  Newspaper management says nothing will change for readers.

This is an example of a traditional newspaper adopting the Patch work-from-home model.  In these challenging times, some small newspapers are opting to downgrade facilities and have their reporters, editors, and advertising staff work from home.  Don’t be surprised if local newspapers in Minnesota start making similar moves.

WCCO’s new set

WCCO's new set

In WCCO-TV’s first newscast with its new set (which has received mixed reviews), it spent part of the show taking viewers on avirtual tour of the newly-renovated space.  It’s obvious the folks at WCCO are quite proud of their new set, so it got us to wondering, do viewers really care about the visual appearance of a news set?  Our research has found that they do.  Since TV is a visual medium, viewers are likely to be drawn to attractive sets and graphics.  There are many examples of new sets providing a boost in ratings.  Otherwise, stations wouldn’t spend the money to update their sets and every station would look like Channel 4, the home of Ron Burgundy.

Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy at a 1970s throwback news set

A moment of silence

If you’re not sold on the idea that reality television is taking over the world, perhaps you weren’t watching the Today show on September 11, 2012, at 8:46 a.m., the exact time when the first plane hit the World Trade Center towers in 2001.  While almost every other network interrupted programming to honor the anniversary, NBC decided its viewers would rather watch Kris Jenner talk about her breast implants.  NBC’s decision (or lack thereof) dominated the headlines for several days.  Jenner was reportedly very upset about the network’s decision, and NBC has since apologized.

While it has been 11 years since the 9/11 tragedy, we believe it is the responsibility of the media to do its small part and properly honor the families of those who lost their lives.  Something tells us that NBC won’t miss next year’s moment of silence.