Duopoly Ownership and Local Informational Programming on Broadcast Television: Before–After Comparisons

This study examines the relationship between duopoly ownership structure and the supply of local news and public affairs programming in the local television market. The results show that both duopoly stations and non-duopoly stations significantly increased their local news programming from 1997 to 2003. The increases were attributable to the top four stations in each market. In addition, stations did not increase their efforts in local public affairs programming after becoming duopolies. The study also found that there was no significant difference in the amount of local news or local public affairs programming aired by duopoly and non-duopoly stations.     

Effects of Local-Market Radio Ownership Concentration on Radio Localism,the Public Interest,and Listener Opinions and Use of Local Radio

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and ensuing radio ownership consolidation are often blamed for harming radio localism and the public interest. The present research sought to determine effects of local-market radio ownership concentration on listener opinions and use of radio—potentially indicative of stations' localism and public service—by surveying listeners in markets categorized by ownership concentration. Findings suggest concentration does not strongly influence perceptions; however, overall results indicate potentially negative consequences from local and national consolidation on amounts of local music, news, and public-service programming; live-local programming; and station responsiveness.     

Chain Versus Independent Television Station Ownership: Toward an Investment Model of Commitment to Local News Quality

Using empirical measures, a pilot test of an investment model of commitment to television news quality yielded statistically significant results supporting four hypothesized relationships between types of broadcast station ownership. The findings indicate that the news department operated by a small media group produced more local news, more locally produced video, more use of on-air reporters, and fewer news promotions than the larger chain-based broadcast groups investigated, suggesting a deeper commitment to local news quality. The results support the policy position that stricter ownership limits would enhance the quality of local television news.     

Relationships among economic,newsroom, and content variables: A path model.

This study examines the relation between local news content and ownership structure in 17 television markets in the United States. It is an extension of the localism research that was conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2004 and the Local Television News Media Project at the University of Delaware in 2007 (see FCC, 2007). The findings point to the need to consider television markets as the appropriate unit of analysis when examining the effect of ownership on local content. Ownership does matter in the production of news on local broadcasts. When examining only station-level factors, independent stations broadcast more local content on their newscasts than those stations that were either (a) owned-and-operated (O&O) and part of a duopoly, (b) O&O-only, or (c) part of a duopoly-only. However, when examining station-level and market-level factors of television markets, the station-level ownership profiles positively affected local content. Market-level factors that indicated more consolidation negatively affected the proportion of local news presented in the entire designated market area.     

Structural determinants of the television news audience

This study examined the impact that program scheduling and market characteristics had on people's exposure to the early evening local news. Three factors combined to explain 81% of the variation in local news ratings across the U.S.: a station's network news rating, the lead‐in rating for the local news, and the size of the available television audience. We discussed how such structural factors might be better integrated into research and theory that emphasize individual characteristics as determinants of exposure to television programming.     

Local Radio Audiences in Iran: An Analysis of Ardebilian People's Trust in and Satisfaction with “Sabalan” Radio

There are numerous local radio stations across Iran. Considering the ethnic, linguistic, and cultural characteristics of their audiences, local stations endeavor to produce and broadcast diverse programs. One local station is “Sabalan” situated in Ardebil province in northwest Iran. Since the audience of this station speaks the same language as the inhabitants of the neighboring countries of Azerbaijan and Turkey, whether Sabalan can attract and satisfy its audience becomes significant. The paper is the result of a research project done in relation to the extent to which the Ardebilian audience is satisfied by Sabalan and trusts its programs. The findings reveal that the audience is less than satisfied with Sabalan and has almost no trust in the news, information, and programs. The reasons they mention for their attitude are: censorship of the news and little reflection of reality, lack of respect for indigenous culture and language, and broadcasting too many programs in Persian.     

Diversity in Broadcast Television: An Empirical Study of Local News

The relation between the structure of a market and the diversity of its product offering has been extensively explored by theorists. We develop 2 measures of diversity and explore the content of local news for 60 stations and 20 designated market areas (DMAs) in the United States. Using a relative station-level diversity metric, ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates imply that relative diversity of local news content decreases as market concentration increases. This result is not, however, robust to an instrumental variables specification. Using a total market diversity metric, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (Hirshman, 1964) is significant in OLS and robust to instrumental variable estimation. Because the total market diversity metric is arguably superior to the incremental metric as a measure of overall diversity, this result is useful-it suggests that the total diversity of local news content within a DMA is sensitive to the level of concentration.     

Radio Reverb: The Impact of “Local” News Reimported to Its Own Community

According to recent data, more than 40% of radio stations now do news for stations outside their own market. This “outsourced news,” as one former Federal Communications Commission commissioner called it, raises questions about how local news decisions are made when removed from their local context. Using research on news conventions and decision-making processes, and data from field work in a small radio market served by news produced in a large market, this study frames issues of news selection and presentation within the context of a deregulated environment where the lines of what is “local” in local news are blurring.     

Making Sense of “Views” Culture in Television News Media in India

ABSTRACT

The initiation of economic reforms in the 1990s led to major recastings in the media-state-market relationship in India. Looking specifically at the television news media space, the age-old monopoly of the state broadcaster Doordarshan was challenged by the mushrooming of a host of private television news media. Private participation in the television news sector was in sync with the logic of market capitalism. Market-based news model radically altered the nature of production, representation and consumption of news. This paper makes an inquiry into one such predominant aspect of news production, the ascendancy of views/opinion based prime time programming in television news media, in contemporary India. Through a series of semi-structured interviews with journalists, the paper attempts to make sense of the reasons, the nature and significance and the likely impact of such programming on the nature of public discourse in India.     

Competitive pressure and arousing television news: a cross-cultural study

In many scholarly writings about journalism, the idea can be found that competitive pressure urges journalists to make news more arousing. This hypothesis was tested in two cultural settings: the Western European culture and the Chinese-dominated culture. A total of 3028 TV news stories from seven different markets, or 12 different news programs, were analyzed on the presence of arousing news characteristics. High competitive pressure at the market level appeared to contribute to the prevalence of arousing news, but this effect was more pronounced in the Chinese-dominated culture than in the Western European culture. Effects of high competitive pressure at the station level were only observed in the Western European culture.     

The impact of ownership rules and the telecommunications act of 1996 on a small radio market

The change in radio ownership rules in 1992 had the greatest effect in markets ranked above 100. The Telecommunications Act could have similar effects. One such market was investigated for this study. A proposed station purchase in this market would give an ownership group four of seven stations in the market, depending on how a market is defined. Petitions to deny were filed. These statements and replies by station owners were analyzed and related to radio in a small market. The ultimate impact was found on the negotiation of advertising rates. Other effects could emerge over time.     

Local Ownership and Radio Market Structure

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the nature of radio markets. Recent policy recommendations from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Congress have led to questions about localism in local radio markets. This study analyzes station ownership, the number of clusters, radio programming, and audience data from 32 radio markets and compares the information for the years 2000, 2004, 2007, and 2010. The results suggested a degree of stability for the types and size of radio owners, the market power of local radio clusters, and the number and type of formats.     

Product Differentiation in Cable Programming: The Case in the Cable National All-News Networks

Product competition for news viewers in the cable national all-news market was examined. As the cable news networks do not directly compete with each other on price to consumers, it was expected that they would compete for audience by differentiating programming. A content analysis identifies program differentiation among the competing cable all-news networks. Each offered a distinctive style of programming. The different program formats and substantive content in each have the effect of counterprogramming, giving viewers a choice.     

Radio Recentered: Local News Returns Home

The phenomenon of outsourcing is prevalent in many industries, including the media. In radio, voice-tracking of programs from other locations is a prominent example. How the practice of outsourcing affects the content of local news is the focus of this study. Comparing data on outsourced and locally-produced news in a small radio market, the study produced statistically significant results that raise questions about how communities are served when their local news decisions are made elsewhere. The study focuses on a market where local news, once outsourced, has been reconverted into an exclusively local enterprise.     

Self-Mediation. New Media,Citizenship and Civil Selves

This study examines the attitudes and the selection criteria of U.S. television journalists toward international news. Q factor analysis of 3I journalists from major national networks and local television stations reveals that journalists select international news based on market demands and local relevance. The findings strikingly delineate along the line between network versus local television. Network journalists manifest a global view, selecting international news with diverse themes, while local television journalists adopt a more pragmatic stance due to business pressures and audience demands, choosing international news with a local angle. All, however, emphasize timeliness and U.S. involvement in news selection.     

戏剧化叙事:湖南卫视《绝对忠诚》的新闻舆论引导策略

湖南卫视新闻大片《绝对忠诚》聚焦科学家和军人的先进事迹,以现象级电视新闻新模式的典型个案,一度引人关注。它大胆采用“戏剧化”的电视叙事,通过戏剧情景的设计、戏剧悬念的营造、戏剧冲突的实现,从而增强信息表达的趣味性和传播力,成为地方电视新闻舆论引导的成功范例。     

Market Competition and Programming Diversity: A Study on the TV Market in Taiwan

This article investigates the issue of the relation between market competition and programming diversity in Taiwan's TV market. For more than 20 years, Taiwan's TV market had an oligopolistic structure with 3 networks dominating the market. With the popularity of satellite TV during the 1990s, the oligopoly rapidly ended. This study examines how programming diversity was affected by the changing TV market structure in Taiwan. Programming diversity was measured by 3 methods using program data from the 3 networks operating in Taiwan: vertical programming diversity, horizontal programming diversity, and prime-time programming strategies. The results indicate a negative relation between market competition and programming diversity. Although the market competition increased from 1986 to 1996, this study discovered that the degree of programming diversity was reduced year by year.     

Cost and competition in the adoption of satellite news gathering technology

This study finds that many local stations subscribe to satellite news networks to obtain material for news broadcasts but that the high cost of satellite news gathering vehicles stops most from obtaining such vehicles. The study also finds that intensity of competition in the local market is a primary reason for acquiring such equipment.     

Deregulation and public perceptions of television: A longitudinal study

The deregulation of television and resulting implications for programming and the public interest have been the focus of considerable debate. This study investigated perceptions of issues related to current policy, perceptions of the effectiveness of television in meeting informational needs, and whether perceptions have changed since deregulation. Significant differences were found between pre‐ and post‐deregulation attitudes toward policy‐related issues and the quantity of commercials on television. Perceptions of the amount of news broadcast, coverage of local issues, and the extent to which programming meets local needs revealed no significant change since deregulation. The results revealed strong public support for the requirement that broadcasters cover more than one side of controversial issues.     

Equal time: Origins of section 18 of the radio act of 1927

This study examined the effects of television network affiliation switches that took place in the Miami market in January, 1989. Results indicate viewer loyalty to local news, especially early local news, although not necessarily to local stations, and probably little to network news. Network affiliation results in primetime audiences significantly larger than those of independent stations. The findings demonstrate that structural variables are stable and predictable indicators of audience behavior.