By Karen Rundlet and Sam Gill
Knight Foundation
Some may say that the local television news industry sits in an enviable position. It still reaches large audiences and brings in considerable revenue, thanks to political advertising and the retransmission fees that cable and satellite systems pay to carry local channels. But, television news leaders are well aware of the shifting landscape.
Broadcast ratings have declined. TV news leaders, like those working in other media, know that in the digital age, audiences find their news on mobile devices and social streams. That’s led to television newsrooms accelerating their efforts to serve viewers across websites, social and next generation platforms that promise to deliver ultra-high definition TV anywhere, anytime.
TV now means much more than producing stories for the 5 o’clock news. That’s led the Knight Foundation to complement its efforts to support TV news journalists and leadership by offering key findings from its new study, “Local TV News and the New Media Landscape.”
