Civic Catalyst Newsletter
Fall 2000

Bringing Viewers Back to Local TV News
What might reverse the ratings slide?

By Deborah Potter
and Walter Gantz

The news is troubling for local television news. Audiences in many major cities are down across the board for early evening and late newscasts. And news directors are searching desperately for ways to reverse the trend.

"We've heard the wake-up call," one corporate news executive says, "we're just not sure what to do about it."

Deborah Potter Executive Director NewsLab

NewsLab's latest research pinpoints some of the reasons for declining viewership and also offers a roadmap for bringing viewers back.

We surveyed a national sample of 500 people who describe themselves as infrequent viewers of local TV news. These people told us they either watch less often than they used to, or at most three nights a week. They also told us what would make them tune in.

These people were not uninterested in local news, but many said they get it elsewhere. Only 20% of our sample turn to television as their main source of news about their city or town. Compare that to 15% who said their primary source of local news is conversations with other people, about the same number who turn to the radio. The leading source of local news, for more than 40% of our respondents, is the newspaper.

For several years, people have been telling researchers they don't watch local TV news because they simply don't have time. More than a third of our respondents gave similar reasons - they're either not at home (38%) or asleep (36%) when the news is on. And they're not just making excuses. We checked, by asking when they got home from work and when they went to sleep. They really aren't available. Outside of shifting the news to a more convenient time, there's not much a station can do to draw those people back. But a quarter of our sample (27%) was available at news time and they were even watching television - just not the local news.

The content of newscasts - something news managers can change -- was the reason why many didn't watch. Some of their complaints are familiar: there's too much crime and violence on the news. It's too negative and sensationalized. But that's not all. A large percentage said the local news is boring and irrelevant. The local news, they complained, is "always the same stuff" and has too many fluffy features.

"It's too shallow," one person said. "It is more entertainment than news. They focus on stories that have little impact on my life."

So what could bring these viewers back? More variety, they said. More substance. "Tell the whole story, not just bits and pieces," one person suggested. "More in-depth and intelligent stories," said another. A third respondent urged local television news to "explain more."

What specific kinds of stories are they looking for? Think local, local, local. Three-quarters (76%) said they would be a lot or somewhat more likely to watch if TV news covered more community issues and activities - like special events, programs for kids, neighborhood cleanups, even local council meetings. They wanted to know about events before they happened so they could participate and help. "There is no sense of being clued in," one person said.

Almost as many (72%) said they'd watch more coverage of local schools. For some, that meant reports about testing and teacher training, for others, money and taxes or school safety. They wanted to know how their schools compared to others, to hear "both good and bad."

Our respondents also said they'd watch more health stories and consumer reporting - echoing other television news surveys. But the people we talked to defined the health beat more broadly than many stations do. They wanted to know about good and bad doctors, about health insurance and nursing homes, not just about the latest medical "breakthrough."

Two-thirds said they'd watch a lot or somewhat more local TV news if it covered local business, with an emphasis on economic growth and jobs. A similar number expressed interest in knowing more about the environment. And government was not a turnoff; almost two-thirds (60%) said they'd watch more news if TV covered city and local government.

One person wanted to know "what our city and government officials are really doing for us, whether or not they are doing what they said they were going to do." Others mentioned a desire to know more about local campaigns and elections. Yet when we asked, generally, if more coverage of campaigns and elections would encourage them to watch more often, they answered a resounding "no." That topic ranked with crimes and accidents at the bottom of the list of coverage they'd tune in for.

These suggestions come from a national sample, of course, and different areas may have different priorities. Our telephone survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates in January-February 2000. It indicates a yearning for local television news that truly informs viewers about the community they live in - not by covering the latest murder or car crash - but by focusing on news that matters to people.

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Deborah Potter is executive director of NewsLab in Washington, DC. Walter Gantz is chair of the Department of Telecommunications, Indiana University.