Remote Delivery of Local TV News

Abstract

Outsourcing of local broadcast news, fueled by technology and industry economics, is a reality in a number of markets around the United States. Contrasted with the trend toward the “hyperlocal” in newspapers and websites, remote delivery produces newscasts for communities at great distance from the source. Under a framework of localism, this study examines the implications of such a delivery system for communities served, using a content analysis in six television markets—markets as large as Omaha, Nebraska. Using a data set of more than 1,000 stories, the study analyzes how local the outsourced newscasts really are. With local TV news still ranked the most used information source in the United States, how much local information outsourced broadcasts offer viewers is a significant topic to scrutinize.

Keywords

local TV broadcast news newsroom practices news outsourcing localism

Introduction

Local news is facing multiple transition points regarding delivery and focus. At the same time, the industry is seeing a trend toward the “hyperlocal,” particularly in newspapers and on news websites (Kurpius, Metzgar, & Rowley, 2010; Stepp, 2011), a combination of technology and industry economics has fueled an opposite practice of outsourcing in local broadcast news. Such a trend has been documented in radio (Hood, 2007, 2010, 2011; Torosyan & Munro, 2010) but is also occurring in local TV. A decade ago, Kaplan (2003) warned that the “local” in local TV was in danger, amid concerns that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), while looking at ownership rules, was not analyzing “the content of local TV news to find out how local it really is” (2003, p. 11). While Sinclair Broadcasting’s much-maligned NewsCentral broadcasts of the previous decade are gone, a newer trend involves outsourcing newscasts to an independent company.

This study seeks to examine the practice of outsourced local TV news and how local communities are served within such a system. Employing a content analysis of newscasts from six markets across the United States, this study examines a number of different attributes that comprise a local newscast to determine whether such newscasts, when produced and delivered from hundreds of miles away, are substantially different from news produced locally.

Background and Literature Review

Despite audience declines over the past few years, biennial news consumption surveys by the Pew Research Center have consistently shown local TV news to be the leading source of information among American news consumers. In a survey, released in September 2012, 48% named local TV as a regular news source, compared to 46% for news online and 38% for print newspapers (Pew, 2012, p. 14). To the extent that local newscasts may contribute to the Jeffersonian ideal of an informed citizenry (Brown, 1997), how well those newscasts cover their communities is an important topic indeed.

Local newscasts have comprised a crucial component on local stations almost since the stations went on the air (Allen, 2001). Kaniss (1991) points out that news was originally the way local stations answered the FCC’s mandate that a certain portion of programming be devoted to the public interest. To fulfill this requirement inexpensively, many stations began news programs using a staff announcer reading news items from the Associated Press radio wire. In the early 1960s, Philip McHugh and Peter Hoffman pioneered local TV consulting, originally offering advice on different programming but evolving into a concentration on news (Allen, 2001). Said McHugh: “Over the years, we became very much aware that the primary relationship between a station and its audience was established, really through its news” (quoted in Powers, 1977, p. 123).

There is no doubt that local TV news has undergone many changes since McHugh–Hoffman began in 1962. Smith (2009) studied the effects of duopolies and found that when one station produced news for a second station in the same market, the number of local stories increased but the diversity of sources did not. Yanich (2011, 2013) studied stations in Honolulu before and after three of the market’s five stations began a shared services agreement (SSA). The studies found several noteworthy differences in news content after the SSA began, including that coverage of public issues dropped significantly and the number of crime stories increased; the SSA stations presented only about half the number of reporter packages as the stations had when operating independently; and the SSA stations broadcast significantly fewer local stories than the non-SSA stations or than the three stations had before the SSA.

Although these ventures are important to examine as one considers the number of independent voices in local news, such arrangements differ in one important way from outsourced news delivered from a remote location: In duopolies and other SSAs, the people producing and delivering the news are still within the same market and have the benefit of some local understanding, whether such knowledge is actually applied to the news product or not. In outsourcing, much of the news production and delivery falls on those who may or may not have much knowledge of the market to which those newscasts are directed.

Sinclair Broadcasting’s NewsCentral was an example of local news emanating from elsewhere, a system through which “(E)ntire segments of ‘local’ news (were) actually produced…in suburban Maryland and then rebroadcast at local affiliates across the country” (Free Press, 2004, p. 1). The practice was widely criticized (cf. Smith, 2003) and was abandoned in 2006 (Romano, 2006). Daniels (2008) studied three markets that aired NewsCentral, comparing the newscasts with local stations in the same markets on several news attributes, including story location and type. The study found statistically significant differences between remotely delivered (NewsCentral) and locally produced newscasts on story location, with local newscasts carrying significantly more local stories and significantly fewer national/international stories. Mills and Daniels (2009) examined Sinclair’s SportsCentral sportscasts and found they carried significantly fewer local stories than local station sportscasts within the same markets.

Yet Sinclair’s is not the only foray into remote delivery of local TV news. The Independent News Network (INN), established in 1999, produced newscasts for markets around the country from an industrial park on the north side of Davenport, Iowa. From the outside, the only clue to the activity inside Suite 100 was seven satellite dishes at the back of the building. INN’s website announced that it “offers a customized, quality driven newscast in English or Spanish…delivered by experienced anchor and reporter teams at a fraction of the cost to produce it internally!” (emphasis original). The website stated that INN used station reporters in each market to cover local stories. Video and information were sent to Davenport, where INN, in conjunction with the local staff, created and assembled the newscast, then delivered it back to the station by satellite or other technology. At the time this research began, the client list included stations in nine TV markets and Spanish-language stations in six others. In contrast to NewsCentral and SportsCentral, which were delivered exclusively to stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, INN contracted with several different owners.

In radio, Klinenberg (2007) argued that consolidation led to, among other things, less focus on local issues. And local news outsourcing in radio has been the subject of several studies. His researcher (Hood 2007, 2010) conducted a case study of one market, comparing locally and remotely produced news. The first study (2007) detailed such incidents as the same remotely delivered newscast airing for hours on end, as well as remote newscasts emphasizing conflict stories over a major local celebration and missing major local stories such as a nearby forest fire. The second study (2010) included a content analysis of locally and remotely produced newscasts, with findings similar to Daniels (2008) and Mills and Daniels (2009): Many more local stories on locally produced newscasts, many more national and international stories on remotely produced programs. I later interviewed news workers involved with outsourcing, who described the challenges of producing newscasts for communities with which they were unfamiliar or had never visited (Hood, 2011). Torosyan and Munro (2010) conducted a large survey of radio listeners, finding that they use local broadcast radio as a source of news and information, that they value relevant local news, and “that listeners are aware of remotely produced news content and exclude it from their definition of ‘local’” (p. 45).

This study seeks to build on this body of research on outsourced local news by using a systematic content analysis to examine whether newscasts produced remotely differ in measurable ways from locally produced content.

Research Questions

Since previous studies have documented differences in the location focus of stories between locally produced and outsourced newscasts, it is logical to look at these differences in this study. Coupled with location focus, the types of stories—particularly types of local stories—can indicate the resources devoted to a newscast. For example, packages that require a reporter’s involvement, or other local video stories, take more resources than a voice-over (VO) plucked from a satellite feed.

Of course, news stories are not the only elements in a local newscast. Ample research exists on the importance of weather in local news. Wilson (2008) noted that weather is “the most watched part of the local newscast and the primary reason people choose a local television news product” (p. 73). Time is also allotted for production elements such as teases and preproduced opens, interaction between anchors on the set, and commercial time. All are areas on which to compare local and outsourced newscasts.

Thus, to examine local and outsourced newscasts on a variety of different dimensions, the following research questions guided the study:

Research Question 1: What differences, if any, exist in location focus for stories (e.g., local news and national news) between locally produced and remotely produced newscasts?

Research Question 2: What differences, if any, exist in types of stories aired (based on recognized TV story types—packages, VOs, etc.) between locally produced and remotely produced newscasts?

Research Question 3: What differences, if any, exist in other production elements—weather and so on—between locally produced and remotely produced newscasts?

Method

This study employed a content analysis to compare the presentations of news in six markets served by both local stations and outsourced newscasts. Berelson’s (1952) classic definition of content analysis as “a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication” (p. 18) illustrates the appropriateness of this method for the current study. Gans (1979) specifically applied this technique to news, asserting that “a content analyst can observe recurring patterns in the news and can find a structure in its content” (p. 5).

The six markets studied included stations airing outsourced TV newscasts from the INN in Davenport, Iowa. The markets ranged in size from Omaha, Nebraska (Market 76) to Alexandria, Louisiana (Market 179), and also included Reno, Nevada (Market 108); Montgomery, Alabama (Market 119); Columbus, Georgia (Market 127); and Gainesville, Florida (Market 163; based on Nielsen numbers for 2011–2012). Newscasts were recorded from the outsourced station and the top-rated local news station in each market over 5 weeks in fall 2011, using a constructed-week format starting with a randomly selected Monday, then Tuesday the following week, and so on until Friday, since most of the outsourced stations did not air newscasts on weekends (see Riffe, Aust, & Lacy, 1993, on use of constructed weeks in news research).

When possible, early evening newscasts were recorded, since those are often more locally focused programs that air adjacent to the network evening news. Late local newscasts traditionally are more a mix of local and national news (Silcock, Heider, & Rogus, 2007). However, in three of the six markets outsourced newscasts aired only in the late evening, so in those markets, the late newscast was the one used in the study. In all but one market, the local and outsourced newscasts aired at the same time. In Omaha, the outsourced news on station KPTM airs at 9 p.m., so it was studied alongside the 10 p.m. newscast on local station KETV. Table 1 shows the markets and newscasts used in the study.

Table 1.

Outsourced and Local Newscasts.

Market (Market Size in Parentheses)	Outsourced Station, Affiliation, and Newscast Time	Local Station, Affiliation, and Newscast Time
Omaha, NE (76)	KPTM^a (Fox), 9 p.m.	KETV (ABC), 10 p.m.
Reno, NV (108)	KRXI^a (Fox), 11 p.m.	KOLO (ABC), 11 p.m.
Montgomery, AL (119)	WNCF^a (ABC), 10 p.m.	WSFA (NBC), 10 p.m.
Columbus, GA (127)	WLTZ^a (NBC), 6 p.m.	WTVM (ABC), 6 p.m.
Gainesville, FL (163)	WGFL (CBS), 6 p.m.	WCJB (ABC), 6 p.m.
Alexandria, LA (179)	KLAX (ABC), 6 p.m.	KALB (NBC), 6 p.m.

^aStations in some markets have since severed their news outsourcing arrangement with Independent News Network (INN).

The total sample included just over 30 hours of newscasts, with more than 1,000 stories. Stories were coded for a number of different attributes, including story type and location, which will be discussed in more detail subsequently. Sports stories were grouped with news for evaluation on the above-named attributes. Weather segments, commercial breaks, and other newscast elements, such as a program’s preproduced open and close, teases, and anchor chitchat, were timed, as well.

By happenstance, the Friday of the constructed week—November 18, 2011—a devastating wildfire was burning near Reno. Because it was such a major local news event, that day’s Reno newscasts were not included in the broader analysis, though the fire did provide a unique opportunity to study local and outsourced stations in the coverage of such an event. More will be said about the Reno fire coverage in a separate results section subsequently.

To answer Research Questions 1 and 2, the unit of analysis was the individual story. Minus the Reno fire day, there were 453 stories on locally produced newscasts and 567 on remotely produced news, for a total 1,020. One reason for the larger number of stories on outsourced stations was because the outsourced newscasts in Omaha ran 1 hr, compared to most of the newscasts being half that length. Using the individual story for analysis, and using percentages for each category, helped mitigate the problem of uneven numbers and still allow for examination of the broader picture.

For location focus, stories were sorted into one of three mutually exclusive categories: local, for stories within the station’s market, as designated by Nielsen’s designated market areas; state/regional, for stories outside the viewing area but within the same state or an adjacent state; and national/international for stories that did not match the other two categories. The regional (adjacent state) distinction was particularly useful for Omaha and Columbus, which are right on the border with another state. However, in those cases, stories were still coded as local if they happened within the local market, such as Council Bluffs, Iowa (5 miles from Omaha) or Phenix City, Alabama (1.5 miles from Columbus). For story type, six categories were used: reader; graphic only (a full-screen graphic, but no moving video); VO; VO/sound on tape (sot); package; and live shot (including reporters live at a story location, onset or in the newsroom).

For Research Questions 1 and 2, Fisher’s exact test (Fisher, 1922) was used to analyze the statistical significance of the data. For Research Question 3, t-tests were used to assess newscast elements on local and outsourced stations (Wimmer & Dominick, 2006). The primary coding was conducted by the researcher, with almost 20 years of TV news experience. A trained undergraduate research assistant also coded more than 10% of the sample, the threshold recommended by Lombard, Snyder-Duch, and Campanella Bracken (2002) for assessing intercoder reliability. Using Krippendorff’s alpha index (1980) resulted in intercoder agreement of .91 for story location and .95 for story type.

Findings

On many measures examining local and outsourced newscasts, statistically significant differences were found. The starkest differences were on the location focus of stories, as well as on production attributes, such as story type, use of video, and deployment of reporting resources.

Story Location

Local stations ran a significantly higher percentage of local, state, and regional stories than outsourced stations (Fisher’s exact p = .05 × 10⁻⁷). Well over half the stories on local stations pertained to local news and events, more than 9% higher than on outsourced stations (56.73–47.26%, respectively). Local stations carried almost 8% more state and regional stories (26.93–19.57%). Hence, more than 8 in 10 stories (83.66%) on local stations pertained to the local area, state or region, compared to two thirds (66.83%) on outsourced stations. One third of stories (33.15%) on outsourced stations were in the national/international category, compared to fewer than one in five (16.33%) on local stations.

Because of the importance of visuals in TV news, it is logical to assess the stations on use of video. For both types of stations, the vast majority of stories included video (84.98% on local stations, 84.3% on outsourced stations), but the location of those videos differed significantly (Fisher’s exact p = .0493 × 10⁻⁸). On local stations 57.4% of video stories were local, compared to 44.14% on outsourced stations. Local stations also carried more state and regional video stories (24.67–17.57%). Thus, more than 8 in 10 (82.07%) of the video stories on local stations were local, state, or regional, while the number for outsourced stations was just over 6 in 10 (61.71%). Almost 4 in 10 video stories on outsourced stations were national or international (38.28%), while less than 1 in 5 (17.92%) on local stations were.

Story Types

The differences between story types were not as stark as those for story location (Fisher’s exact p = .0022), though there were some differences worth noting. Outsourced stations were almost twice as likely as local stations to carry a reader, a story with no visuals (5.82–3.31%, respectively). Outsourced stations carried a higher percentage of VO stories (36.86–32.89%) and a lower percentage of VO/sots (25.75–31.56%) than local stations; thus, local stations were more likely to include an interview clip, which often adds perspective to a story. Outsourced stations carried a slightly higher percentage of packages (21.87–19.64%), but most were not local, as discussed in more detail subsequently. Local stations featured 29 live reports (6.4% of the total), either with reporters at a scene, on the news set, or in the newsroom; outsourced stations carried none.

Although outsourced stations carried a slightly higher percentage of packages than local stations, the numbers look starkly different when examined through the lens of location focus. Most, though not all, of the outsourced stations did include regular packages from one or more reporters based in the receiving stations, but to a significantly lower level than local stations in those markets (Fisher’s exact p = .074 × 10⁻⁸). While almost all packages that aired on local stations were done by local reporters or anchors (92.13%), that was true of just over half the packages on outsourced stations (54.03%). The rest of the packages (45.96%) on the outsourced stations came from networks (such as ABC or CNN) or from INN’s newsroom in Davenport. For example, a package regularly featured on outsourced newscasts, called “Global News Now,” was presented by the person identified on INN’s website as their news director, and a feature called “Back to Business” was done by a member of the Davenport on-air staff. Both of those features included compilations of short news items and did not include sound bites.

Other Newscast Elements

Research Question 3 addressed other elements besides news that make up a typical local news program, including weather, other components such as teases, and commercial breaks. Since sports stories were evaluated with news stories, sports was not included as a separate category here. To evaluate whether differences existed between local and outsourced news on these other elements required accounting for slightly different lengths of newscasts—some 30 min, some 35, and the Omaha outsourced newscasts running 1 hr. For this reason, the main measure was percentage of the total time for each program that was devoted to a particular element. For newscasts that were of comparable lengths (excluding the Omaha hour-long newscasts), results were also calculated in minutes and seconds and reported as an average across markets.

For weather, the time included regular weather segment as well as the “first look” or mini-forecast that some stations run near the beginning of a newscast. If the tease before the main weather segment included specific information such as that day’s weather statistics, as it did on some stations, it was counted as weather. Otherwise, it counted in the “other” category.

Both types of stations devoted almost identical percentages of time to weather (13.57% for local stations, 13.50% for outsourced, t[23] = 0.28, p < .79). When measured as time, the average was just 11 s more on local stations—4:17 versus 4:06 on outsourced stations.

The most noticeable distinction on weathercasts was that on half of the outsourced stations, the forecaster did not give current temperatures or other current conditions. Forecasters on both types of stations gave the day’s overall weather statistics (high and low temperature, etc.), and numbers were consistent between stations within each market, possibly indicating use of the same National Weather Service data. Forecasts were comparable on both types of stations, with only slight variations in temperatures predicted for the following day. How accurate the forecasts ended up being was not assessed, as it would have required gathering additional data beyond the scope of this project.

The “other” category included not only teases but also preproduced station branding elements (e.g., “You’re watching Channel X, with anchors ____ and ____”); station promotions that ran during news segments (e.g., “Post your baby’s picture to our Facebook page”); and chitchat between on-air personnel. This category was used by Smith (2009) and is useful when evaluating elements within a newscast that cannot be counted as news stories. Outsourced stations spent almost a full minute less on such items than local stations (2:14 or 7.32% vs. 3:11 or 10.13%, t[23] = 5.04, p < .0001). On several occasions on outsourced newscasts, the weather forecaster or sportscaster did not appear in a wider studio shot with the anchors, thus lessening the potential for interactions.

Commercial breaks accounted for considerably more time on local stations than outsourced stations, both as a percentage of the total program (28.97% vs. 26.76%, respectively) and in actual time (an average of 9:10 vs. 7:54, respectively; t[23] = 1.58, p < .13). It should be noted that this measure included everything aired during commercial breaks, not only paid ads but also public service announcements (PSAs) and preproduced station promotions that were not part of the “other” category. It was beyond the scope of this study to parse out which parts of the commercial breaks were paid ads versus other types of spots, but a media economics study on these newscasts could scrutinize those elements more specifically.

Reno Is Burning

The content analysis offers an aggregated snapshot of differences and similarities between locally produced and outsourced news, though the recordings from Reno, Nevada, on November 18, 2011, provided a unique chance to examine these questions. On that day, a large wildfire was burning on the edge of town, a major event that could not have been anticipated when newscast recording dates were randomly chosen several weeks before. As mentioned in the Methods section, Reno’s newscasts on the fire day were not included in the broader statistical analysis because of the unusual tenor of the news day, but they did offer an exceptional opportunity to study the ways local and outsourced stations covered this significant event.

The fire made national news, as it burned an area more than 3 square miles, caused millions of dollars in damage, destroyed or damaged at least 25 homes, and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people (CBS News, 2011). The local newspaper called the fire “one of the city’s—and region’s—most devastating infernos” (Duggan, 2011). At 11 p.m., local station KOLO devoted virtually its entire newscast to the fire, with 20 total stories on the blaze and three live shots from a reporter at the scene interspersed throughout the newscast. The only nonfire story covered the memorial service for a popular local sportscaster who had been killed in an accident.

It should be noted that the three live reports were not of equal informational value, and all certainly could have been described as “black hole” live shots (Tuggle & Huffman, 2001; Casella, 2013) in which virtually nothing could be seen except the reporter and a few dim lights in the background. The first live shot lasted almost 2.5 min, with the reporter noting that firefighters had made significant progress on hot spots; that the ferocious winds that had fanned the firestorm had died down; and that the weather had turned cold and snow was falling. He reported that some electrical power had been restored (the source of the dim lights in the background), but that local emergency authorities were asking residents to wait for word through the media on when they could return home. The second live shot, almost 18 min later, ran 1 min and 15 s. The reporter reiterated much of the information from the first report, with the only new information that the authorities had scheduled a briefing for the next morning. He ended the report with what is known in television lingo as a “tease,” promising to tell viewers in the next report what to expect in the morning briefing. The third live report, 10 min later near the end of the newscast, ran 53 s, and did include the new information that air support might be used on the fire the next morning, since the winds had died down; that a disaster team would come in to assess the damage; and that people could pick up their evacuated pets when the local animal shelter opened the next morning.

Outsourced station KRXI devoted its entire first segment to the fire, including packages from the station’s two local reporters. The second segment, beginning about 12 min into the newscast, covered national and international news, before returning to fire coverage. The outsourced newscast ran 10 fire stories, all with video that had been shot in daylight, none after darkness had fallen. The newscast ended with a montage of still images credited to the Associated Press.

On both stations, weather reports focused on fire-related aspects such as the diminished winds and the snowfall that was helping put the fire out. Neither station ran a sports segment. The total time devoted to fire stories (not counting weather reports) was 16:44 on the local station and 10:12 on the outsourced station.

Discussion

The results of this study show differences between locally produced and remotely produced newscasts on the amount and type of local news coverage, a finding that is pertinent in the 21st-century media landscape. Although viewers have an array of cable and network newscasts from which to glean national and international news, their choices for local content are more limited. Therefore, one of the main benefits local stations can offer viewers is a local perspective on news and issues in their communities. Pew’s 2012 news consumption study highlights the importance of local news to the audience, with 57% saying they follow local news closely most of the time (Pew, 2012, p. 31). In 2011, the Project for Excellence in Journalism declared that “Local TV is a critical source for everyday news” for the people they surveyed (Pew, 2011, p. 17). This was particularly true for weather and for breaking news. Days with major local stories, such as the fire in Reno, are examples of the importance of local news coverage when a community needs critical, timely information.

That said, being local is not in itself necessarily a measure of higher quality news. Focusing only on local news can lead to concerns of parochialism and a narrow outlook to the exclusion of the broader world. Outsourced newscasts do give viewers an alternative, and some may well find the inclusion of more national and international news on the local station appealing.

In addition, there is a long history of criticism of local news content focused on crime, sensationalism, and features (cf. Dominick, Wurtzel, & Lometti, 1975; Adams, 1978; Ryu, 1982; Wulfemeyer, 1982; Hoffstetter & Dozier, 1986). A fruitful area for future study would be examining story topics covered by local and outsourced stations. Does either type carry more stories to inform local citizens, such as news on government and public affairs? Does either type run more sensational or feature stories?

Such measures and assessments are quantifiable. Other attributes are more subtle and subjective. In this study, some observations may not have been obvious to the casual news viewer but were more noticeable to a news professional. For example, reporters on outsourced stations were much more likely to include multiple stand-ups in a package—up to five in a single story—than those on local stations. On the locally produced newscasts, only 2 of the 89 packages in the study included more than one stand-up, though there were numerous examples on outsourced stations. Another difference observed was that on outsourced stations, many interviewees were looking directly into the camera and holding the microphone, both practices that are considered taboo in broadcast journalism education because of the impression that the reporter has lost control of the interview and is giving the interviewee a forum to address the audience directly (see Tuggle, Carr, & Huffman, 2011, chapter 5; Keller & Hawkins, 2009, chapter 8). Such a practice was observed a couple of times on local stations, but was many times more frequent on outsourced newscasts.

The outsourced newscasts included some glaring on-air misspellings, such as a lower third graphic that declared “Romney & Cain died” instead of tied; a graphic referencing the “Romeny” campaign; an interview on “dog figthing”; and a graphic announcing free “entrace” to local parks. On the other hand, local stations were not immune to spelling errors that included “laywer,” “definately,” and “seperate.” Still, such mistakes did not support the claims made on INN’s website of “increased professional quality” in the outsourced newscasts.

An important point to consider is whether outsourced newscasts with some local staff is preferable to no local news at all on those stations. In three of the six markets studied, the outsourced newscast was the only alternative to a single dominant local station. In one market, the outsourced station had previously aired newscasts from another city 75 miles away, newscasts that had included little news pertinent to the local community. According to one observer, contracting with INN and hiring a few local reporters helped satisfy the demands made by the station’s network for a local news presence. At the time of the study, the station had three local reporters—two for news, one for sports—who appeared regularly on the newscasts, and a local graduate student was employed part-time for consumer reports.

This example was in the mid range for number of local staff on the outsourced stations. The number of local reporters on the outsourced newscasts during the study period ranged from seven in Omaha to one in Alexandria; in that case, the one local on-air personality was listed on the station’s website as the community affairs director, and her reports consisted mainly of pretaped on-set interviews.

Future Research

Although this study encompassed a relatively short time period (5 weeks), the data set of more than 1,000 stories does indicate patterns that merit further investigation regarding outsourced news. Besides analyzing stories based on topic categories, as mentioned previously, newscasts could also be studied on coverage and representation of race and gender, both among news sources and on-air personnel.

Another area of research could include audience reception. Do viewers notice or care about differences, such as the ones identified here, between local and outsourced stations? Ratings would tell some of the story, but there may be other factors for viewers in choosing one station over another, and one could empirically study whether the location from which the newscast emanates is one of those factors—if, indeed, viewers are aware of such differences.

Additional research could also include media economics. Though this study did not analyze the content of commercial breaks, such an examination could indicate the number of commercials sold versus station promotions or PSAs, which do not directly generate revenue. What are the economics for stations running outsourced newscasts? Does the station make money on the newscasts? Is outsourced local news an economically viable model for many stations? Answers to such questions would help contribute to an understanding of whether such practices may become more common.

The vast growth of Spanish language television provides another area for additional research into outsourced local news. INN, the company whose work was part of this study, listed Spanish language stations in six markets among its clients. One such market was Houston, in which a competing Spanish language station (not INN’s client) topped all local stations in news ratings in November 2012 (McGuff, 2012). Previous research has linked Spanish language coverage of local issues to an increase in voter turnout among Hispanics (Oberholzer-Gee & Waldfogel, 2006). With the outsourcing of some local Spanish language news, questions about how such coverage compares to comparable local stations would be a fruitful area of study.

Conclusion

Issues about the blurring of lines on what constitutes local media are not new. In its State of the News Media report in 2004, the Project for Excellence in Journalism expressed concerns about lower staffing levels in radio and the community impact with fewer people covering news. The 2005 report elaborated further, addressing news outsourcing:

Beyond the obvious problems of presentation, such as pronunciation and local knowledge, how can people provide a real news service to an area without even being there to cover it? (State of the News Media 2005, Radio)

Regardless of where the newscasts are produced, how to cover and best serve local communities will remain a crucial issue for local stations. Among the central questions local news managers should continue to ask themselves are as follows: What are the markers of strong local coverage and how do their stations compare to competitors, whether local or outsourced? How can stations differentiate themselves in coverage of their communities?

In No Sense of Place (1985), Meyrowitz argued that media technologies create new communities across spaces of transmission and that electronic media, in particular, destroy our sense of locality and contribute to cultural homogenization. He asserted that “more and more, people are living in a national (or international) information system rather than in a local town or city” and that “electronic media…eat away at the very meaning of distinct places: shared but special experience” (1985, pp. 145–146, emphasis in original). Geographer Andrew Kirby, on the other hand, argued that local media contribute to what Harre’ (1984) termed as “collective discourse.” Kirby asserted that “the locality is a filter through which we deal with the realities of existence” (1988, p. 241). Yet if the outsourcing trend in broadcast news continues, one wonders if the concept of the local in local news will come to mean something different altogether.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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