Medill Study: Crime Pays

According to a new viewer-engagement study on local TV from Northwestern’s Medill school, crime leads the news–it’s in the first block, and gets the most time of any topic (19%). Nope, not weather. 

The study surveyed 1,400 adults in the Chicago area, and focused on the stations in that market, including WBBM and WMAQ. 

Furthermore, viewers found little difference, in terms of engagement, between the five news outlets they watched. And the effect TV news had on the people in the survey is low, compared to other media such as newspapers and online. 

It’s a big freakin’ study. We’ll dig in deeper next week.