Station to Station
Station to Station covers the odds, ends, ups and downs of the local television business across America
Gannett-Belo: Largest Station Deal Since...
We wanted to put last week’s $2.2 billion Gannett-Belo deal in some sort of historical perspective, and sought out some veteran local TV types to help. It was easily the largest station M&A move since I’ve been covering this stuff since 2007, with Local TV’s pickup of some Fox O&Os and Newport’s grab of the Clear Channel bunch previously setting the high water m ...... Read More
Comments (1)Positive Stories That Don't Get Ratings--And Negative Ones That Do
David Carroll (above), reporter at WRCB Chattanooga, has an interesting post on the dilemma of showing positive stories that don’t get ratings–and negative ones that do. He’s called it “Why Don’t Y’all Ever Show Any Good News?”. He writes: Let’s face it, human nature dictates the news. Look outside. Are cars going by, observing the speed l ...... Read More
Comments (2)Dissecting Media General-Young: Interesting Pointers From Poynter
Interesting take on the Media General-Young merger on Poynter.org. in which the reporter–a former Media General employee–notes that Warren Buffett, true to character, benefited handsomely from the new arrangement. A year ago, writes Rick Edmonds, “Berkshire Hathaway loaned Media General $445 million to refinance a crushing debt load coming due. The initial interest rate was an ...... Read More
Comments (0)Former KMTR Meteorologist Speaks Out on Sinclair Takeover
Joseph Calbreath, former morning meteorologist at KMTR Eugene, has sounded off on Fisher acquiring his longtime employer–and then Sinclair acquiring Fisher in these rabid M&A days. Fisher acquired KMTR for $8.5 million late last year. Sinclair agreed to acquire Fisher in April. Calbreath recently retired and did not have to stay mum on the pending acquisition. Eugene Weekly has publishe ...... Read More
Comments (3)Omaha Station Renovates Omaha Station
KETV Omaha has found a new home in Omaha’s vacant Burlington Station, a train depot south of the city’s Old Market. The TV station will spend two years renovating the building before moving in. “It’s the right thing to do,” said Ariel Roblin, president/GM of KETV. “It really goes back to the people who watch us every day, the people we serve every day, th ...... Read More
Comments (0)WDRB Breaks From 'Breaking News'
It may go against everything local TV news stands for/strives for, but WDRB Louisville says it will no longer use the term “breaking news” in its broadcasts, reports TV Spy. A station promo says: “You hear the term, ‘Breaking News’ quite frequently these days. It’s a marketing ploy to convince you that at television station is better at bringing you the n ...... Read More
Comments (0)Scripps Grabs Two Trophies at Peabody Lunch
Scripps executives, including Rich Boehne, Brian Lawlor and Bob Sullivan, were in New York yesterday as two of the group’s stations picked up prestigious Peabody awards from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism. The emcee, Dr. Horace Newcomb, credited the winners, which ranged from Lorne Michaels to KNXV Phoenix to HBO’s Girls, for producing work that ȁ ...... Read More
Comments (0)OK City Stations Cover Tornadoes' 'Gut-Wrenching Heartache'
UPDATED: The fatality number is climbing outside Oklahoma City in the wake of devastating tornadoes, and the property loss is, for the moment, incalculable. “It’s gone from gut-wrenching heartache several hours ago to sort of a numbness right now,” said a KFOR reporter on the scene in suburban Moore. The New York Times links to the live stream for Local TV’s KFOR.com, ...... Read More
Comments (0)"Video-Bombing" Live Shots a News Director's Worst Nightmare
We have a story out in our upcoming issue on “video-bombing” at the station level–people sneaking into a reporter’s live shot, and often ending up, along with the reporter, as a YouTube sensation. (For the record, I dislike the term “video-bombing”, as it makes me think of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon last month, but that’s what it’s k ...... Read More
Comments (1)WDRB Rides Former Print Guys to Strong Derby Showing
It’s been almost a year since a pair of high profile newspaper columnists, Eric Crawford and Rick Bozich, departed the Louisville Courier-Journal for the TV world, landing at Fox affiliate WDRB Louisville. Two sports are followed above all else in Louisville; college basketball wrapped up in early April, while horse racing had its marquee event this past Saturday. While WDRB did not have th ...... Read More
Comments (1)Guest Post: Katie Young, Fineman PR, on Boston Bombings and the Media
I first learned of the bombings at the Boston Marathon from a tweet. The same is true for the explosion in Texas and the pursuit of the Boston bombers. In typical Gen-Y form, I consume news in non-traditional ways–regularly scanning my Twitter feed and going there first for news. For example, the ground shakes and I check Twitter to confirm if I just experienced an earthquake. However, aft ...... Read More
Comments (0)WSJ: Stations Stepping Up Mobile Strategies
The Wall Street Journal has a story today about stations trying to beat Aereo and its ilk at their own game–getting station content into users’ handhelds through streaming and, to a lesser degree, through mobile TV. You can seemingly access the story without a subscription here. Writes the Journal: Stations are trying to keep up with a rapidly changing television marketplace, ...... Read More
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