TV Stations Asleep at the Wheel

TV STATIONS ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center]
[Commentary] When a group like the University of Wisconsin-NewsLab actually tries to systematically study what is on the air, they immediately churn up broadcasters' complaints about methodology to discredit what is obvious to the viewer: that, when it comes to substantive coverage of our nation's political discourse, local television stations are asleep at the wheel. Stations crow about the one or two long-format debates they offer, which are fine as far as they go but certainly have their own weaknesses, including the times they actually air and the audience they are geared to reach (i.e., people with enough time to sit down and watch for one or two hours). The truth is, TV stations don't do half of what they could -- or should -- given that they receive their licenses for free in exchange for serving the “public interest, convenience and necessity.”
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6400562.html?display=Opinion