Indifference at 11

INDIFFERENCE AT 11
[SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer, AUTHOR: Gail Shister]
Viewership of local news is down across the country, and for the same reasons network news is hurting: the Internet, changing lifestyles, and a bottomless generation gap. "Increasingly, people find local TV news repetitive and not nutritious," says Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ). "They say the stories aren't telling them anything they don't already know. They're put off by what strikes them as superficial." PEJ studies Nielsen data from about 600 stations in all 210 U.S. markets. Over the last several years, "we're seeing a gradual and systematic downturn of ratings in local TV news," Rosenstiel said. "The data are clear." First, the obvious suspects. We get our news instantly online, or on other platforms. We're doing other things at 6 and 11. We have longer commutes, so we go to bed and wake up earlier. Content is another factor, says Rosenstiel. According to several recent studies, local stations' heavy emphasis on murder and mayhem - "police scanner journalism" - alienates viewers, he says. Part of the problem, says Temple's Petner, is that local stations produce so much news on a daily basis, they don't have enough staff to generate different stories for every broadcast.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20070621_Indifference_at_11.html