Message From Michael -- April 7, 2008

A SNAPSHOT OF BLOGGERS AND JOURNALISTS

DON’T CONFUSE ME WITH FACTS

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW

DAMNING WITH FAINT PRAISE

THEY’RE THE BIGGEST AND THE BEST

CONGRATULATIONS


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A SNAPSHOT OF BLOGGERS AND JOURNALISTS: More than half of the bloggers (53.2%) who took part in a recent PR Week/ PR Newswire survey say they do NOT consider themselves journalists even though a nearly equal percentage (50.6%) had worked for a traditional publication. Of course the number of actual bloggers surveyed was small (79). But even so, with many traditional media Websites beginning to resemble blogs or newsletters, the COO of PR Newswire argues that “the definition of who is a journalist is blurring.” Most of those surveyed (1,152) were ‘traditional journalists.’ Of them, only a fifth (21%) say they write a blog for their traditional outlet. In what one analyst called a surprising streak of optimism, three out of five (63.5%) of the magazine and print journalists surveyed say their publication will continue indefinitely. It probably says something that less than one in ten (9.3%) of those surveyed are in TV news. Most (41.3%) worked for either newspapers or magazines (29.5%). The others either worked for Online Websites or were bloggers or were employed at radio stations (5.4%). A quarter of those surveyed (25.5%) say they have a profile on MySpace, slightly more (29%) on Facebook and even more (32.3%) are on LinkedIn. It also probably says something (and again I’m not sure what) that nearly three quarters (70.1%) say they “measure the success of their work” by the feedback they get from colleagues while half (50%) say it comes from readers online while less than half (41.8%) cite links from other media and slightly fewer (38.1%) cite having their story on the most read or most e-mailed list. The PR survey also confirms an observation about the increasing emphasis on the business side of journalism from the previous two weeks’ MfM’s on the State of the News Media report, with more than nine in 10 (91.4%) of those surveyed saying it is ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important that their work make their operations financially successful ‘by creating appealing content.’

Trends of Note: Website Gawker uses a ‘pay-for-page-views’ approach to compensation with bloggers and journalists. The report says despite the immediate measurability of story interest because of Internet postings, a third of those surveyed (30.1%) say it is unlikely that sites will adopt the Gawker Website model although a fifth (18.4%) say they can see that happening. Meanwhile the report notes the move by Politicker.com which is developing a Web-only news organization to cover this year’s Presidential election. The website has already launched operations in 10 states so far and is planning to have websites for all 50 states with ‘reporters’ covering those states each day.

DON’T CONFUSE ME WITH FACTS: My mind is made up. An analysis of news consumption by a professor at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University Of Georgia seems to confirm that cynical saying. But there is a twist to it. Barry Hollander says that “changes in the mass media resemble that seen in day-to-day conversations.” People want to talk with people like themselves. Hollander’s analysis goes several steps further in looking at data that conservatives tend to watch so-called conservative newscasts (aka Republicans and Fox News) and liberals tend to watch liberal news media (Democrats and CNN). Hollander says ‘partisans’ – people who strongly identify with one political party or the other – watch more news than non-partisans and have actually increased their news consumption. But he says there has been a “slow, steady shift” by those same partisans (both Republicans and Democrats) toward news that confirms their beliefs and away from news that challenges those beliefs. Meanwhile, people with fewer partisan ties have ‘migrated’ to entertainment programming, with “growing evidence that the high-choice media environment has drained significant numbers of casual consumers from news to more entertainment-oriented fare.” Hollander quotes earlier studies warning that advertisers and media companies will create ‘the electronic equivalent of gated communities.’ Hollander says the hopes that mass media would provide a counter-weight to people’s growing homogenization of viewpoints “appear dim.”

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?: If you live in West Palm Beach, the answer is a resounding YES, according to Nielsen Media Research. It named West Palm as the best place for voice network service in the country, followed by San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Chicago, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Houston, Miami and Orlando. Oddly enough (as always, to me at least) none of those cities scored in the top ten when it came to what is commonly called Wi-Fi accessibility. The fastest 3G Data city in the U.S., according to Nielsen, is St. Louis, followed by Salt Lake City, Phoenix, San Diego, Indianapolis, Providence, Seattle, Los Angeles, Washington and Greensboro-Winston-Salem. In the top ten voice networks, only 0.3% of all calls in these cities were dropped. And at 807 kilobits per second, St. Louis’s average download speed was 17% higher than the 9th ranked Washington, DC. Nielsen says it collected the data using a fleet of 25 vans logging more than a million miles, placing over 4 Million calls and setting up more than 1.25 Million data sessions.

DAMNING WITH FAINT PRAISE: That’s the phrase that comes to mind when one reads the February ratings analysis by the Katz Television Group. According to them, local TV lost less of its late news audience following the writers’ strike than their network partners lost in the prime-time half hour leading up to the late news. As reported by Michelle Greppi in TVWeek, local newscasts showed “an unexpected durability.” The report quotes Bill Carroll, VP and director of Programming for Katz, as saying that the relevance of network lead-in is “less impactful” than it was 10 years ago on local news as people increasingly watch programs and not stations. Carroll is quoted as saying he believes stations can make up the strike-related losses. I should note the previous week’s MfM’s on the State of the News Media which showed a general decline in network and local TV news over the past several years, although interestingly enough the February ratings comparison (2006 to 2007) was more often flat than down, compared to the other rating periods.

THEY’RE THE BIGGEST AND THE BEST: In American television, according to that same ratings analysis by the Katz Television Group. The #1 rated 5 a.m. newscast in America is KPLC/ Lake Charles, Louisiana with an 8.7 Rating/ 67 share in Households. The #1 rated 6 a.m. newscast in America is WBKO/ Bowling Green, Kentucky with a 21.7 rating and a 71 share. The #1 rated 5pm newscast in the country is KAIT/ Jonesboro, Arkansas, with a 28.6 rating and a 57 Share. The #1 rated 6pm newscast is WAGM/ Presque Isle, Maine, with a 36.7 rating and a 62 share. And the #1 rated late news (11pm and 10pm) is WTAP/ Parkersburg, West Virginia which had a 19.1 rating and a 59 share. As a reminder to my non-broadcast brethren, rating represents the percentage of ALL television sets in the market tuned to the station while share represents the percent of ALL television sets actually ON that are tuned to the station. Also, as a caveat, I should note that many of the stations that score high are in one-station markets. And as a further caveat, I should note these are numbers based on total households and NOT on the specific demographics which advertisers are so interested in… although there is often a correlation between the two.

Considering last week’s MfM about the State of the News Media in which it was noted that several stations are shifting their newscasts to other time periods, it is interesting to note just how many of those stations there are, according to the Katz numbers. There are 70 stations with a 4 p.m. newscast. There are 42 stations with a 7 p.m. newscast. And there are 25 stations with a 4:30 p.m. newscast. Remember, there are more than 500 stations ranked by Katz with a 6pm and just under 500 5pm newscasts. I would note that the #1 4pm newscast in America, KWES/ Odessa Midland, scored a 7.8/25 which would have ranked it somewhere around 100 in the 5pm list. And the #1 7pm newscast in America, WLUC/ Marquette, scored a 16.4/30 (barely beating out WIS/ Columbia at 16.3/30); and in the 6pm rankings, that would have put it at about the 80 spot. Of course, there are all kinds of caveats, but the numbers provide some interesting fodder for those looking at the time slots.

CONGRATULATIONS: Now, if I were a ‘smart’ consultant, I would note all of my client stations that scored at the top of the list… and, promptly, take credit for it. Modesty, and honesty, forbids. However, I would extend congratulations to WAFB and Nick Simonette, Vicki Zimmerman, Andre Zamarlik; WDAM and Jim Cameron, Randy Swan, Miranda Beard and Pam McGovern; WTVM and Lee Brantley, Anne Holmes and Brian Correll; KFVS and Mike Smythe, Mark Little and Paul Keener; KPLC and Jim Serra, Scott Flannigan, Tim Bourgeois, and Robin Daugereau; KTRE and Artie Bedard, Tina Alexander Sellers, Jim Moore and Mike Wiggins; and WECT and Raeford Brown, David Toma and the late Karl Davis, whom I still remember fondly. All of them scored very high on the Katz list and well above their market size for different newscasts. And as to those former clients who scored well… Well, Congratulations, too.

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