Nexstar: Help us own more television stations!
After its retransmission fee fight earlier this year, Nexstar Broadcasting is moving on to bigger things. Commercials now in rotation on WBRE and WYOU direct viewers to this Nexstar-run website, urging them to help "preserve local TV" by telling their elected officials to support media consolidation and let companies, like Nexstar, own more than one station in a market.
Says company bigwigs, "Operating two stations gives companies like ours the ability to deliver another news voice to the market. It means more local news not less. It means more local jobs. It’s good for our community." Just look at everything WBRE and WYOU has done!
The FCC, however, admitted that media consolidation will hurt local TV news coverage. Just look at the memo the agency ordered destroyed. In short, viewers get more local news when they watch a locally-owned station.
As for the Wilkes-Barre duopoly, fundraisers and promotions doesn't hide the negatives. Until recently, WBRE and WYOU were essentially cut from the same template. Both stations even aired the same stories, often within seconds of each other. Let's not forget that both stations now simulcast their morning shows. Less local news, not more.
So much for delivering "another news voice to the market."
Says company bigwigs, "Operating two stations gives companies like ours the ability to deliver another news voice to the market. It means more local news not less. It means more local jobs. It’s good for our community." Just look at everything WBRE and WYOU has done!
The FCC, however, admitted that media consolidation will hurt local TV news coverage. Just look at the memo the agency ordered destroyed. In short, viewers get more local news when they watch a locally-owned station.
As for the Wilkes-Barre duopoly, fundraisers and promotions doesn't hide the negatives. Until recently, WBRE and WYOU were essentially cut from the same template. Both stations even aired the same stories, often within seconds of each other. Let's not forget that both stations now simulcast their morning shows. Less local news, not more.
So much for delivering "another news voice to the market."
posted by Howard Beale at 11:57 AM
17 Comments:
And you thought the robber barons went out with coal, railroads, lumber and steel. Now comes Perry Sook to pillage and plunder in the name of profit, and to lobby Congress for more!
Is there anyone out there who can honestly say WBRE, WYOU, their employees and the community are better off since Nexstar took over?
You do the math for yourself, but I think "50" is a LOT LESS than 22 + 28.
What balls! That's the best way to sum up what Nexstar is doing here...
Why don't we take a look at some of their local events-
28 Listens- I worked there for two years- never saw a meeting with community leaders- NEVER...
Kindervision- For $30,000 in TV advertising, you too can host a Kindervision event...would they do the event if the client did not pony up the cash??? Hmmmmm???
WYOU - Live Local Parade Broadcasts- WYOU was guaranteed cash if they broadcast these two events.
WYOU /WBRE - Million Pound Meltdown- The best one yet- BC/BS signed a huge sales contract with both stations that included promo's wtih Kerry Shanan. Again, would Nexstar do these events without cash behind them?
Want to impress us Nexstar? Broadcast parades without commercials- town halls without a big corporate sponsor. Do something that would be a money loser that's community minded. Like that's gonna happen...
Isn't it funny, if you check out the WBRE/WYOU page on that site, all most all of the events they are showing are a joint venture between the two stations. Couldn't one state that if they were actually run as two seperate stations that there would be twice as many events? Or is Nexstar trying to say that they were able to do those events because the two stations have better coverage than one? Either way that website is a bunch of bull.
Just came across this on http://studiobrf.newshare.com/ :
"In a statement that likely caused shudders among some Fox News employees, Roger Ailes said Thursday that News Corp Chairman Rupert "Murdoch didn't invest a billion dollars in this company so people can have jobs. ... He did it to WIN. ... He wants to win and so do I." Ailes made the statement in a company State of the Business Address, in which he also remarked, "We cannot rest on our accomplishments, and I will continue to make changes."
Those sound like Sook-like comments to me. It just proves that Sook has big-network mentality that people in smaller markets just can't grasp.
Some things just shouldn't be consolidated. Local news should remain more "Mom and Pop" than huge megastations. While 2 local stations might somehow work, if encouraged it would stretch beyond local viewing areas and reach whole states, or more. Where's the local news then? Only bigger cities, bigger crimes featured. Leave local news LOCAL, even if it means some "fluff" stories or corny themes on slow news days. I'd rather hear about a lemonade stand in MY neighborhood than a traffic jam 500 miles away. If expansion is wanted, expand the services but keep it local.
Nexstar will do nothing in the community unless it turns a profit, and a huge profit at that. Telethons are included in that deal. Both the CMN and MAW Telethons turn big bucks for them, although the future of MAW is uncertain. Kindervision? Big money maker. The Meltdown? Enormous money. Instead of asking to have the leash lengthened, I am amazed that some citizens' group, or even an investment group, hasn't challenged the FCC licenses of both of these stations. It would seem abundantly clear that they are not fulfilling the mandate of their licenses in serving the communities in which they operate.
10:35pm:
As a traditionalist I agree...the Mom and Pop thing would be great to have around forever. However as a realist, you have to realize that those days are ending. The Mom and Pop TV Stations will be eaten up by the Nexstars the same way the Mom and Pop corner stores are being swallowed up by Wal Mart and Target.
Is it such a bad thing ? Tough call (and probably worthy of it's own topic. Howard ?). The attraction of a corporate base can be beneficial to an area. Just look at Dickson City and Wilkes-Barre Twp. The invasion of the corporate monsters brought in jobs, attention, semi-pro sports teams, etc. The flip-side is losing some of that local flavor. Tough call in a touch econominc world.
Final thought: It will be interesting to see what will happen to WNEP if a corporate, out-of-town entity takes over.
Final thought: It will be interesting to see what will happen to WNEP if a corporate, out-of-town entity takes over. >><<
As opposed to what, the New York Times? Change would only come if locals ponied up the cash. But considering how negative everyone is around here, I doubt there is enough interest, let alone enough old money to buy WNEP and Suite 16.
"Final thought: It will be interesting to see what will happen to WNEP if a corporate, out-of-town entity takes over."
3:58 PM
Like, say, the New York Times? Damn! The 21st century kinda snuck up on ya, didn't it?
And it's not that tough a call. "Corporate monsters" (as you call them) may have brought jobs to Dickson City and W-B Twp., but Nexstar has drastically SLASHED jobs and pay.
It in quick rush to bash 28/22 for charging for things like parades, let's not forget the Geisinger Children's telethon left 16 because the hospital refused to increases 16 wanted to charge for their "public service time" and MDA pays 16 for the air time!!!!
Hard to believe that 16 would be lucky enough to land an owner with NYT's deep pocketbooks. Financial changes are on the way for DubyaNEP, for sure.
Note to 9:03 AM about the Children's Miracle Network telethons:
Geisinger didn't drop WNEP. Once the children's hospital was built,WNEP dropped Geisinger because Geisinger refused to say how the money raised by the telethon would be allocated. Because WNEP couldn't get a straight answer from the Geisinger suits, they declined to do any more telethons.
First thing new owners are gonna do is ask, "We're spending HOW much to crush the non-competition?"
Hell, if you could lower your expenses considerably and continue to maintain your income and lifestyle, wouldn't you do it?
Telethons have long been a dirty little secret with teevee stations. They like the public to think they're just being swell and giving everything away. They make a ton of money on telethons. Let me add a caveat here; in most cases the station makes a ton of money, production people get paid, sales reps pick up a piece of the action where applicable, but talent gets squat. And if "talent" asks for so much as travel reimbursement, they're looked at as being greedy, selfish, uncaring. Telethons should really just go away...
"Because WNEP couldn't get a straight answer from the Geisinger suits, they declined to do any more telethons.
11:48 PM
Damn straight. I oughta know. I was there.
Geisinger has more money than it knows how to spend. The Weis family, one of America's wealthiest, has been an enormous benefactor over the years. Truth be told, many main-line charities, including Geisinger, have no pressing need to raise funds, they are endowed up the nose.
At the same time, more than a few charities barely make it week to week.
So where is the accounting from MDA or St Joe's from the high and mighty 16????
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