No compete clause and TV news decline article

["Schwoegler, Bruce W" <BRUCES@boston.cbs.com>]

Folks:

Two items:  First is no compete comment.  If you have clout, you might be
able to reduce it to 3 to 6 months during contract negotiations.  Otherwise
you have a 6-12 month sit out period.  All are negated in Mass. with the new
AFTRA sponsored law IF you were let go.  Yes, it is easier for talent to
have this law as they don't have to contest (at their expense) an employer's
claim to their name/image.  Many people are forced into these clauses
because if you don't sign, you don't get the job.  And there are many
wannabes standing in line to sip from this dying trough.  Per that, see the
article pasted below from Shoptalk.

Bruce


SURVEY FINDS VIEWERS INCREASINGLY TUNING OUT LOCAL TV NEWS 
With Complaints About Repetition, Sensationalism and 
Misleading Promotions Reaching Record Highs, Nearly One Out 
of Four Adults No Longer Watch Any Local Evening Newscasts 
TV viewers are increasingly dissatisfied with local 
television newscasts, according to a new survey by 
Insite Media Research. Findings reveal that viewer 
dissatisfaction with local TV news is so strong that it is 
making a serious impact on audience behavior, causing 22 
percent of the adult population, almost one out of four, to 
completely avoid the local evening news. Viewers cite story 
repetition, sensationalism, and misleading news promotions 
to be at the core of their discontent. 
The survey, developed by veteran news consultant Scott 
Tallal and available at www.tvsurveys.com, was designed to 
give viewers a chance to explain why they're so 
dissatisfied with local TV news and help TV stations listen 
directly to their audience and respond to viewer 
complaints. Insite surveyed viewers nationwide for their 
opinions on local news coverage via its exclusive "voice 
capture" PC-based telephone interviewing system, which 
uses digital audio to record actual soundbites from 
interviews. 
"The public's attitude toward local television news has 
reached a crisis point," says Scott Tallal, president of 
Insite Media Research. "The trends are alarming - avoidance 
of local news has doubled during the past ten years, and 
complaints among those still watching are at an all-time 
high, suggesting that even more audience erosion is 
possible. The number of viewers who have tuned out their 
local evening newscasts has jumped up to 22 percent, and 
avoidance among younger viewers has climbed even higher, 
topping 40 percent." 
Among the survey's key findings are:
* 10 percent of those surveyed no longer watch any local 
newscasts in any time period; in some markets, the figure 
is as high as 33 percent for the primary 5:00, 6:00, and 
10:00/11:00 p.m. shows.
* Of those who do watch local news, more than half of those 
surveyed no longer care which station they watch. In fact, 
the percentage of local news "discriminators" has declined 
steadily for the past three years because viewers 
increasingly feel that all stations are becoming more and 
more alike.
* Station satisfaction and loyalty scores continue to drop 
right along with viewer discrimination, yet many viewers no 
longer bother searching for alternatives. In many markets, 
up to half of those surveyed are now resigned to watching 
just one station for local news, not so much because 
they like that station but rather because they're unable to 
find one they like better.
* 52 percent of those surveyed feel that most stations 
spend too much time covering the same stories over and over 
again, presenting the same information they've already seen 
and heard countless times before.
* 45 percent feel stations are too sensational in the way 
they cover or present the news. 38 percent think stations 
should provide a better balance of "good" and "bad" news, 
and 31 percent also want coverage of crime which 
focuses more on bringing suspects into custody (and less on 
sensationalizing their exploits).
* 28 percent find most local news promotion to be 
irritating and/or intentionally misleading. An identical 
number of viewers want more coverage of the "real" issues 
facing their community, while 27 percent also think 
most stations should show viewers more respect and stop 
underestimating their intelligence. Another 25 percent also 
want a broader scope of coverage (in every respect). 
"Too often the audience feels its intelligence is being 
insulted," says Bill Brown of Coaching Company, a broadcast 
industry consultant working with Insite. "People are 
telling us loud and clear that there's not enough about the 
issues that actually have an impact on their lives. With 
all the increased competition, some stations are trying to 
manipulate the audience with sensational coverage or 
misleading promotion, alienating many of the viewers 
they're trying to attract. Competition also leads many 
stations into copycat tactics which not only perpetuate 
many of these problems, they also result in newscasts which 
look so much alike that the audience can no longer tell the 
difference." 
In an effort to help the TV news industry combat viewer 
dissatisfaction, Brown and Tallal have drafted a "Local TV 
News Viewers Bill of Rights" and circulated it, along with 
the results of the Insite survey, to over 60 TV client 
stations in the hope that they will present coverage that 
is more substantive than sensational, particularly in the 
reporting of crime stories. Its points include:
* The right to more updating and less repetition.
* Freedom from sensational news coverage.
* The right to a balance of positive and negative news.
* The right to meaningful crime coverage.
* Freedom from misleading newscasts promotion.
* The right to coverage of "real" local issues.
* The right to more respect.
* The right to coverage of all the day's news.
* The right to coverage of the entire viewing area.
* The right to down-to-earth involved personalities 
"The good news is that we've found 10 specific ways that TV 
stations can stem the losses and bring more viewers back to 
local news," Scott Tallal added. "In fact, 63 percent of 
all news viewers we surveyed say they'd definitely watch a 
station more often if it committed to these ideals, with 
most saying they would do so even if that station wasn't 
their current favorite. And 54 percent of those who've left 
the audience say they would in fact come back to local TV 
news just to watch that kind of station. Client stations 
that have adopted this 'Bill of Rights' have already seen 
some very promising results in their ratings." 
The survey is based on the results of 402 interviews with a 
representative sampling of adults (18+) living in the 
continental United States, contacted using random-digit 
dialing (RDD) techniques to ensure a proportionate reach 
of both listed and unlisted residential households. Sex, 
age, race, and geographic sampling controls were imposed to 
within +5% of Census-based population projections. To 
ensure their adequate representation in the 
overall sample, non-English-speaking Hispanics were asked 
for basic demographics, but were otherwise not asked to 
participate in the rest of the survey. 
Founded in 1988, Insite is a broadcast industry research 
and consulting firm based in Malibu, California and Dallas, 
Texas. The company uses state-of-the-art research 
techniques to give its clients key information about their 
markets and works closely with its clients to build 
customized questionnaires designed from the ground up to 
fit individual client's needs. Insite is headed by Scott V. 
Tallal, who has provided audience research and strategic 
development services to television stations and 
programming organizations both domestically and abroad for 
the past twenty years. Prior to becoming a broadcast and 
marketing consultant, Mr. Tallal spent almost ten years in 
news, programming, production, promotion, and management at 
several top-rated radio and television stations. For 
complete information regarding Insite Media Research survey 
and the "Local TV News Viewer's Bill of Rights," visit 
www.tvsurveys.com.