Re: Another ABC affiliate cuts local news

[Paul Anderson <plandrsn@ma.ultranet.com>]

On Sunday, April 14, 2002, at 09:24  AM, Chris Beckwith wrote:

> KTKA/Topeka, KS is eliminating its traditional local newscasts within a 
> week.

I was at first shocked by this trend, but then thought, what's the big 
deal?  If a station's news is so lowly-rated that it doesn't pay to keep 
it on the air, so what?  Then I thought of the lack of competition for 
the remaining newscasts in the market.  Then I thought of the fact that 
the only identity stations have these days is local news, since 99% of 
everything else is network or syndicated fare.  KTKA, along with all the 
other stations dropping local news, will now become a faceless conduit 
for national programming.  Gee, just like most radio stations.

Where do you think it will all end?  In ten or twenty years, how many 
stations in small or medium markets will still have local news?  For 
that matter, will ABC, CBS and NBC still have nightly news shows?

It reminds me a situation in reverse.  WHYN Springfield (channel 40; now 
WGGB) used to have local news but not carry ABC news in the evening.  It 
was 1970 or so, and was it Harry Reasoner from ABC that said any station 
not carrying the network news should be embarrassed?

Paul