News, Staff & Profit
by Bob Papper
Another growth
year for TV news and staff … but not for radio news.
For television
news, almost all the signs are positive in the latest RTNDA/Ball State
University Annual Survey. The average
total amount of local TV news time per week set a new record this past year,
and staffing rose, overall, to tie the all-time peak staffing level of
2000. The percentage of TV news
operations making a profit rose to a near all-time high, and the percentage of
station revenue produced by news is also at the high end.
On the negative
side, for the first time ever, the total number of TV stations originating
local news fell. The drop was small—from
778 last year to 772 this year—but it’s the first time that the total hasn’t
gone up from year to year. On the other
hand, another 133 stations get local news from one of the 772. That’s up 52
from a year ago.
In contrast,
there’s little positive news on the radio side.
Both the average amount of news and average staff size fell from a year
ago. While consolidation makes it
difficult to track radio news over time, it’s clear that the overall trend is
down. The typical radio news director
oversees three to four stations, and more than three-quarters of radio news
directors also have non-news responsibilities.
TV Staff Size – 2006
|
|
Avg full-time |
Median full- time |
Maximum full-time |
Avg part-time |
Median part-time |
Maximum part-time |
Avg total staff |
Median total |
Maximum total staff |
|
All TV |
36.4 |
30.0 |
150 |
4.7 |
3.0 |
110 |
41.2 |
33.0 |
162 |
|
Big four affiliates |
38.1 |
31.0 |
150 |
4.8 |
3.0 |
110 |
42.9 |
36.0 |
162 |
|
Other commercial |
20.0 |
9.5 |
89 |
3.6 |
3.5 |
11 |
23.6 |
16.0 |
92 |
|
Market size: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1-25 |
64.4 |
56.5 |
150 |
8.1 |
4.0 |
40 |
72.4 |
74.0 |
162 |
|
26-50 |
51.0 |
54.5 |
104 |
5.0 |
3.5 |
23 |
56.0 |
60.0 |
113 |
|
51-100 |
37.5 |
36.5 |
110 |
4.7 |
3.5 |
17 |
42.2 |
42.0 |
110 |
|
101-150 |
24.2 |
25.0 |
45 |
4.2 |
2.0 |
110 |
28.4 |
27.0 |
124 |
|
151+ |
17.9 |
17.0 |
47 |
2.8 |
1.0 |
14 |
20.6 |
20.0 |
54 |
The median staff size remained
the same as a year ago (and two years ago), but, once again, the average staff
size went up – this year to 36.4. That’s
the second highest full time TV news staff level ever—just behind the record
set at the end of 2000. Coupled with an
increase in part timers, the total average TV news staff ties the highest level
ever. The biggest markets led the way,
but most markets rose. A year ago,
Fox-affiliated newsrooms moved up in size and were not meaningfully smaller
than the others. This year, they’re
statistically the same and sometimes larger.
Newsrooms in the Northeast and South tended to be larger than those in
the
Staff Size Changes … the past year
|
|
Increase |
Decrease |
Same |
|
All TV news |
36.2% |
15.1% |
48.7% |
|
Big four affiliates |
38.6 |
13.3 |
48.2 |
|
Other commercial |
12.5 |
37.5 |
50.0 |
Markets 1-25 were the most likely to increase in staff size, and the smallest markets (150+) were the least likely. Generally, the bigger the staff, the more likely it was to get bigger still. Less than 6 percent of the biggest newsrooms saw any decrease in staff. There was no meaningful variation by network, but stations in the West were most likely to see staff expansion.
Planned Staff Changes … the next year
|
|
Increase |
Decrease |
Same |
Not sure |
|
All TV news |
33.2% |
3.6% |
55.7% |
7.5% |
|
Big four affiliates |
34.4 |
3.2 |
56.0 |
6.4 |
|
Other commercial |
12.5 |
12.5 |
75.0 |
0 |
Most TV news directors expect no change in staff size, but the percentage of news directors expecting staff increases in the next year is 50 percent higher than a year ago, and the percentage of news directors who expect to see staff cuts dropped by two-thirds. Interestingly, the biggest and smallest markets are the least likely to expect staff growth, but news directors in the biggest newsrooms are the most likely to say they expect staff growth. News directors in the West are most likely to say they expect to see staff increases.
Hours of Local TV News per Day – 2006
|
|
Average weekday |
Weekday maximum |
Average Saturday |
Saturday maximum |
Average Sunday |
Sunday maximum |
|
All TV news |
3.8 |
15.5 |
1.5 |
6.5 |
1.5 |
11.0 |
|
Big four affiliates |
4.0 |
15.5 |
1.6 |
6.5 |
1.6 |
6.0 |
|
Other commercial |
1.8 |
6.0 |
0.4 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
1.0 |
|
Market size: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1-25 |
4.6 |
10.0 |
2.3 |
6.5 |
2.7 |
11.0 |
|
26-50 |
4.0 |
7.0 |
1.9 |
5.0 |
1.9 |
5.0 |
|
51-100 |
4.1 |
10.0 |
1.7 |
5.0 |
1.5 |
4.5 |
|
101-150 |
3.6 |
15.5 |
1.0 |
4.0 |
0.9 |
2.5 |
|
151+ |
3.1 |
5.5 |
0.9 |
3.0 |
0.8 |
3.0 |
|
Staff size: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Staff 51+ |
5.3 |
10.0 |
2.7 |
5.0 |
2.8 |
5.5 |
|
Staff 31-50 |
4.1 |
15.5 |
1.4 |
4.0 |
1.5 |
11.0 |
|
Staff 21-30 |
3.6 |
5.5 |
1.0 |
2.0 |
0.9 |
2.0 |
|
Staff 11-20 |
2.4 |
5.0 |
0.8 |
3.0 |
0.8 |
3.0 |
|
Staff 1-10 |
2.2 |
5.0 |
0.7 |
3.5 |
0.6 |
3.5 |
|
Affiliation: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ABC |
3.7 |
7.0 |
1.5 |
5.0 |
1.5 |
6.0 |
|
CBS |
4.2 |
15.5 |
1.6 |
5.0 |
1.5 |
5.5 |
|
Fox |
3.5 |
10.0 |
1.1 |
4.0 |
1.3 |
5.0 |
|
NBC |
4.2 |
10.0 |
1.8 |
6.5 |
1.7 |
6.0 |
|
Other commercial |
1.8 |
6.0 |
0.4 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
1.0 |
|
PBS |
3.0 |
9.0 |
0.1 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
1.0 |
The average amount of local TV
news set a new record this past year – up two-tenths of an hour (12 minutes) to
3.8 hours per weekday. The average
amount of news rose on both Saturday and Sunday as well (6 minutes each). Stations in the Northeast average the most
news, and stations in the
Amount of News Changes … the past year
|
|
Increase |
Decrease |
Same |
|
All TV News |
36.0% |
1.8% |
62.2% |
|
Big four affiliates |
37.5 |
0.8 |
61.7 |
|
Other commercial |
25.0 |
37.5 |
37.5 |
|
Market size: |
|
|
|
|
1-25 |
42.5 |
0 |
57.5 |
|
26-50 |
28.8 |
3.8 |
67.3 |
|
51-100 |
30.4 |
4.3 |
65.2 |
|
101-150 |
44.6 |
0 |
55.4 |
|
151+ |
32.6 |
0 |
67.4 |
Over 60 percent
of TV news directors reported running the same amount of news as the year
before, but the percentage of stations reporting more news went up almost 7
percent over the year before, and the percentage of stations reporting a
decrease fell by almost 8 percent. Stations
with the smallest staff (1-10) were the least likely to increase news, but
there was no other consistent pattern by staff size. Among network affiliates, ABC stations were
the least likely to increase the amount of news, and stations in the West and
Amount of News Planned … the next year
|
|
Increase |
Decrease |
Same |
Not sure |
|
All TV news |
36.3% |
1.4% |
55.9% |
6.4% |
|
Big four affiliates |
36.7 |
0.8 |
56.6 |
6.0 |
|
Other commercial |
12.5 |
0 |
62.5 |
25.0 |
|
Market size: |
|
|
|
|
|
1-25 |
30.0 |
5.0 |
57.5 |
7.5 |
|
26-50 |
40.4 |
1.9 |
50.0 |
7.7 |
|
51-100 |
40.0 |
0 |
52.9 |
7.1 |
|
101-150 |
38.7 |
1.3 |
56.0 |
4.0 |
|
151+ |
27.3 |
0 |
65.9 |
6.8 |
Although most TV news directors expect the amount of news to remain steady, there’s a 50 percent increase over last year in the percentage of stations expecting growth in the amount of TV news and a huge drop from last year in the percentage of stations expecting to decrease the amount of local news. As with the year before, stations in the largest and smallest markets least expect to see an increase in the amount of news. Otherwise, there are no patterns by staff size, affiliation or geography.
TV News Budget … the past year
|
|
Increase |
Decrease |
Same |
Don’t know |
|
All TV news |
45.8% |
11.6% |
35.3% |
7.3% |
|
Big four affiliates |
47.6 |
11.4 |
34.6 |
6.5 |
|
Other commercial |
37.5 |
25.0 |
12.5 |
25.0 |
|
Market size: |
|
|
|
|
|
1-25 |
46.2 |
5.1 |
38.5 |
10.3 |
|
26-50 |
60.0 |
12.0 |
18.0 |
10.0 |
|
51-100 |
42.9 |
17.1 |
37.1 |
2.9 |
|
101-150 |
43.2 |
8.1 |
44.6 |
4.1 |
|
151+ |
38.1 |
14.3 |
33.3 |
14.3 |
The TV news
budget picture improved from a year ago.
Not because more stations increased their news budget – which they did
not —but because the percentage of stations that cut their news budgets dropped
by about 40 percent. The percentage of
stations with the same news budget as the year before went up by about a
third. The bigger the news staff, the
more likely that the station increased the news budget. ABC and NBC affiliates were more likely to
see budget increases than CBS or Fox stations.
Stations in the
TV News Profitability … 1997 to 2006
|
|
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
2000 |
1999 |
1998 |
1997 |
|
Showing profit |
57.4% |
44.5% |
58.4% |
55.3% |
54.9% |
56% |
58% |
57% |
63% |
62% |
|
Breaking even |
8.1 |
24.2 |
10.4 |
13.6 |
11.6 |
13 |
11 |
9 |
11 |
6 |
|
Showing loss |
10.0 |
12.1 |
9.2 |
9.2 |
11.2 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
10 |
8 |
|
Don’t know |
24.4 |
19.2 |
22.0 |
21.9 |
22.3 |
21 |
20 |
23 |
16 |
24 |
The percentage of
news departments reporting a profit went back up to its usual range after a dip
last year; it’s the second highest level of newsroom profitability in the last
six years. The smallest newsrooms (1-10
and 11-20 people) were far less likely to show a profit than larger newsrooms
—with the very smallest at about one-third the profitability level of newsrooms
with at least 21 people. The 11-20 staff
newsrooms were half as likely to show a profit as larger newsrooms. Stations in the Northeast were most likely to
report making a profit, followed by news departments in the South, with
stations in the
TV News Profitability … by Size and Affiliation - 2006
|
|
Showing profit |
Breaking even |
Showing loss |
Don’t know |
|
Market size |
|
|
|
|
|
1-25 |
57.5% |
12.5% |
12.5% |
17.5% |
|
26-50 |
56.0 |
6.0 |
14.0 |
24.0 |
|
51-100 |
61.8 |
11.8 |
8.8 |
17.6 |
|
101-150 |
59.4 |
7.2 |
11.6 |
21.7 |
|
151+ |
48.8 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
46.5 |
|
Staff size: |
|
|
|
|
|
51+ |
62.7 |
5.9 |
9.8 |
21.6 |
|
31-50 |
75.8 |
6.1 |
6.1 |
12.1 |
|
21-30 |
63.3 |
8.3 |
10.0 |
18.3 |
|
11-20 |
34.3 |
2.9 |
20.0 |
42.9 |
|
1-10 |
19.2 |
15.4 |
11.5 |
53.8 |
|
Affiliation: |
|
|
|
|
|
ABC |
61.4 |
14.0 |
7.0 |
17.5 |
|
CBS |
58.9 |
5.6 |
8.9 |
26.7 |
|
Fox |
65.2 |
8.7 |
0 |
26.1 |
|
NBC |
64.4 |
4.1 |
6.8 |
24.7 |
|
Big four affiliates |
61.7 |
7.4 |
7.0 |
23.9 |
|
Other commercial |
12.5 |
12.5 |
50.0 |
25.0 |
Almost every
category increased in news department profitability, and almost every category
dropped in the likelihood of losing money on news.
Percentage of TV Station Revenue Produced by News - 2006
|
|
Average |
Median |
Minimum |
Maximum |
Not sure |
|
All TV news |
44.9% |
45.0% |
0 |
85.0% |
75.0% |
|
Market size: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1-25 |
36.2 |
40.0 |
10.0 |
60.0 |
75.8 |
|
26-50 |
41.7 |
40.0 |
0 |
85.0 |
74.5 |
|
51-100 |
48.7 |
50.0 |
30.0 |
70.0 |
73.8 |
|
101-150 |
48.3 |
42.0 |
25.0 |
70.0 |
74.0 |
|
151+ |
43.3 |
50.0 |
10.0 |
60.0 |
78.6 |
|
Staff size: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
51+ |
46.4 |
42.5 |
28.0 |
85.0 |
70.0 |
|
31-50 |
49.9 |
50.0 |
30.0 |
70.0 |
67.7 |
|
21-30 |
41.3 |
40.0 |
10.0 |
70.0 |
75.4 |
|
11-20 |
38.1 |
40.0 |
0 |
60.0 |
80.6 |
|
1-10 |
38.3 |
35.0 |
15.0 |
65.0 |
88.5 |
|
Affiliation: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ABC |
50.4 |
50.0 |
25.0 |
70.0 |
74.5 |
|
CBS |
45.6 |
45.0 |
28.0 |
85.0 |
71.3 |
|
Fox |
33.3 |
30.0 |
30.0 |
40.0 |
86.4 |
|
NBC |
47.1 |
50.0 |
10.0 |
70.0 |
71.0 |
|
Big four affiliates |
46.6 |
45.0 |
10.0 |
85.0 |
73.4 |
|
Other commercial |
5.0 |
5.0 |
0 |
10.0 |
75.0 |
The median
revenue from news remained at 45.0 percent, but the average rose to 44.9
percent. That’s on the high side for the
last 10 years, and almost all categories of stations rose from a year ago.
Radio
Nearly
three-quarters (70.5 percent) of radio station news directors said there was a
centralized newsroom for all or most of their stations that air local
news. The average centralized newsroom
supplied news to 3.3 stations within the local market and 0.6 stations
somewhere else (the median was 3.0). That
“somewhere else” category led to news directors in the survey supervising the
news at as many as 14 stations.
Radio Staff Size - 2006
|
|
Avg. full-time |
Median full-time |
Max full-time |
Avg part-time |
Med part-time |
Max part-time |
Avg total staff |
Med total staff |
Max total staff |
|
All radio news |
2.0 |
1.0 |
30 |
1.2 |
0 |
10 |
3.2 |
2.0 |
30 |
|
Market size: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Major |
3.1 |
2.0 |
14 |
1.6 |
0 |
6 |
4.7 |
2.0 |
19 |
|
Large |
2.2 |
2.0 |
5 |
1.2 |
1.0 |
5 |
3.4 |
3.0 |
10 |
|
Medium |
2.4 |
1.0 |
30 |
1.4 |
0 |
10 |
3.7 |
2.0 |
30 |
|
Small |
1.5 |
1.0 |
4 |
0.9 |
0 |
9 |
2.4 |
2.0 |
12 |
The numbers show a noticeable drop in radio staff size from last year. Last year represented the first up-tick in radio news staffing in some time, but this year’s numbers reflect a full retreat—not quite to the low point of two years ago, but not much above that either. Non-commercial stations and group-owned stations are each marginally larger in staff, but the difference is small. The staff in the biggest markets were only slightly bigger than in smaller ones. Stations in the Northeast had the largest average staff size, but the median numbers were similar across the board. Consolidation makes long-term comparisons difficult, but the general trend is clearly down.
Average Minutes of Locally-Produced Radio News - 2006
|
|
All radio |
Major market |
Large market |
Medium market |
Small market |
|
Weekdays: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AM drive |
20.2 |
27.3 |
24.8 |
17.6 |
19.7 |
|
Midday |
7.0 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.0 |
9.4 |
|
PM drive |
8.2 |
8.3 |
7.8 |
5.5 |
10.7 |
|
Night |
1.7 |
0.8 |
3.2 |
0.9 |
2.1 |
|
Total weekday |
37.1 |
42.0 |
41.5 |
29.0 |
41.9 |
|
Saturday: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AM drive |
6.6 |
1.3 |
8.9 |
4.3 |
8.9 |
|
Midday |
3.3 |
0.2 |
3.6 |
1.7 |
5.2 |
|
PM drive |
1.8 |
0.2 |
2.4 |
0.8 |
2.8 |
|
Night |
0.7 |
0.2 |
2.1 |
0.2 |
0.7 |
|
Total Saturday |
12.4 |
1.9 |
17.0 |
7.0 |
17.6 |
|
Sunday: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AM drive |
2.9 |
0.8 |
3.9 |
1.7 |
3.9 |
|
Midday |
1.7 |
0.2 |
2.3 |
0.9 |
2.5 |
|
PM drive |
1.4 |
0.2 |
2.1 |
0.5 |
2.1 |
|
Night |
0.6 |
0.2 |
1.8 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
|
Total Sunday |
6.6 |
1.4 |
10.1 |
3.3 |
9.0 |
The amount of radio news in small and medium markets rose, but the amount at major and large markets fell more—leading to an overall drop in the amount of radio news from a year ago. That drop was especially pronounced after morning drive on weekdays and on Sundays, generally. A larger staff might have improved the quality of the news, but it didn’t translate into more news on the air; there was no difference in the amount of news based on staff size. Stations in the West tended to run less local news than those elsewhere in the country.
Changes in Radio News, Staff and Budget in the last 12
months and planned for the future – 2006
|
|
Increase |
Decrease |
Same |
Note sure |
|
Total news staff the past year |
16.3% |
6.1% |
77.0% |
0.5% |
|
Plan to change amount of staff next year |
13.3 |
0 |
77.6 |
9.2 |
|
Amount of news the past year |
32.1 |
7.1 |
58.7 |
2.0 |
|
Plan to change amount of news next year |
28.1 |
1.0 |
66.8 |
4.1 |
|
Change in news budget from the year before |
16.1 |
2.6 |
56.0 |
25.4 |
Stations in the largest local
groups and those with the biggest staffs were most likely to have added
staff. Stations in the
Radio News Profitability … 1997 to 2006
|
|
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
2000 |
1999 |
1998 |
1997 |
|
Showing profit |
18.1% |
19.6% |
22.5% |
25.2% |
15.2% |
17% |
25% |
19% |
22% |
23% |
|
Breaking even |
17.6 |
14.4 |
17.1 |
13.8 |
13.9 |
17 |
15 |
18 |
14 |
20 |
|
Showing loss |
6.4 |
3.1 |
7.2 |
2.4 |
7.3 |
0 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
|
Don’t know |
58.0 |
62.9 |
53.2 |
58.6 |
63.6 |
66 |
53 |
57 |
58 |
51 |
Most radio news directors really don’t know
about radio news profitability. We
cannot compare these numbers before 1997 because
the wording of the question changed.
Radio News Profitability by Market Size - 2006
|
|
Showing profit |
Breaking even |
Showing loss |
Don’t know |
|
Major market |
19.0% |
14.3% |
0 |
66.7% |
|
Large market |
16.7 |
8.3 |
4.2 |
70.8 |
|
Medium market |
21.9 |
26.6 |
3.1 |
48.4 |
|
Small market |
15.2 |
13.9 |
11.4 |
59.5 |
Major markets are those with 1 million or more potential listeners. Large markets are from 250,000 to 1 million. Medium markets are 50,000 to 250,000. Small markets are fewer than 50,000.
Number of Stations Where the Radio News Director Oversees
the News – 2006
One 17.1%
Two-Three 33.6
Four 15.1
Five-Six 20.5
Seven-Eight 13.7
Average 3.3 (locally) +0.6 elsewhere
Median 3.0
Maximum 14
The percentage of news directors overseeing one station’s
news department is down again this year—from 26.8 percent last year. But a big jump in the percentage overseeing
two or three stations actually led to a slight decrease in the average and
median number of stations supervised—although it’s still the second highest
level ever. Note that the maximum number
of stations overseen jumped from eight a year ago to 14 this time around.
What Else
Radio News Directors Do – 2006
A record-high
77.3 percent of radio news directors said they had additional non-news
responsibilities at their station. News
directors at independent stations were a little more likely to say they had
other duties, but all categories of stations were high. What else they did:
Announcing
(including sports and weather) 30.2%
Program Director 23.8
Other 22.2
Talk show host 18.3
Sales 13.5
Public Affairs 12.7
General Manager 12.7
Production 9.5
Operations 8.7
Bob Papper is professor of
telecommunications at
About the Survey
The
RTNDA/Ball State University Survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2005
among all 1,617 operating, non-satellite television stations and all
Sidebars
& other material:
Percentage of TV News Departments Providing Content to Other
Media – 2006
|
|
Station website |
Other website |
Another TV station |
Cable TV channel |
Local radio |
|
All TV |
79.7% |
6.8% |
20.6% |
13.9% |
44.1% |
|
Big four affiliates |
81.3 |
7.2 |
20.3 |
13.9 |
47.0 |
|
Other commercial |
50.0 |
12.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Market size: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1-25 |
92.5 |
10.0 |
25.0 |
22.5 |
37.5 |
|
26-50 |
80.8 |
5.8 |
30.8 |
21.2 |
42.3 |
|
51-100 |
80.0 |
8.6 |
20.0 |
11.4 |
50.0 |
|
101-150 |
74.7 |
6.7 |
20.0 |
12.0 |
44.0 |
|
151+ |
75.0 |
2.3 |
6.8 |
4.5 |
43.2 |
Generally, the larger the market and the larger the staff size, the more likely the station supplied news to another TV station or a cable TV channel. That was true to a lesser extent for radio and web site. Fox affiliates were less likely to feed news to a cable TV channel, and stations in the West were less likely to supply news to another station and a little less likely to supply news to a radio station.
Convergence
Almost 40 percent (38.6 percent) of TV news
directors said that they’re doing something they consider convergence– down
just a hair from last year. Most
commonly, convergence meant working with a newspaper.
|
Type of
Convergence Partner |
Percent
of the stations of those involved in convergence |
|
Newspaper(s) |
59.8 |
|
Web
site(s) |
30.4 |
|
Radio
station(s) |
27.5 |
|
Other
television |
8.8 |
|
Cell
phone |
2.9 |
|
Podcasting |
2.9 |
|
Magazine |
2.0 |