A new study gives television news directors tools to increase local news viewing by enhancing viewer engagement and provides broadcast leaders insights to help them think strategically about the position of the station and its role in the local community.

Titled “The Local TV News Experience,” the study addresses the question: What are the keys to producing quality local news that attracts and engages audiences in the fragmenting media marketplace? It was conducted by the Medill School and the Media Management Center at Northwestern University and funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

“What we found is that local television leaders have a vast amount of research,” said Media Management Center Research Director Limor Peer, “and they use it well – for some purposes. But they haven’t had enough information about consumer experience to help them stop the erosion of news viewing. This study provides insights to help them with this important job.”

Hank Price, president and general manager of WXII in Winston-Salem, NC, put that into perspective: “We have always looked at the questions of the likeability of the anchors or the topics viewers want more or less of. What makes this study important is that it gives us insights into the viewers’ relationship with the television station. It builds on the existing TV research and the existing research for other media and begins to bring the two together. It gives practical recommendations for strengthening the ties to the community.” Price's remarks can be found here on the Media Management Web site.

Some the experiences that Price and other news executives want to explore speak to the heart and soul of journalism:

The Makes-Me-Smarter Experience, explained in such consumer comments as:
1. It address issues or topics of special concern to me
2. I look at it as educational. I am gaining knowledge
3. It updates me on things I try to keep up with
4. It’s important I remember later what I have read
5. Even if I disagree with information on this site, I feel I have learned something valuable

The Trustworthy Experience, explained in such consumer comments as:
1. They do a good job of covering things. They don’t miss anything
2. I trust it to tell the truth
3. It does not sensationalize things
4. You don’t have to worry about accuracy with this site/magazine/newspaper/television program
5. It is unbiased in its reporting

The Civic Experience, explained in such consumer comments as:
1. Reading this newspaper / watching the news makes me feel like a better citizen
2. I think people who do not watch this station are at a disadvantage in life
3. I count on this station to investigate wrongdoing
4. Our society would be much weaker without TV news
5. Watching makes me more a part of my community

In today's changing media world, it is critically important for the news media to understand what builds emotional connections and engagement with the audience, and how to use that understanding to attract, keep, and build audiences. The Media Management Center has already applied its groundbreaking research on engagement to newspapers, magazines and online media. With this new study, Medill and MMC are bringing this expertise for the first time to the challenges of television news.

A complete list of the experiences can be found in an 87-page report with complete details, downloadable for free from the Media Management Center Web site – http://www.mediamanagementcenter.org/localtv/ -- where visitors can also find coverage of a one-day conference about the research.

MMC research shows that the key to driving consumer media usage is understanding consumer experience -- understanding what experiences viewers have with news programs that compel them to watch more and what experiences are liable to drive them away.

By focusing on viewers’ perceptions, experiences describe the role that media serve in their lives. For example, people have a fundamental need for relaxation that can be satisfied in many different ways. Watching the local news at the end of the day could be another moment of relaxation in their life. Media managers who understand that their content plays this role can then strategically focus on providing this experience and ensure continuing usage.

The study also included a content analysis of local news that showed a marked sameness to the broadcasts. A high level of competition has created that sameness – no one station wants another to have something it does not have. For example, a content analysis of five Chicago stations showed:

Less than half of every local news program is devoted to news stories (about 45%). Sports and weather take up between 9-10% of the time, on average, and commercials take up almost 30% of the time.

Crime leads the news – it’s in the first block, and stories get proportionately the most time of any story topics.

More than 1/3 of the news is about crime or fires and accidents.
As part of the study, researchers also conducted in-depth one-on-one interviews with local TV executives. They found the executives to be forward-thinking and optimistic, if not always certain how to navigate a new reality in which mass audience fragments, appointment viewing disappears, and Internet usage explodes.

Most think that local television news is going in the right direction by embracing new technology. One said the threats help create “a culture that allows you to try and fail and learn” and that the Web brings about a spirit of experimentation. “Now the game, the competition, is to do the best job of variety in the kind of video content that users want to have. We’re all figuring that out, we’re all trying things, moving different directions, putting different things out there.”

While the Center studied the Chicago television market, Media Management Center Executive Director Michael P. Smith thinks the study’s findings have universal relevance. “Chicago is not only the No. 3 TV market in the U.S.,” Smith said, “it also is widely known as a solid TV news town. Yet in the interviews with news directors and producers, it was clear they understood the need for change. Many people nationally look to Chicago for leadership, so I think this study will have widespread impact.”