Local television news has seen competition for audiences increase as mass audience fragments, appointment viewing disappears, and Internet usage explodes. How can television stations produce quality local news that draws and engages audiences in this ever-shifting landscape?

A new study by the Medill School and the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, addresses this and other questions.

The study is designed to give television stations practical tools that will help them a) better engage their audiences, b) stimulate strategic thinking about their position and role in the market, and c) better connect with viewers in ways that can lead to improved civic behavior.

The study was released on July 20, 2007 at a 1-day, invitation-only conference on Northwestern's Evanston campus.

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.

Results are based on a survey of close to 1,400 people in the Chicago metropolitan area and a content analysis of late-night news programs on five of the main commercial broadcasting networks.