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 |