Local Television News Research Articles

News sources and the epistemic authority to represent reality: How journalism constructs an order of authorized knowers in local television news

News sources and the epistemic authority to represent reality: How journalism constructs an order of authorized knowers in local television news

Media coverage and local cooperation in immigration enforcement

ABSTRACT Public concern about immigrant criminality in the U.S. is reflected in news coverage of immigration, which tends to associate the topic with ‘illegality’ and crime. Although these media characterizations have increased in recent years as local policy action on immigration has intensified, little research has examined whether or how these two phenomena are connected. This study assesses whether local television news coverage of immigration and crime increases the likelihood of county sheriffs adopting 287(g) agreements deputizing officers to enforce immigration law. Employing fixed effect logistic regressions, this study finds that sheriffs’ departments in counties exposed to more news coverage of immigration and crime are more likely to adopt 287(g) agreements. These increases are particularly pronounced in counties with Republican sheriffs as well as areas experiencing above-average immigrant population growth, suggesting that news media may act as an external, politicizing agent that turns seemingly innocuous demographic changes into events that warrant punitive policy action. These findings position news media as an important context of immigrant reception that can trigger threatened responses in local immigration policy.

“Too Much Stress” for “Too Little Reward”: COVID-19 Effects on Reporter’s Workloads and Work/Life Balance

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic challenged historic precepts for local American television news. Reporters were suddenly working from home, often alone, dealing with new health safety protocols, and covering a grim and frightening new reality. Seeking an understanding of this sudden and dramatic shift in the ways in which local television news was reported, researchers conducted in-depth interviews during summer 2021 with 20 local television reporters from large, medium, and small Nielsen designated marketing areas (DMA) across the U.S. about their experiences during the pandemic. Thematic analysis revealed changes in reporters’ workloads, burnout, and a lack of work/life balance that may lead to changes in the ways in which reporters gather and produce news and interact with their colleagues and audiences.

Public health framing of firearm violence on local television news in Philadelphia, PA, USA: a quantitative content analysis

BackgroundFirearm violence is an intensifying public health problem in the United States. News reports shape the way the public and policy makers understand and respond to health threats, including firearm violence. To better understand how firearm violence is communicated to the public, we aimed to determine the extent to which firearm violence is framed as a public health problem on television news and to measure harmful news content as identified by firearm-injured people.MethodsThis is a quantitative content analysis of Philadelphia local television news stories about firearm violence using a database of 7,497 clips. We compiled a stratified sample of clips aired on two randomly selected days/month from January-June 2021 from the database (n = 192 clips). We created a codebook to measure public health frame elements and to assign a harmful content score for each story and then coded the clips. Characteristics of stories containing episodic frames that focus on single shooting events were compared to clips with thematic frames that include broader social context for violence.ResultsMost clips employed episodic frames (79.2%), presented law enforcement officials as primary narrators (50.5%), and included police imagery (79.2%). A total of 433 firearm-injured people were mentioned, with a mean of 2.8 individuals shot included in each story. Most of the firearm-injured people featured in the clips (67.4%) had no personal information presented apart from age and/or gender. The majority of clips (84.4%) contained at least one harmful content element. The mean harmful content score/clip was 2.6. Public health frame elements, including epidemiologic context, root causes, public health narrators and visuals, and solutions were missing from most clips. Thematic stories contained significantly more public health frame elements and less harmful content compared to episodic stories.ConclusionsLocal television news produces limited public health coverage of firearm violence, and harmful content is common. This reporting likely compounds trauma experienced by firearm-injured people and could impede support for effective public health responses to firearm violence. Journalists should work to minimize harmful news content and adopt a public health approach to reporting on firearm violence.

Implications for Hybrid Newswork from the Work-from-Home Activities of Local US Television Journalists During COVID

ABSTRACT In response to the COVID-19 crisis, many local television (TV) newsrooms decided to have employees work from home (WFH) or from the field rather than from the newsroom, creating a kind of hybrid work characterized by a mix of work locations. From a review of research on telework and WFH, we identified possible impacts of WFH on work and on workers, with a particular focus on news work and news workers. Data on the impacts of hybrid work are drawn from interviews with local television news directors and journalists in the United States and observations of WFH. We found that through the creative application of technology, WFH news workers could successfully create a newscast, albeit with some concerns about story quality. However, WFH did not seem to satisfy workers’ needs for socialization or learning individually or as a group and created some problems coordinating work. Lifted restrictions on gatherings have mitigated some of the experienced problems, but we expect to see continued challenges to news workers’ informal learning in hybrid work settings.

Systematic disparities in reporting on community firearm violence on local television news in Philadelphia, PA, USA

ObjectiveTo better understand how community firearm violence (CFV) is communicated to the public, we aimed to identify systematic differences between the characteristics of shooting victims and events covered on television news and all shootings in Philadelphia, PA, a city with escalating CFV incidence. MethodsWe compiled a stratified sample of local television news clips covering shootings that occurred in Philadelphia aired on two randomly selected days per month from January-June 2021 (n = 154 clips). We coded the clips to determine demographic and geographic information about the shooting victims and events and then matched coded shootings with corresponding shootings in the Philadelphia police database. We compared characteristics of shooting victims and shooting event locations depicted in television clips (n = 62) with overall characteristics of shootings in Philadelphia during the study period (n = 1082). ResultsCompared to all individuals shot, victims whose shootings were covered on local television news more likely to be children and more likely to be shot in a mass shooting. The average median household income of shooting locations featured on television was significantly higher than the median household income across all shooting locations ($60,302 for television shootings vs. $41,233 for all shootings; p = 0.002). Shootings featured on television occurred in areas with lower rates of income inequality and racialized economic segregation compared to all shooting locations. ConclusionsTelevision news outlets in Philadelphia systematically over-reported shootings of children, mass shootings, and shootings that occurred in neighborhoods with higher median household income, less socioeconomic inequality, and lower rates of racialized economic segregation.

The news hour: Welfare estimation in the market for local television news

We estimate the welfare consequences of local news broadcasting decisions in advertiser-funded television, a central question in media regulation. We model programming decisions as the outcome of a discrete game played by rival stations competing for advertising revenue (which depends on viewing) by choosing lineups of local news and entertainment broadcasts. Using program-level data on television viewing and advertising prices, we find modest under-provision of local news relative to the level that maximizes television viewing. Counterfactual simulations indicate an average deficit of 7.4 broadcasts per market, or 12.8% of local station broadcasts during the evening news hours. Most of this shortfall is in the 7:30 timeslot leading into prime time. We distinguish two sources of inefficiency: losses due to advertiser valuation of local news and entertainment viewers, and losses from classic business stealing. Losses from competition represent about one third of the estimated shortfall, suggesting gains to cooperation among competing stations.

Loved It, Miss It, Would Never Go Back: Why U.S. Local Television Sports Broadcasters are Leaving the Industry

For decades, one of the most recognizable public faces of a local television news station was the sports anchor. However, as newsrooms across the United States struggle with employee burnout, sports departments have not been immune to low job satisfaction and high turnover. The purpose of this study is to examine what factors are causing sportscasters at local television stations to leave the profession. A survey of sports broadcasters who had left their positions at a television station for a job outside of broadcasting revealed that they felt overworked and underpaid, and many placed the blame for their problems directly on newsroom management.

House Members on the News: Local Television News Coverage of Incumbents

AbstractThe accountability relationship between voters and elected members of Congress (MCs) hinges on the potential for citizens to learn about legislator behaviour. In an era of declining local newspapers, local television coverage of MCs potentially fulfils this important role. However, few studies have comprehensively examined the determinants of contemporary MC coverage by local television news broadcasts. In this paper, we leverage a vast database of local television news broadcast transcripts spanning two years to identify which factors explain MC coverage. We find that MCs receive little coverage outside the general election campaign season. Media market and campaign-specific factors are associated with more exposure when coverage occurs. Finally, we find that within competitive elections, incumbents receive only a marginal advantage in coverage. These findings provide a springboard to explore further questions regarding Congress, local media, and political accountability.

An Exploratory Content Analysis of Two Local Television Stations’ Tornado Warning Broadcasts

Abstract In-depth analysis of the content of broadcast tornado warning coverage is limited. Such analysis is important due to local television’s role as a key source for tornado warning information. This study attempts to fill gaps in our knowledge regarding broadcast coverage of tornado warnings by demonstrating how local television news stations’ coverage of tornadic events can be systematically analyzed to better understand this element of warning communication. We reviewed both visual and verbal content for information such as the prominence of specific radar products, the geographic scale of warning communication, and common themes in verbal communication. A combination of deductive and inductive coding approaches was used to summarize the verbal content of the broadcasts. We found that the stations heavily used radar products with reflectivity and velocity surpassing correlation coefficient. The geographic scale of mapped products (street, city/county, and state level) appeared to be related to the rural or urban nature of the area warned, which may have implications for how readily rural residents would be able to personalize tornado threats. Verbal content was very similar between the two stations. The theme of monitoring and updating conditions, which included processes such as zooming in and out, making adjustments, reinforcing conditions, and providing damage reports was the most frequent communication type, likely because weathercasters use these processes to both communicate the warning and also to help themselves understand the situation. The results can inform future studies examining the influence of specific elements of broadcast warning coverage on risk perception and protective actions. Significance Statement Television is a key source for receiving or confirming tornado warnings, but few studies have examined the content of broadcast warnings in depth. This study examined the visual and verbal content of broadcast tornado warnings on two local television stations. Radar products were used heavily, and street-level coverage was more common when a tornado affected a metropolitan area. Coverage was most common at the city/county level. Verbal content included many elements of effective warning communication but at times included jargon that may not be understood by viewers. The results can serve as a springboard for future research on the impacts of these elements on risk perception and response. It can also serve future research by distinguishing what viewers of severe weather broadcasts are exposed to that nonviewers are not.

Creating a Place in Middle America: How Spanish-Language Local News Serves the Hispanic Community

A fraction of Hispanic people in the U.S. uses Spanish-language news because a language barrier prevents them using English-language news. Functional theory suggests ethnic media serve ethnic community needs ignored by mainstream media. Research on how Spanish-language news serves U.S. Hispanic communities and differs from English-language news typically studies large, politically liberal cities with large Hispanic populations, neglecting Hispanic people living elsewhere. Content analysis of local newscasts to assess differences between network-affiliated, English-language television stations and the Telemundo affiliate serving a mid-sized, midwestern, politically conservative market addresses these limitations. An analytic framework derived from functional theory categorizes community needs as informational and representational. Results show significantly different agendas between Spanish- and English-language news. Spanish-language news airs more human interest and government stories and fewer crime stories. It addresses unique informational needs, helping orient newcomers and airing government stories that sustain ties to Spanish-speaking countries. Regarding representation, results show Hispanic people are invisible to a greater extent than they are negatively portrayed in English-language news. Thus, Spanish-language local television news serves the Hispanic community by making it visible to itself. However, Spanish-language news focuses on the Hispanic community rather than being a general news source, supplementing rather than substituting for English-language news.

Literature Review on the Fabrication of Hybrid Engine Vehicle

Abstract: A hybrid vehicle uses two or more distinct types of power, such as internal combustion engine + electric motor, e.g. in diesel-electric trains using diesel engines and electricity from overhead lines, and submarines that use diesels when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid, in hydraulic hybrids. A water-fuelled car is an automobile that hypothetically derives its energy directly from water. Water-fuelled cars have been the subject of numerous international patents, newspaper and popular science magazine articles, local television news coverage, and websites. The claims for these devices have been found to be pseudoscience and some were found to be tied to investment frauds. These vehicles may be claimed to produce fuel from water on board with no other energy input, or may be a hybrid claiming to derive some of its energy from water in addition to a conventional source (such as gasoline). Water is fully oxidized hydrogen. Hydrogen itself is a high-energy, flammable substance, but its useful energy is released when water is formed. Water will not burn. The process of electrolysis can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, but it takes as much energy to take apart a water molecule as was released when the hydrogen was oxidized to form water. In fact, some energy would be lost in converting water to hydrogen and then burning the hydrogen because some waste heat would always be produced in the conversions. Releasing chemical energy from water, in excess or in equal proportion to the energy required to facilitate such production, would therefore violate the first or second law of thermodynamics.

Ontarians' Perceptions of Public Health Communications and Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey Study.

Clear, accurate, and transparent risk communication is critical to providing policy makers and the public with directions to effectively implement public health strategies during a health emergency. We aimed to explore the public's preferred sources of obtaining COVID-19 information, perceptions on the prevalence and drivers of misinformation during the pandemic, and suggestions to optimize health communications during future public health emergencies. We administered a web-based survey that included Likert scale, multiple choice and open-ended response questions to residents of Ontario, Canada. We aimed to recruit a sample that reflected population diversity with respect to age and gender. Data were collected between June 10, 2020, and December 31, 2020, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics; open-ended data were analyzed using content analysis. Subgroup analyses to explore perceptions by age and gender were conducted using ordinal regression. A total of 1823 individuals participated in the survey (n=990, 54% women; n=703, 39% men; n=982, 54% aged 18-40 years; n=518, 28% aged 41-60 years; and n=215, 12% aged ≥61 years). Participants most commonly obtained COVID-19 information from local television news (n=1118, 61%) followed by social media (n=938, 51%), national or international television news (n=888, 49%), and friends and family (n=835, 46%). Approximately 55% (n=1010) of the participants believed they had encountered COVID-19-related misinformation; 70% (n=1284) of the participants reported high levels of trust in health authority websites and health care providers; 66% (n=1211) reported high levels of trust in health ministers or public health organizations. Sources perceived to be less trustworthy included friends and family, talk radio, social media, as well as blogs and opinion websites. Men were more likely to report encountering misinformation and to trust friends or family (odds ratio [OR] 1.49, 95% CI 1.24-1.79) and blogs or opinion websites (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.03-1.50), compared to women. Compared to those aged 18-40 years, participants aged ≥41years were more likely to trust all assessed information sources, with the exception of web-based media sources, and less likely to report encountering misinformation. Of those surveyed, 58% (n=1053) had challenges identifying or appraising COVID-19 information. Over half of our participants perceived that they had encountered COVID-19 misinformation, and 58% had challenges identifying or appraising COVID-19 information. Gender and age differences in perceptions of misinformation and trust in information sources were observed. Future research to confirm the validity of these perceptions and to explore information-seeking patterns by population subgroups may provide useful insights on how to optimize health communication during public health emergencies.

Fabrication of Hybrid Engine Vehicle

Abstract: A hybrid vehicle uses two or more distinct types of power, such as internal combustion engine + electric motor, e.g. in diesel-electric trains using diesel engines and electricity from overhead lines, and submarines that use diesels when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid, in hydraulic hybrids. A water-fuelled car is an automobile that hypothetically derives its energy directly from water. Water-fuelled cars have been the subject of numerous international patents, newspaper and popular science magazine articles, local television news coverage, and websites. The claims for these devices have been found to be pseudoscience and some were found to be tied to investment frauds.[1] These vehicles may be claimed to produce fuel from water on board with no other energy input, or may be a hybrid claiming to derive some of its energy from water in addition to a conventional source (such as gasoline). Water is fully oxidized hydrogen. Hydrogen itself is a high-energy, flammable substance, but its useful energy is released when water is formed. Water will not burn. The process of electrolysis can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, but it takes as much energy to take apart a water molecule as was released when the hydrogen was oxidized to form water. In fact, some energy would be lost in converting water to hydrogen and then burning the hydrogen because some waste heat would always be produced in the conversions. Releasing chemical energy from water, in excess or in equal proportion to the energy required to facilitate such production, would therefore violate the first or second law of thermodynamics.

New Routines in Making the Local News: How Fear and Distancing Change the Coverage of Violence in Brazil

The purpose of this article is to discuss to what extent the coverage of urban violence by local television news in Brazil has been impacted by journalists’ fear and their distancing from regions of armed conflict, leading to the development of new professional routines and, in particular, the use of WhatsApp. Our methodology included in-depth interviews with 13 journalists occupying different positions in the hierarchy of the newsrooms of the 4 main TV stations in the country. The testimonies suggest that aggression and hostility against journalists drove professionals away from certain territories and turned them toward new technologies and citizen co-production as ways out for local crime coverage. On the other hand, this dynamic creates challenges for journalism itself. One of the main concerns is the verification of content.

News Media Coverage of Childcare: How U.S. Local TV News Framed the Problem Before and During the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Early care and education (ECE), or the care young children receive before entering formal schooling, can take multiple forms and is delivered in different settings, such as a center, church, or public school. Federal and state governments regularly fund ECE programs and policies through the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG). Many families, however, face significant challenges in access, cost, and quality of ECE programs, and ECE professionals report substantial challenges in the workplace (e.g., inadequate training) and beyond (e.g., low wages). Policies addressing issues related to ECE were proposed in 2021, but stalled on the U.S. federal policy agenda. In this study, we examine the ECE content of local television news coverage both for its representations of and for its potential influences on ECE policy agendas. We use data from local stations affiliated with the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX) in media markets across the U.S., airing before and during the pandemic. We analyze elements of coverage that could affect public recognition of ECE-related issues, including how problems were framed (e.g., news coverage highlighting scandals or adverse events at ECE facilities) and solutions identified (e.g., public policy). We find that during 2018 and 2019, more coverage highlighted scandalous activity than public policy. The reverse was true, however, during the early period of the pandemic (from mid-March through June of 2020). Researchers and health professionals were seldom included in stories in either sample, and very few stories offered context about the benefits of ECE for health and well-being. These coverage patterns have implications for the public’s understanding of ECE policy and the perceived need for reform. Policymakers, advocates, and researchers looking to advance support for ECE should consider ways to use local television news to present health and policy-relevant information to broad segments of the public.

Local Television News on Instagram: Exploring the Effects of News Values and Post Features on Audience Engagement

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effects of Instagram news values and post features on audience engagement by sampling 2,100 news posts distributed by 12 U.S. local television stations’ Instagram accounts. The content analysis results indicate that various news topics, message vividness and interactivity, post time, captions, and length significantly impact Instagram engagement rate by followers. The research further discusses managerial, practical implications for local broadcasters and digital publishers to optimize their Instagram content and enhance audience engagement.

Verification of the Public Discourse and Accountability of Mayors on Local TV: The Case of Ecuador

The purpose of the research is to determine the veracity and contexts of the statements of Ecuador's mayors using fact-checking methodology. The research questions are: Are the public testimonies of mayors presented in local television news programmes true? What are the circumstances in which mayors present their speeches? To what extent does local journalism contextualize the mayors' statements? The research is descriptive and relational, using qualitative methodology based on the Ecuador Chequea protocol, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. A sample of audiovisual pieces broadcast between February 2020 and March 2022 was obtained. The statements are grouped in 10 axes, showing correspondence with the functions determined in the law. The statements of the governors are true, the proximity helps direct accountability, but weaknesses such as excessive prominence, publicity and short-term interests can be appreciated. Analyses of the quality of the declarations are needed, in broad pieces and with the corresponding cultural and political contexts. Efforts to make public administration transparent is a key aspect of open and e-government that will be achieved as long as citizens' information literacy is achieved.

Promoting research-based parenting strategies through U.S. local television news: An experimental evaluation of the Positive Parenting Newsfeed project

ABSTRACT Research finds that parents’ knowledge and practices exert significant influence on the developmental outcomes of children and youth. Formal parenting programs that improve parenting knowledge and practices can positively impact children’s development and behavior; however, these programs tend to be limited in terms of their scope and size of the populations they serve. We conducted an experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Positive Parenting Newsfeed project – a wide-reaching parenting initiative that features rigorous research-based strategies and recommendations for parents through monthly TV news reports in English and Spanish. In a sample of 381 parents, we evaluated outcomes such as parents’ knowledge about the topics covered in the reports, intent to adopt, and adoption of research-based parenting behaviors. Compared to a control group, we find that parents exposed to the 1–1.5-minute Positive Parenting TV news segments report higher knowledge about research-based parenting topics, are more likely to report intention to adopt the behaviors featured in the segments, and implement more behaviors that follow the featured advice, one week and one month after watching the segments.

What's Local about Local Television News?

Because capturing and analyzing local television news broadcasts is difficult, most research on campaign ocverage by local television stations centers on a single candidate race and a limited number of news broadcasts. This article expands existing research by examining all prime time election coverage by Philadelphia's four network affiliates in the final 30 days of the 2004 campagin. These stations virtually abandoned coverage of local and statewied races in favor of the presidential contest. Most coverage focused on campaign stategy rather than issues, but there is little evidence of direct bias favoring either Democrats or Republicans. Although stations generally ignored nonpresidential elections, they gave a fair amount of coverage to the mechanics of voting, which may provide voters with valuable locally based election information.