The State of Local Television Newsrooms

I found two pieces that address the topic of television newsrooms. The first piece focuses on local television newsroom budgets. It explains that money in local television newsroom is being spent on technology for the coming switch to digital broadcasting. That expenditure is coming at the cost of people for newsgathering. It also talks about the possibility that digital broadcasting can give station more opportunity to air news programs. I am skeptical that we will see any more news that we see now, we will just get rerun of earlier broadcasts. That can be found at the following link:

http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2008/narrative_localtv_newsinvestment.php?cat=4&media=8

The other piece was more about national news shows, specifically CNN, and how profit has affected the newsroom.

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/05-1NRspring/88-90V59N1.pdf

 

Questions for Mr. Shelby:

1. Are local newsrooms regarded by management (at the corporate level) as having a responsibility to public service? To clarify, do the corporate owners of local newsrooms view the newsrooms as still needing to adhere to the idea that new media should inform and educate the public to be fully engaged citizens in our society, or do they view the news rooms as tools to increase the bottom line?
   
2. Is it true that most of the current investment in local television newsrooms is for new technology revolving around the switch to digital broadcasting? How will it affect the news gathering ability if only technology is upgraded, and people are not?
   
3. Since digital broadcasting opens more broadcasting "space", will we see an increase in local newsrooms, or in increase in reruns?
   
4. Will we continue to see increases in coverage of things like American Idol, and decreases in actual news?