The not-so-old saw "If it bleeds it leads" still holds true for local news coverage. The latest media metrics column compares local news coverage with topics covered by the
increasingly powerful cable outlets. The Project for Excellence in Journalism conducted the survey throughout a four-year period. It found that that stories about crime took up
nearly a quarter of the local news coverage in 2003; it was even more of a shrinking news hole when you consider that accidents and disasters and political coverage combined took
up nearly another quarter of the coverage. Once you get past all the "spot" news, opportunities to get your (internal or external) clients some exposure lie with stories on social
issues, the economy or - what a shock - healthcare. Lidj Lewis, VP/media relations of Medialink, which tracks the media landscape, adds that at the Radio-Television News
Directors Association conference in April, news directors polled said healthcare- and consumer-related stories have the best chance of getting clearance.
While the cable outfits are often accused of trafficking in tabloid journalism, it turns out that overall, the three major cable news networks - CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC
- cover government issues nearly a third of the time. Coverage of foreign (and military) affairs takes up another 22% - no doubt related to the war on terrorism - and is fairly
evenly divided among the three cable players (see chart). "Human interest" stories are cable execs' way of categorizing Laci, Kobe and other "long-form" stories that help to sell
the whole cable medium. So, PR execs are probably wiser to focus their energies on pitching stories to their local news outlets rather than a (potential) national audience via one
of the cable news stations. Local news covers more stories amenable to PR, whether its stories about culture, science or technology - areas that barely rate a blip on cable news.
But Lewis stresses that it all depends upon the story. "If the story being pitched is timely and topical and interests a local, national or international audience you have a shot
making cable news," he says.
| Topic Coverage of Local TV News Stories, 2003 | |
|---|---|
| Topic | Percent of Stories |
| Crime/trials |
24%
|
| Accidents/bizarre events/disasters |
12
|
| Politics/government |
10
|
| Human interest |
10
|
| Social issues |
8
|
| Business/economy |
7
|
| Culture/civilization |
7
|
| Health/consumer |
6
|
| Miscellaneous |
6
|
| Foreign affairs/defense |
5
|
| Science/technology |
4
|
| Source: Project for Excellence in Journalism. (1998-2002) Weather and sports coverage not counted towards total. *Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding. |
|
| Topic on Cable News, 2003 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | CNN | Fox | MSNBC | |
| Government |
29%
|
22%
|
28%
|
31%
|
| Foreign Affairs/Military |
22
|
24
|
21
|
21
|
| Defense |
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
| Domestic |
6
|
7
|
8
|
5
|
| Business/Commerce |
3
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
| Crime |
11
|
10
|
12
|
9
|
| Science/Tech. |
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
| Celebrity/Enter. |
7
|
7
|
5
|
8
|
| Lifestyle |
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
| Accidents/Disasters |
10
|
13
|
9
|
8
|
| Other |
3
|
3
|
2
|
4
|
| Source: State of the News Media, 2004 *Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding. | ||||