A Look Back at the Trials and Tribulations of 2009 and the Future of the Media in 2010

In 2009, the media bled as reporters from all four traditional parts of the industry found themselves jobless, while predictions of its imminent demise blared from headlines. According to Vocus Media Research Group, in broadcast, radio stations are down from the previous year, and more than 10,000 jobs were lost. Print media’s downward spiral contributed to the television industry’s woes when the Tribune Company (parent of the Chicago Tribune) filed Chapter 11, affecting its 23 stations. In fact, bankruptcies were the hardest thing to hit the industry. In addition to the Tribune Company, both Pappas Telecasting and Michigan-based Young Broadcasting also filed, resulting in the closure of multiple stations. Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns 58 stations, said in July that it may not be far off from filing as well but so far has yet to do so. As newspapers diminish, look for more joint ventures between surviving papers and broadcast outlets and an increase in media integration. About 100 television stations were affected by the mass bankruptcies. The interesting thing we are noticing is that remaining stations – or their owners in most cases – are filing Chapter 11, which allows for reorganizations, so stations are continuing to broadcast through the bankruptcy while the parent organization gets back on its feet, meaning there is no obvious effect on what the viewers see. In the first and second quarters, stations around the country pooled resources and started sharing news footage. Initially, it started at smaller stations but eventually hit major markets. Some stations that formed these partnerships eventually dropped out while stations like WLSTV in Chicago publicly stated the content agreements were hurting news coverage. Meanwhile, stations cut costs by eliminating veteran newscasters from their payrolls and hiring green reporters for lower wages. Along with many smaller stations, metro stations such as D.C.’s WJLATV and Baltimore’s WMARTV cut their weekend morning news. While in other areas of the media the volume of staff has fallen significantly in recent years, television stations have been working with skeleton crews for the past decade as they compete against the Internet. Even when the economy was at its best, positions vacated years before were left unfilled, resulting in more work for fewer people. In record number, stations are trying to make some of their reporters’ one-man bands so they will not have to pay for a photographer. The result is sloppier broadcasts: The number of on-air mistakes has really risen over the years. Not to mention the morale of TV station employees has been on a steady decline. In 2010, television will continue toward an “every-man-for-himself” mentality as on-air talent, which once was valued for generating viewer loyalty, will be cut to make room for low-cost staff. Stations will also continue to work with diminished crews, as they have for the last 10 years. When the economy was good, stations filled up air time with local news. But as newscasts are cancelled to save money, stations are hard-pressed to fill that time with other content. Small stations and those without major network affiliations that have cancelled newscasts will probably fill the time slot with infomercials. Bigger market stations may fill the empty slots with syndicated programming such as talk shows and old sitcoms. There will continue to be a pooling of resources as bigger market stations continue to try to concentrate on local news in any way they can. To retain more viewers, local stations will gravitate to a less news-based format. In February, Chicago-based WBBMTV will debut a morning show that replaces its morning newscast, called “Monsters & Money in the Morning.” Meanwhile in Philadelphia, KYWTV premiered a new morning show called “Talk Philly,” which is a talk show featuring minimal news updates. The radio industry also felt the recession this year as revenues for radio stations dropped from the previous year, with estimates ranging from 15 to 20 percent. Meanwhile, 10,000 jobs were lost, the majority coming from the largest owner of radio stations in the country: Clear Channel. Citadel Broadcasting, which is the third largest radio group, filed for Chapter 11 in December. While many analysts believe there is an upturn on the horizon, it may also be an indication that radio needs to make changes in terms of how it brings in advertising revenue and how it distributes its programming. To keep costs low, stations have been forced to run nationally syndicated shows like Don Imus and Rush Limbaugh in favor of original programming. But syndication takes away one of the primary aspects of radio that allowed it to weather previous competitive storms, including television, cable and the music video era: localism. Like the other mediums, program directors, who used to be able to focus their energy on improving the on-air talent, have ventured into promotional efforts, branding and online. Technology has played a big part in these changes since people are not as dependent on traditional radio to get news, music and entertainment. This includes satellite radio, iPods/MP3 players, streamed audio, CD players and other audio. So while terrestrial radio is still the main way people listen, it is losing its stranglehold. In the coming year, more radio stations are likely to continue to stream on-air signals on their Web sites and provide links to previous material, making the industry well placed to move into the digital future. In addition, there will be more interplay between radio and portable music devices, such as the fusion of FM radio with the iPod Nano and Zune. There will also be an increase in applications, allowing users to tune into a specific radio station. Perhaps 2010 will merge old and new technologies with a combination of FM tuners on cell phones. Radio has always been known as a survivor. When television, and later, cable TV came about, radio’s demise was widely predicted. But radio adapted, became more specialized, and differentiated itself with a sense of localism. Now there is another challenge with satellite, iPods, Internet radio and other media devices attracting listeners. Radio is currently in a state of flux, and the question is whether it will decline like newspapers, or embrace the technology that could allow it to expand its reach and scope. As the media struggled to survive during a tumultuous year, business models were experimented with and new marketing endeavors were undertaken. Marketing and interactivity dominated the year as platforms like Twitter went from semi-obscurity to a tool heavily utilized by the media. Facebook, which has been widely used by the general public in past years, was embraced by the media. In some cases, a little-known newspaper or radio station may not even have an official Web site but will have a Facebook page or a reporter who can be followed on Twitter. Here’s to a brighter 2010 for the media.