Hoping to reach viewers in any way they can, local television stations have ramped up efforts to make their newscasts available through a variety of mediums such as mobile devices and the Web.
The increased push to bring newscasts to the Web and other media devices follows a growing nationwide trend that started in the entertainment sector.
Jay Newman, vice president and general manager of WJZ-TV Channel 13, said the station has significantly increased content on its Web site and now offers updated video and text stories 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Just weeks ago, the station further expanded its offerings by making its news, weather and sports available via cell phone.
“First of all, this all goes back to the strategy we started implementing years ago and that has expanded rapidly, which is to reach people more often, more hours of the day, over a variety of media platforms,” Newman said.
The new cell phone service is only available to Sprint and Verizon customers, and news is available in both video and text formats. The service is subscription-based, costing between $2.99 and $4.99 per month, depending on the carrier and phone type.
Newman said the station could further grow its news offering by expanding to podcasts but that no plans have been finalized.
WBAL-TV Channel 11, the local NBC affiliate, offers podcasts, RSS feeds, webcasts and video-on-demand, all of which are offered free of charge.
“We?re trying to stay ahead of the curve,” said Larry Frum, managing editor of thewbalchannel.com, the station?s Web site. “With the advent of iPods and more people using broadband, we?re trying to offer richer content to people.”
John MacKerron, an associate professor of electronic media and general manager of WMJF-TV at Towson University, said news stations across the U.S. are using other forms of media to reach viewers in response to shifting viewing patterns, particularly amongyounger audiences.
“A number of electronic media are seeing this convergence, and stations are recognizing the desirability of maximizing their audience through not just one medium ? their station ? but through a variety of media,” MacKerron said.
