NBC Connecticut received some questioning scrutiny this week from a national media news blog for its decision to – at least once, maybe twice – air a re-run of the previous evening’s 11p.m. newscast at 4:30a.m. instead of an early morning live broadcast.
Is this decision a broadcast news sin, given the fact that until a few years ago, there were no 4a.m. hour local newscasts in this market? Perhaps more importantly, is it a sign of things to come?
This week Audacy announced the end of WCBS Newsradio 88 in New York. For a long time the company has operated two all-news radio stations in New York and as of August 26 – at 12:01a.m. – they will only operate one – 1010 WINS. The bottom line being; the news audience is changing and it should be expected that the means of delivery of the news will change accordingly.
Streaming news services are now growing both locally and nationally. Some of these streaming models use what can be described as a “live when necessary” approach. A half hour or hour long newscast is produced and re-aired – hour by hour – until something changes, or until there is a need to break in with live coverage.
As broadcast outlets look to cut costs, it is not impossible to imagine a general manager deciding to produce a one hour newscast each morning, afternoon, and evening and re-broadcast those hours several times during the day – only breaking in when there is actual breaking news. Which is not as often as most people think.
This might be a radical idea for some, and some Laurel readers may be upset that we have even raised the issue, but it’s not a new concept. It is in practice with NPR’s Morning Edition, in some markets with All Things Considered, it was the concept behind CNN Headline News, regional cable news networks, and several newer streaming networks.
An early morning replay of last night’s news is not necessarily a failure and it might be the start of a trend. The trend might even lead to higher quality coverage of real news, because the imperative would switch away from the need to “go live” for the sake of going live.
