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Technology pushes stations into new era(Columbia Daily Tribune (Columbia, MO) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jun. 10--The gloves are off at the three local network television stations that compete in the 14-county Mid-Missouri market. It's a geographically diverse and growing market that has 167,860 households and 313,000 individuals older than 18 -- a prized demographic for advertisers. "It's the most unique television market in the country," said Randy Wright, general manager of ABC affiliate KMIZ-TV. The stations jostle for market share -- the basis for ad rates -- by attracting viewers through programming and by using technology to expand the reach of their content. Once limited to the reach of their over-the-air signal, stations now use multiple platforms, including cable and satellite systems, the Internet, mobile phones and iPods. Local network stations also are gearing up for what Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., calls "the most critical communications issue" facing the U.S. Congress: federal legislation expected later this year that would mandate digital-only broadcasting beginning Jan. 1, 2009. "For most people, it will make very little difference," media consultant Richard Hauschild of The Media Department said. "If you have cable, you'll watch what you've watched before. And if you have satellite, you'll watch what you've watched before." Those who will notice are viewers with older televisions who get their signal from rabbit ears. Local stations now broadcast analog and digital signals, usually simultaneously, but the switchover means the estimated 18 percent of television viewers in the local market that receive the signal over the air will need a digital television or a digital converter box. Any analog-only television sets will "go dark" after the analog signal stops. Along with digital broadcasting comes the option of high-definition, or HD. To receive HD quality, viewers must have a digital television set or subscribe to satellite. So far, only a portion of programming -- mostly network prime time -- is available in HD. But as time moves on, it's expected that the amount of HD broadcasting will dramatically increase. The trend toward digital broadcasting is good news for D&M Sound owner Anne Moore, who has seen an increase in local sales of digital televisions as prices have come down and the availability of HD programming increases. There are many options, Moore said, but a flat panel HDTV model starts at less than $1,000. All of the local stations can broadcast in HD, but producing local content or advertising at that standard is another story. "It's just such a daunting investment, especially for a small-market TV station," Wright said. "We can't charge a penny more for an ad just because it's shown in HD." KOMU On Dec. 21, 1953, University of Missouri-Columbia-owned KOMU-TV became the first television station to broadcast in Mid-Missouri. The station and its 780-foot broadcast tower are located off Highway 63 in south Columbia. General Manager Marty Siddall, a 52-year-old who heads a staff of 60 employees, arrived in April 1999 from Indianapolis with a career path primarily rooted in broadcast financial management. Siddall preaches the station's primary mission of teaching students. "Our mission is educating students," he said. "We operate at highest standards because we feed our industry." NBC affiliate KOMU is the only network affiliate owned by a university that uses the television station for teaching. The station boasts several review suites -- booths with television monitors -- and other tools for teachers to help students learn broadcasting. The extra responsibility of teaching is expensive and cuts into profits, but it also distinguishes the station among its competition, Siddall said. "That sets us apart, and it's a tremendous asset of the School of Journalism," he said. The station's Web site has a list of notable alumni holding network broadcast jobs. That list includes Elizabeth Vargas, ABC News; Chuck Roberts, CNN; Mark Potter, NBC News; and Mike Hall, ESPN. The station is typically a strong competitor in the local news ratings, but Siddall said he generally ignores the quarterly report card because "commercialism compromises" the station's primary mission to train broadcast professionals. That means the station shuns the usual fare of quick and flashy broadcast news, he said. "We teach journalism, not sound bites," Siddall said, adding that station management promotes features and in-depth reporting. The station also produces "Pepper & Friends," the long-running local morning show hosted by Paul Pepper that's touted as Central Missouri's only live weekday variety talk show on the station's Web site. It also broadcasts Weather Plus, a 24-hour local weather channel on KOMU-WX 8.2, which only can be received digitally. The station is expanding programming options geared to a younger audience. This fall, the station's affiliate KJWB-TV will broadcast programming from the new CW Network, a 50-50 partnership between CBS-owned UPN and The WB, a unit of Time-Warner Inc. Siddall rebuffs criticism that the station has an unfair advantage being owned by MU that insulates it from for-profit concerns and allows it to have the latest equipment and innovations. The station has made a recent capital investment of $750,000 for high-tech digital equipment and gets a steady supply of free student labor, but Siddall is quick to point out that advertising revenues cover all of the station's costs and more. "We give money to the university," he said. "It goes the other way." KRCG A framed full-page ad printed Jan. 23, 1955, in the Jefferson City News Tribune on hangs in the hallway of KRCG-TV. The ad announced the station's first broadcast. Located amid farmland off Highway 54 between Holts Summit and New Bloomfield, KRCG has always been a CBS affiliate. Robert C. Goshorn filed an application for the station's original license, but he died before the first broadcast. His daughter, Jefferson City News Tribune Publisher Betty Weldon, launched the station and named it after her father -- the "RCG" are his initials. The station has since been sold to four other owners and is now held by Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Barrington Broadcasting Co. Inc. General Manager Betsy Farris heads a staff of 68 employees. The 47-year-old graduate of Rock Bridge High School and Stephens College has been with the station 15 years. Her path to the general manager's office was through the sales department. Farris said top priorities at the station are local news, especially the morning and 10 p.m. weekday segments, and growing the Web site as a separate business entity. "It's all about serving our community and our customers," she said. The station has posted impressive ratings for its local news broadcasts. In the last published Nielsen ratings, the station bested its local rivals in the 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekday broadcasts for 25- to 54-year-old viewers and was a point behind leader KOMU at 10 p.m. Some of the recent good fortune for the CBS affiliate could be the result of riding its network's wave, which has eight of the top 10 most watched prime-time television programs, according to the Nielsen rankings for the week of May 29. But the station also has been willing to open the wallet, including $3 million for digital broadcast and production equipment. Station veteran Lee Gordon, who began on air in April 1955, said he's been amazed at the resilience of network television in the face of a "proliferation of channels" from other viewing options such as cable and satellite. "It's remarkable to me that network stations continue to retain such a high share of the overall audience," he said. He said there's one good reason for that resilience. "You can still watch us for free," he said. "We give all this stuff to you for nothing." KMIZ Randy Wright is at ease strolling through the offices of ABC affiliate KMIZ, casually chatting with employees and cracking jokes. He notices a new hairstyle on one employee and makes a comment. "I notice things like hair," he said with a laugh. For the 43-year-old balding general manager, who is the son of MU General Counsel Bunky Wright, it's all about a positive work environment and having a good time. He leads a company of 52 full-time and 15 part-time employees that also operates local Fox affiliate KQFX-TV, UPN affiliate KZOU-TV and Show-Me Weather. "This is fun," Wright said. "We embrace this thing and protect it. We find the personalities that fit our culture, and we help them grow into whatever they want to do." Former reporter Manuel Quinones, now at ABC affiliate WSET-TV in Lynchburg, Va., came to Columbia in 2003 to cover the General Assembly and earn a master's degree in political science at MU. He left two years later for a new experience and a bigger market, but he recalls good times at KMIZ. "It's a very fun place to work," he said. "Everyone is very relaxed, and the news director was very much one-on-one." KMIZ was founded in 1971 by Richard Koenig and was launched in the basement of the Tiger Hotel garage. The station moved to its location at 501 Business Loop 70 E. a few years later. The station sends out its signal from a 1,100-foot tower near Prairie Home. Wright is a graduate of Hickman High School and has a master's degree in media management from MU. He began his broadcasting career as a 14-year-old working the graveyard shift for KFMZ -- Columbia's first FM stereo radio station. He did stints at stations in Tulsa and St. Louis before returning to Columbia as general manager of radio stations KTGR-AM and KCMQ-FM. He arrived at KMIZ in 1997 after about seven years as a weathercaster for KOMU. In 2001, Wright almost left his native Columbia to take a job as general manager for the ABC affiliate in Springfield. But the station encountered financial problems and reneged on its deal with Wright two days before he moved his family. The experience was a jolt, but things worked out. Two years later, Tucson, Ariz.-based JW Broadcasting LLC purchased KMIZ, and the new owners promoted Wright to general manager. "The path has been interesting," said Wright, who just began a term as chairman of the Missouri Broadcasters Association. He's also a co-investor in an investment group that recently purchased a FM radio station in Eldon for a reported $780,000. Since taking the reins at KMIZ, Wright has raised ad rates, created a more open culture and focused on the station's strengths. One of those strengths, he said, is digital multi-casting the company's group of four stations over the same channel. "It's a very unique business model," Wright said. "It's best used for small-market broadcasters to justify the investment in digital technology." A perennial local news doormat, KMIZ recently surged ahead in the Sunday newscast ratings for viewers in the 25 to 54 ages slot and has made dramatic progress in the 6 a.m. weekday broadcast. In response to the upcoming demise of the UPN network this fall, KMIZ will replace that programming with Fox television's new MyNetworkTV, a 12-hour weekly slate of prime-time "telenovela" miniseries to air Monday through Saturday. Local media consultant Richard Hauschild sees "healthy days" ahead for area network television stations. But he expects local competition to become more of a horse race. "I expect to see a little more equity, which is good," he said. "I think it's going to be more equal. I think the disparity among the stations in terms of program ratings will close." But aside from changes in technology, Web sites and multiple platforms, Hauschild said it still boils down to the basics. "Everyone keys in on the local news," he said. "Weather is always important, and the local news really hinges on weather. People want to know if that storm is on the way and whether it's going to be here in 15 minutes." For local area broadcasters, keeping an eye peeled for a change in the weather is probably good advice. "It's a very interesting time to be in this business," Wright said. "Truly, this is a time of transition." |