Experiencing Local TV News in a Massage Chair Doesn’t Make It Any Better...

I haven’t had regular access to television in seven years, and when I did, the local news did not factor in the experience.  In the last decade, I’ve encountered local TV news as a captive audience while sitting in a massage chair having a pedicure at the family owned nail salon across from Top Pot Donuts in Belltown.  From what I recall, the main stories encompassed weather, traffic, sports, and homicides.  I found it rather uninteresting, somewhat depressing, and even the commercials were almost embarrassing to watch.

As for my regular news media, I typically read the Wall Street Journal (paper version) over breakfast and listen to NPR streaming while washing dishes and making dinner. In this digital era, most people have a synergistic relationship between their devices – desktop/laptop, tablet, smartphone – which allows for a seamless transition between home, work, and social.  People want information, like everything else, on their own terms.   Whenever possible, I try to disconnect from digital devices to maintain some semblance of real life balance; that said, I rarely check news throughout the day. Given time constraints, I rely solely on the aforementioned news sources that I consider credible, trustworthy, and engaging.

So, how can local TV news improve?  From my limited exposure to this medium, the first thing that comes to mind: deliver interesting and engaging content that matters to people and make it digitally accessible.  From this week’s reading, The State of the News Media 2012, we learn that online news audiences increased by 17% between 2010-2011, while local TV news viewership also grew at 1.4% in the morning and 3% in late evening.  Apparently, there is still a demand for local TV news.  Perhaps, these companies can also improve by mergers or acquisitions, combining resources/talents to offer viewers higher quality content.