[opendtv] Re: 20050627 Mark's Monday Memo

At 11:37 AM -0400 6/28/05, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
>The problem with this is that you are spinning your
>own tale, ignoring the stats. If there is an increase
>in TV news viewership, local, national, and
>international, between 2001 and 2004, the only way to
>match that to your analysis would be to conclude that
>the population has aged significantly in these years.
>Which I don't believe to be the case at all.

Nopt my spin. Just my reaction to the NYTimes spin. The reality is 
that there has been a decrease in TV news viewership during this 
period with one exception; there were major bumps in viewership after 
911 and the invasion of Iraq.

The NYTimes graphic is the result of a POLL. They asked people their 
preferred source for news in each of the categories listed.

While viewer preferences may change based on who is taking the poll 
and how the questions are framed, this kind of survey is meaningless 
in terms of the actions of the participants. I may prefer one source 
over another, however, if I spend less time consuming the product, 
that is a DECREASE, not an increase.

Yesterday Rush made an interesting comment - Polls are the new form 
of editorials from the the major news sources.

This is becomming a significant issue, and I suspect that it is part 
of the reason that another poll found that we don't trust news 
sources very much these days. But there was good news in that poll - 
we trust the politicians even less.

>The more logical explanation is that there has been a
>renewed interest in news since 2001 (not hard to
>believe), and that TV is the most popular source by
>far.

Logical perhaps. But not factual.

>
>>  During the hurricanes that hit our area last year
>>  one broadcast (RADIO) group stepped up to the
>>  opportunity and took home most of the marbles.
>
>Probably largely due to the fact that many or most
>of the 65 percent dependent on cable for TV had to
>find another source of broadcast news. And they
>already had radio.

In our market more than 93% rely on cable or DBS. The best broadcast 
TV weather reports come from an Orlando station that microwaves their 
programming from Orlando to Cox cable in Ocala and Gainesville. To be 
certain there were many areas where cable and/or electric service 
were lost due to storm damage (we lost both). The reality is that 
almost everyone has a battery powered radio - few have battery 
powered TVs. But even as services were restored, the radio stations I 
mentioned held on to the audience because they were providing the 
BEST local coverage.

>
>All the more reason for TV broadcasters to emphasize
>their OTA plants.

Huh? Are you suggesting that the broadcasters should be promoting the 
sale of affordable battery powered receivers that can be used when 
the power goes out?

Regards
Craig
 
 
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