RTDNA Research: Local news by the numbers

This is the sixth of nine installments for 2017 in a series of reports developed from Radio Television Digital News Association's (RTDNA) annual survey of newsrooms across the United States.

The number of TV stations originating local news accelerated its generally steady slide… dropping nine from 2016. The latest RTDNA/Hofstra University Survey shows the number of TV stations originating local news is down to 705 from last year’s 714. There were 717 two years ago. Those 705 TV stations run news on those and another 357 stations. The latter number is another new, all-time high – up 18 from last year's 339. That puts the total number of stations running local news at a record 1,062 – up nine from a year ago. The total keeps going up, but it’s doing so because a smaller number of newsrooms are running news on more and more outlets.

[Bob Papper is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Journalism at Hofstra University and has worked extensively in radio and TV news.]