You Can Change the Channel, but Local News Is the Same

Some local broadcast television stations compete for viewers, but they cooperate in gathering the news — maintaining technically separate ownership, but sharing office space, news video and even the scripts written for their nightly news anchors.

That is why viewers see the same segments on car accidents, the same interviews with local politicians, the same high school sports highlights. The changes have drawn the ire of critics, who charge that there are fewer and fewer journalists actually covering local news. The agreements behind this sharing are also attracting the attention of another group of viewers — federal regulators. Amid stiff competition for advertising revenue, these agreements are a “survival strategy” for weak stations, said Perry Sook, the chairman and chief executive of Nexstar, which owns the CBS station here, KLST. The rise of the agreements resembles the retrenchment of the American newspaper industry, but it has been far less publicized. The Federal Communications Commission does not know how many agreements exist between stations, making it impossible to judge their effects. But FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski indicated last week that the FCC was beginning to study the issue. “It’s something we’re taking a close look at the FCC.” he said. He sounded especially curious about what he called behind-the-scenes cooperation between stations that collaboratively sell ads and negotiate contracts with distributors.