Conventional local television news is facing a lot of change and pressure in many ways but primarily from news delivery through social media. Traditional viewing audiences of local television news broadcasts at 6 a.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. are being eroded away as more and more people get their news from other sources.
While audiences shrink from our conventional broadcasts so do the advertisers that buy airtime on conventional television. For decades, television viewing has been robust but now with the advent of social media, and other over the top services such as Netflix, and specialty channels etc., the audiences are being carved up into smaller and smaller pieces.
Producing credible news delivery is expensive and so with smaller market share we need to look at how we can continue to provide local news but do it in a more cost effective way.
To provide local news you still need reporters, camera operators and editors to deliver the content and so Global has taken a lead role in making changes that still allow us to maintain our current staffing levels so we can still deliver the information that local citizens deserve.
Global has recently made changes to our Morning news by utilizing a national/international news segment cut in from our Toronto studios. All of the local news is still delivered by a local news anchor team.
The next phase impacted our weekend newscasts.
All of the content of the newscasts is still Saskatoon and area news but the anchors reading the intros and delivering the weather and sports are from a centralized control centre in Toronto.
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The goal with this change is to free up our local news staff to be able to deliver even more local news than ever before through on line and social media delivery as well as our traditional newscasts.
Global realizes that to thrive we need to be more local than ever and with the slow and steady migration of viewers and citizens getting their news content on their phones and tablets we are striving to get out in front of this movement and deploy our resources in a different way.
The latest phase is the move to the same model with our 10 p.m. News Hour Final. The content will still remain local Saskatoon news, weather and sports but will be anchored by a team from the centralized control room in Toronto.
The decision to make these changes is difficult and is not taken lightly, but in order to survive the shift that is happening with content consumption, Global is blazing a new trail. This change will result in cost savings but not at the local news department level.
As loyal viewers of Global Television, we ask that you stick with us as we discover new ways to deliver your local news. Our conventional 6 p.m. Evening News remains unchanged and you can still see and enjoy our local news team deliver your information there.
Although the faces of the 10 p.m. and weekend newscasts have changed, we want you to know that our local team is still here, working hard to deliver you balanced and fair news coverage as we navigate a whole new world of news and content consumption.
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