Case study and analysis: Portugal TVI media / broadcasting company

P. Slocum and A. B. AlbarranLocal Television Newsrooms

Strategic Planning in Local Television Newsrooms

Phyllis Slocum The University of North Texas, USA

Alan B. Albarran The University of North Texas, USA

This study compared the characteristic of strategic planning as used in the corporate world with the plan- ning process used in a sample of television news departments in local television stations in the United States. The purpose was to determine if commonalities exist, in what circumstances, and whether tech- niques and approaches used for many years by businesses could advance the process of planning in the fast-paced environment of local television news.

In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of highly experienced local news managers. The re- sults indicated some similarities in planning approaches, but suggested significant differences in how the two industries approach key elements of traditional strategic planning. The primary conclusion drawn from the research suggests the local television news industry in the United States has informally adapted strategic planning processes to their needs with heavy emphasis on tactical execution.

Local television news plays a critical dual role in the social and economic framework of the United States. As a com- munity information source, local news on television net- work affiliates continues to supply the majority of Ameri- cans with daily community, state, and even global news. In 2002, a Gallup poll reported that 73% of Americans sur- veyed called local TV news the most trusted of all news sources as compared to the Sunday morning news-talk shows (49%), weekly news magazines (46%), or C-SPAN (43%; Paul, 2002).

This remains true despite a significant decline in local news viewership on a national basis. The Pew Research Center’s Biennial News Consumption Survey released in June of 2004 reported that local TV news remains Ameri- cans’ primary news source, with 59% of respondents nam- ing local TV news as the place they most regularly go for information. That compares to 65% who named local TV news as their top information source in 1996, however. Regular viewing is now well below the levels reached in the early and mid-1990s (The Pew Research Center, 2004). But the concern over declining local news audiences is far from new. In 2001, the Radio Television News Directors

Foundation (RTNDF) conducted a national survey regard- ing radio news but encompassing all levels of broadcast and news media consumption. The study warns that con- stantly growing media fragmentation, together with a perceived lack of interest in news, means news program- ming for the mass audience could become obsolete (RTNDF, 2001).

Furthermore, the significant rise in cable news audi- ences in the United States, as well as increasing use of the Internet as a source for both local and national news, sug- gest additional stress on local television news operations. In April of 2002, audiences for cable and broadcast net- work news were virtually equal—33% viewership for cable news, 32% for the networks. In 2004, those numbers shifted, with 38% of respondents saying they watch cable news on a regular basis, whereas only 34% said the same about network newscasts (The Pew Research Center, 2004). Younger viewers, prized by television advertisers, are seek- ing information from other sources. Garin-Hart-Yang Re- search Group, a division of Peter D. Hart Research Associ- ates, conducted survey research in April of 2004 to determine how Americans get their news about politi- cians, national government, and national issues, as well as their attitudes about the media. The findings ranked media for “important news sources” with the under-35 voter in this order: local paper—26%, national TV news

The International Journal on Media Management, 8(3), 146–153146

Address correspondence to Phyllis Slocum, The University of North Texas, P.O. Box 310589, Denton, TX 76203–0589. E-mail: [email protected]

broadcast—24%, radio news—22%, the Internet—20%, and local television news—19% (editorsweblog.org, 2004).

Economic Impact: The Local Television Station

Although the decline in local television news watching suggests implications for the role that affiliate stations play as information sources, the diminishing audience also has a significant economic impact on the station as well. Local television news has always been a stalwart and profitable business. Despite difficult economic times, lo- cal television stations have remained generally profitable. The news department is for most stations the single larg- est revenue center (Albarran, 2006). Of course, the size of the local market does play a role in how big that revenue may be. RTNDA, in conjunction with Ball State University, conducts an annual survey of local television news direc- tors to ascertain the percentage of station revenue gener- ated by the news department. As shown in Table 1, in 2001, all but 25 markets (those being the largest) reported generating at or above 40% of station revenue from inside the newsroom.

Economic Impact: The Newsroom

With changing audiences, increasing competition not only from in-market broadcast entities but the Internet, and other information and entertainment options such as cable, local station managers are faced with the prospect of dwindling advertising dollars that ultimately have an impact on the local newsroom. The cost inside the news- room often means fewer reporters and staff who must pro- duce more stories to fill newscasts. For example, in 1998, a small survey of news directors (32) revealed that, on aver- age, reporters were expected to produce 1.5 stories a day (Jones, 1999). In 2002, a larger survey of 103 news directors showed an increase—the average story count was 1.8 per

day per reporter (Potter, 2002). A survey of local television news directors revealed that the average full-time staff was 32 in 1998 and had fallen to 30.7 full-time staffers by 2001 (Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2004).

In addition, there is an economic impact on local sta- tions due to quickly changing, expensive technology. Just as age and changing lifestyles in this country are having an impact on media consumption, constantly expanding technologies and multiple media source options are splin- tering the television audience. According to a BusinessWeek special report, if an advertiser broadcast a commercial si- multaneously on ABC, CBS, and NBC during the 1960s, 80% of American women would have seen it. In 2006, it would take running the same advertisement on 100 chan- nels to even approach that demographic reach (Bianco, 2004). Thus, maintaining high profit margins as previ- ously described may become increasingly difficult for lo- cal stations, as times are changing socially and economi- cally and newsroom managers face increasing pressures from a number of diverse areas.

Literature Review

In the business world, two approaches used extensively and in various forms to address dynamic, changing envi- ronments are strategic management and strategic plan- ning. The last half of the 20th century saw the rise of stra- tegic management—that being a broad view of management—which encompassed a variety of manage- ment tools and approaches. In its most general form, stra- tegic management operates at two levels. It seeks to en- sure the long-term success of a company by using analytical techniques and systems to understand and deal with changing business and competitive environments. According to Grunig and Kuhn (2002), it also seeks to im- plement “[both] the realization of strategies as well as stra- tegic control” (p. 14). The authors defined strategic planning as a systemic process establishing the way a company will guarantee the permanent accomplishment of its key goals. The authors become more specific by targeting what they call “intended” strategy as the goal for compa- nies. Traits include a long-term set of guidelines, the strat- egy is appropriate to the entire company or for key parts of that company, it is usually a product of top management thinking, and it guarantees success of the crucial com- pany goals.

Naylor (1983) described strategic planning as a way to help managers meet long-term objectives based on re- sources, overall goals, and other environmental informa- tion, whereas Gershon (2000) narrowed the definition to a “set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long-term performance of a business” (p. 96).

In the evolution of this approach, Michael Porter is one of the most prominent theorists. Porter (1998) developed

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Table 1. Percentage of TV Station Revenue Produced by News Programs, by Market Size

Market Size 1998 1999 2000 2001

All TV 42 39 44 41 Markets 1–25 (largest) 37 36 38 28 Markets 26–50 29 30 35 40 Markets 51–100 44 44 47 42 Markets 101–150 42 41 44 47 Markets 151+ (smallest) 46 39 41 43

Note. Source: adapted from Project for Excellence in Journalism, Local TV (2004). There are 210 television markets in the United States as designated by the Nielsen Media Research Firm (Nielsen Media Re- search, 2003–2004).

new ways of analyzing both competition and industries and provided a new look at the importance and use of strategies. The terms competitive strategy and strategic posi- tioning emerged as hallmarks of Porter’s thinking. For Por- ter, the essence of competitive strategy lies in being differ- ent, in “choosing what not to do” (p. 59). By making deliberate choices, the company acquires unique quali- ties—a unique identity or position in the industry—which in turn provide a competitive advantage.

Other aspects considered important parts of strategic planning include f lexibility, forward-looking in ap- proach, and innovative in both thinking and implementa- tion. Porter (1998) cited both innovation and thinking ahead of the curve to anticipate changes in the business environment as critical to forming a successful plan. Ac- cording to Porter, companies that anticipate change can respond first.

Universally, the rapidly changing business environ- ment, more volatile than in past decades, makes the need for some form of planning a crucial part of strategic man- agement.

The market is highly fragmented and we are seeing in- creased competition … It is more difficult to gain and maintain competitive advantage. Furthermore, regula- tory bodies are placing severe demands on organizations … Customers also have more access to information and they are becoming more sophisticated, demanding and discerning. (Cormican, 2004)

Thus, strategic planning has become a way that manag- ers develop long-term goals based on information about their marketplace and competitors. The process allows managers a way to allocate resources; mediate differences within organizations; and, ultimately, develop a market position, which makes the company successful.

Strategic planning differs from tactical or short-term actions. Gershon (2000) characterized strategic planning as the long-term plan to ensure the company’s successful fu- ture in the marketplace. How that plan is executed and how those goals are realized become the tactical or short-term efforts by the company and its management. Thus, business definitions of strategic planning are based on the understanding that such efforts are long term in nature, suggesting company goals that may be several years in the future.

Another aspect that plays a central role in both the de- velopment and execution of the strategic plan is the abil- ity to evaluate or judge whether those actions that were taken succeeded based on corporate criteria. In the busi- ness world, the term Key Performance Indicators, or KPI, is the generally accepted way to identify those things that are used to measure success or failure.

KPI are essentially measurement standards. One of the most important hallmarks of KPI is that they are accepted

within an industry as the understood measuring bench- mark. They are “significant predefined measures” (Wu, 2002) that give managers information to judge past activi- ties. KPI allow the success of an organization to be mea- sured and compared against its competitors based on per- formance in the accepted KPI areas and to monitor long-term performance (Freeman, 1995).

For the television industry, the KPI that has a direct and profound impact on every aspect of the industry is the Nielsen Media Research ratings system. The Nielsen televi- sion numbers, delivered once a quarter, are the basis for industry advertising sales. Regardless of whether at the network, cable, or local station level, the Nielsen ratings system acts as the tacitly understood industry KPI. It is the one universally accepted measuring tool by which all pro- grams are judged and all economic sales are made.

As the lone source for network ratings, upon which all TV advertising sales are based, Nielsen is the sole arbiter of value in the industry … Nielsen ratings are used to price some $60 billion in TV ads annually (combined national and local sales). (McClellan, 2004, p. 2)

At the local level, Nielsen ratings carry a significant im- pact. The value of a ratings point is central to all program- ming—including local news—in assessing how the pro- gram will be sold to advertisers. Although the actual dollar value of a ratings point at the local level can be difficult to determine because each market has a different economic and competitive makeup and the information is rarely re- vealed to outside sources, a single station in a large market can generate millions of dollars (Chunovic, 2004). So, for lo- cal television stations and specifically the local news de- partment, one measure of successful planning is the result as evaluated by viewers through the Nielsen ratings service.

Research Questions

Although there is significant research regarding strategic planning as it is applied to the business world, there is lit- tle available relating to local television news. This study begins a discovery process of whether there are planning tools used in local television newsrooms that allow man- agers to respond to ongoing, fast-paced, and often com- plex events, ensuring both quality of product (content) and support for the station’s bottom line. How do experi- enced television news directors plan for their operations with the same successes that corporate planning models have achieved in the business world? This suggests two re- search questions discussed here.

RQ1: Does the news director have what each believes to be a strategic plan that resembles the definitions used by the corporate world?

148 P. Slocum and A. B. Albarran

RQ2: Are there common tactics, planning elements, or other tools used by all news directors in their sta- tions in developing strategic plans for their depart- ments?

Method

This study gathered and analyzed data from a purposive sample of participants. Nine current or former television news directors were asked to participate. Selection criteria specified each participant had a minimum of 5-years expe- rience as active, in-station news directors managing a full-time broadcast news operation, excluding cable sta- tion news directors or 24-hour or Internet news directors. The decision to impose a minimum 5-year experience track as television news director ensured that the participants had had ample time to deal with changing technologies, personnel issues, budget concerns, and other market pres- sures within the general current industry environment.

These news directors represented network affiliates ABC, CBS, and NBC, with a generally similar amount of lo- cal television news programming airing Monday through Friday. The FOX, WB, and UPN stations, although often do- ing news, either did more news programming than oth- ers, did much less per day than others, or the news pro- gramming was provided through partnerships with the local ABC, CBS, or NBC affiliate. Therefore, any managers of these facilities were excluded from the study.

Based on available Nielsen Media Market Research, par- ticipants in the study came from local stations in the mid- dle range of markets (size 57 through 138), came from a span of 80 market sizes (Nielsen Media Research, 2003–2004), and represented stations whose individual group ownership allowed no more than 10% coverage of the United States. News directors in significantly larger markets are often less focused on daily issues inside their news departments because of group or corporate respon- sibilities. Smaller markets, meanwhile, find themselves with different issues, such as a news director who doubles as an anchor, thus the ability to devote time to strategic thinking or planning is limited.

In-depth interviews were conducted, with the same battery of questions administered to each person. These interviews were conducted either in person or by tele- phone as physically appropriate by the first author. The data were transcribed, and qualitative content analysis was used to interpret that data. This method allows analy- sis of information either by tracking the participants’ spe- cific words and phrases or by interpreting the concepts and data from respondents’ comments (Wood, 2001). In this study, the latter approach—interpreting the concepts and data from respondents’ comments—was used. The goal was to find common themes, ideas, practical applica- tions, and other responses that relate to the key research

questions, of which two are discussed in this article as identified earlier.

Results

Corporate world definitions of strategic planning suggest a number of common characteristics. Examples include creating long-term goals that may be several years from fruition; using information-based planning related to the marketplace, customers, and competition; allocating re- sources; developing a successful market position; and us- ing short-term actions as tactics to achieve the goals of the overall strategy. The environment in which local televi- sion news operates forces significant modifications to the corporate world’s notion of strategic planning. The partic- ipants in this study, however, clearly use many traits of strategic planning that they have adapted to their needs.

Commonalities Among News Planning Processes

Although all of the news directors have an overall strate- gic plan against which they operate their newsrooms, there are differences. Each plan ref lects aspects and focal points specific to the market environment of the station.

Time frame. Strategic planning suggests a planning horizon that can stretch for several years. Gershon (2000) characterized strategic planning as the long-term plan to en- sure the company’s successful future in the marketplace. How that plan is executed and how those goals are real- ized become the tactical or short-term efforts by the com- pany and its management. In television newsrooms, how- ever, this is not the case. The notion of time collapses into days, weeks, and months.

ND1 A: The industry is so dynamic that planning out the next five years is kind of difficult when most sta- tions are looking just to the next book.

Local news managers look at a planning process, at least in part, in terms of the four Nielsen rating surveys per year, at which time they are judged and the results be- come the basis for selling advertising time on the station. For example, all the news directors look ahead at least 1 year and, in a few cases, as much as 3 to 5 years. But the speed with which circumstances change in a local televi- sion news operation make that kind of planning horizon very unclear. Several respondents stated that long-term plans usually revolved around equipment and other capi- tal investment rather than news content and marketing.

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ND E: For us, it’s (strategic planning) fairly short-term planning. We try to look ahead 5 years for budget purposes, but really we’re on a yearly cy- cle, and in many ways, it’s a 48-hour cycle. Television news moves quickly and responds quickly and it’s a competitive business so we don’t do a lot of long-term planning.

Planning goals. The managers usually engage in an annual review, goal setting, and planning effort in which they focus on two major targets: known future events and the development of key areas they want to improve or grow and what actions will be needed to achieve those goals. Often, these new efforts or goals are suggested by in- formation from market research, ratings results, or other data sources that may be informal but considered reliable.

Yet, despite time pressures and other market environ- mental issues, the news directors have a clear understand- ing of the importance of strategic planning and the need to look at the future of their news effort. This for- ward-looking attitude goes beyond the quarterly ratings cycle defined as “sweeps months.”

ND C: This business is stressful enough, but if you plan for it, it’s easier. We try as much as possible to work down the road.

Sweeps impact. To different degrees, the economic reality of the sweeps measurements has a tangible impact on the planning efforts of all the stations. Sometimes, the effort is more sweeps-specific. This shorter term, more tac- tical approach resulting in long-term success is partly due to the evolution of the individual station and the general stability of the specific market as ref lected by ratings and formal audience survey research.

Tactical is strategic. In what may be considered an- other deviation from the corporate definition of strategic planning, major events, whether sweeps or opportunities specific to the market (e.g., the retirement of a beloved an- chor and the introduction of his/her replacement or the dedication of a major civic addition such as a presidential library or new sports franchise), become little strategic planning opportunities. Plan review of these projects is frequent, and managers allocate available resources nec- essary to the goals outlined in the ministrategic plan.

ND C: We review frequently. The closer it gets to the event we review almost daily. What have we left out? Do we need to change something? We also review af- terwards. Did we make mistakes, leave something out? How can we make it better the next time? We’ve gotten it down to a science.

ND D: I would say almost weekly, or daily. When- ever your deadlines are near, you review and see how

it’s going and decide if you need to change anything. Sometimes it’s just haphazard.

As each of the participants acknowledged the use of some type of strategic plan, their answers also revealed us- ing nearly identical planning tools and processes to create individual newsroom strategies and deal with issues con- sidered to be important to both the station and the audi- ence. It is important to note that these professionals—all at successful, well-established stations—gained their prac- tical experience in about the same era and were exposed to the same issues of technology changes, station sales or owner/manager changes, economic changes within the market, and other inf luences that have affected the broadcast industry over the past 20 years. It is not surpris- ing that these news managers developed similar ways of tackling the strategic planning process that, for them, have proven very effective.

Planning Traits in Common

All respondents strongly support the use of planning and believe it to be highly effective. Traits common to the news directors’ planning processes include

� Reliance on professional research as often as possi- ble to understand the market and audience.

� Respect for and reliance on informal information gathering from individual audience members and other personal interactions.

� A keen focus on the sweeps periods for which Niel- sen ratings serve as the industry KPI.

� Initial consideration and development of overall plans and goals by a small management group; then the information loop is expanded to encompass a significant number of staff.

� Respect for the need to have input from staff, belief in high degree of communication, and an apprecia- tion of the significant value of personnel support.

� Employing tactical actions such as events or special projects to achieve larger strategic goals, which in- clude improved ratings, revenue growth, and in- creased audience loyalty.

� Significant planning for individual activities or events that incorporate frequent and regular re- view, both traits of the corporate strategic planning model.

� Universal belief in the value of what each station’s news effort is seeking to provide to its audience.

These common attributes suggest that there is an ap- proach to planning used by local managers ref lecting a level of strategic planning as they have defined it. Al- though not mirroring a corporate model, within the local

150 P. Slocum and A. B. Albarran

television news environment, this overall approach sug- gests that an informal television model may exist. This is supported by similarities in the type of planning tools used by each of the sample news directors to create a stra- tegic plan.

Information-Based Planning

Critical to all strategic planning is obtaining the neces- sary data on which to base analysis and recommended ac- tions. Gathering this information can involve a variety of research tools, such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, formal surveys, government reports, and Internet usage data. All of the participating news directors use both pur- chased audience research data (although not as fre- quently as some would wish due to economic consider- ations) as well as information about the market, competition, and audience that is gathered informally. The Internet, peer-to-peer communication, and Nielsen ratings data contribute significant insight about trends in the industry, new methods, or approaches to solve prob- lems common in local television newsrooms. The infor- mation also provides new ideas to improve the news prod- uct and, ultimately, affect the ratings and audience share.

ND A: Our news research is done every 18–24 months … We share it extensively throughout the staff.

ND B: It varies on the economy and how the rat- ings are. If it doesn’t seem necessary … we don’t do it … The majority of us have lived here for a long time. So we have a good grasp on what is important in this market.

ND G: We do it annually. Recently the research seems to be less personality driven and more about content and style.

Informally gathered data also play a role. This unscien- tific information comes from talking directly to viewers through such mediums as ascertainment interviews (ND B), town hall meetings, limited one-on-one interviews, and telephone calls and voice messages left by viewers. Even though this information is not quantifiable, all respon- dents reported this type of data was an important part of their understanding of the market and its needs.

Personal Experience

The respondents all referred to intangible methods that they use in developing strategic plans. For example, the impact of confidence gained by successfully developing news programs and teaching staff, affecting a successful turn-around at a weak station, and the experience from

years of practical hands-on work and personnel manage- ment are important tools used by these managers in creating strategic plans.

Core Competencies

The effort of strategic planning among these news manag- ers also focused on maintaining and improving their sta- tion core competencies. Chan-Olmsted and Kang (2003) de- scribed these as elements a company possesses that give it a clear advantage over its competitors. Porter (1998) sug- gested that companies make deliberate choices of things to do and not to do. The results give the company a unique identity and competitive advantage. Regarding television news, these attributes, described by one news manager as “pillars,” are seen as key pieces in the success of the station. In every case, at least one or more of the elements described as core competencies by these news directors were content oriented, the kind of very specific coverage a local televi- sion news operation traditionally supplies. According to the respondents, the difference that sets their product apart from the competitors is the quality of the coverage.

ND C: … weather, health, education, crime and breaking news. People know we will cover those things day in and day out. They are our staples.

ND H: It’s the way we respond to breaking news, top stories, in-depth investigative stories, etc. We take pride in the fact that we try to be fair and factual.

ND D: … the things that set us apart from the competition. Our strategy comes from the core be- liefs of our talent and from being a family-owned station in the state. We’re involved in charities in the community. Our journalism needs to make a difference.

Methods to keep these core competencies strong and improve them become tactics in the overall strategic plan. Therefore, despite the individual issues that each local news market faces, the methods used by news managers to create a viable strategic plan appropriate to their situa- tion are very similar.

Conclusion

At the station level, strategic planning is becoming in- creasingly common with managers instituting busi- ness-like organizational systems to deal with a volatile economy and pressure to produce solid ratings. But, do these practices—in particular, the strategic planning tool—mirror corporate models? The results of this study would suggest that, despite a number of parallels, the an-

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swer is “not precisely.” The differences between local TV news and more traditional industries, especially those with a manufacturing background, are substantial. What can be drawn from this study is that local television news managers do use strategic planning, but one shaped over the years to meet the needs of a unique profession, becom- ing a hybrid model of the strategic planning process.

A New Definition: Strategic Tactical Planning

The results of this study offer a new definition of strategic planning applicable to local television news—strategic tac- tical planning. This hybrid definition illustrates how the participating news managers use various techniques com- mon to a more corporate interpretation of strategic plan- ning but modify other traits to suit their own needs specific to the news industry. Among experienced local news man- agers, this hybrid form of planning has proven successful for them based on industry-accepted measurements.

Although large, long-term goals are part of a station’s overall plan, the newsroom itself is more usually geared to a strategic approach best defined as strategic tactical plan- ning. The emphasis is on tactical approaches—what tasks and actions should be implemented to reach a stated goal.

Strategic Tactical Execution

The goal or goals may be very short term and can vary widely in content and desired outcome. For example, the strategic goal may be achieving better ratings in the quar- terly sweeps, improving perception of an anchor talent, creating a positive impact in the community by covering a museum opening, or responding to a severe weather emergency. Yet, each situation sparks a strategic plan- ning-like effort resulting in an individual plan with a de- sired outcome or a goal. Tactical actions are developed that incorporate many of the elements associated with corporate strategic planning models.

Knowing whether the goal was achieved based on plan- ning is often clear within days or even hours. One news manager described it as strategic planning done in both a short- and long-term fashion, each necessary but dealing with very different elements and issues. All of the partici- pants agreed that this was an integral part of how they carried out the planning process. Within their environ- ment, the concept of short-term strategic planning was clearly applied to those things of immediate concern, such as elections, major community events, or severe weather. The concept of long-term strategic planning was applied frequently to broad issues, such as how the sta- tion/news department will deal with new technologies and the economics of its purchase, an impending station sale or acquisition, or a serious decline in station revenue.

At the content or execution level, local news strategic planning is driven by a specific goal and the applicable tactical actions.

The primary limitation was the lack of literature about strategic planning related to the local television news in- dustry. Therefore, a research instrument had to be devel- oped that was a highly modified adaptation of general in- dustry discussions of what a strategic planning model encompassed. Another limitation was the sample size. With nine local television news managers out of a possible universe of several hundred, the cell size only allows for general observations and not hard conclusions. A third lim- itation was the selection of the sample interviewees. Each represented a successful television station based on indus- try standards, and each had years of experience in news and as a manager. The study excluded data from less experi- enced managers, station managers from less successful sta- tions, and newcomers to the local TV news operation.

These limitations, however, also suggest opportunities for future researchers to look at other aspects of the impor- tant role that local television news plays in the American media. Several suggestions follow for further research.

From a theoretical perspective, future research could address broad areas such as the changing economics of the industry relating to consolidation, ownership changes, and advancing technologies and their impact on daily information f low at the local television news level. Other studies could look at the changing American per- ception of the media targeting local markets that address daily issues with an impact on citizens at a personal level. Other opportunities for research could review less suc- cessful stations and assess their news and/or station think- ing about strategic planning. How do these stations ap- proach strategic planning in the overall station, and specifically in the newsrooms?

A question that news directors face is to balance their goal of excellent journalism against the economic pres- sures of the marketplace. One potential field of study could consider developing an actual profile of a successful sta- tion both economically and journalistically. What are the differences between the sample stations and other less competitive ones? Can future researchers identify and cod- ify the roadblocks that keep less successful stations from greater success, thus creating a bluebook for success?

An industry study geared toward the economic model of a local television station may consider specific charac- teristics that appear necessary in developing an operation both journalistically recognized and financially success- ful. Can a model be developed from looking at the organi- zation and approach of these stations? The results of such a study may offer a path for other stations and groups to follow, leading to improved service and financial growth.

This research can also be extended to other countries and would open up interesting opportunities for the study of television newsroom management at a global level. Are

152 P. Slocum and A. B. Albarran

there strategic planning models in use in other nations in regard to local television newsrooms? How are they similar or different to the practices discovered in this study? Are there differences between public-service news operations and those with a commercial orientation? Given the impor- tance of news as a source of programming and information in all nations, these areas deserve further exploration.

No formal or unified system of planning emerged from this study, nor was that its goal. The apparently successful common beliefs and approaches to strategic planning used by these participants, however, may allow future research- ers to expand and possibly codify these commonalities into an approach providing less successful news operations with a strategic planning format applicable to this special- ized industry. One beneficial outcome from such a develop- ment could be better local news coverage, a stronger overall journalistic environment at the local level, and a better-in- formed citizenry, regardless of where news is practiced.

Note

1. ND stands for news director.

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