One of the misnomers in the media industry is the concept of “local” media. A lot of “local” media is really regional in nature, and those outlets must operate differently as a result.
Consider the geographic layout of media outlets. You have smaller weekly newspapers, radio stations, and online news outlets that offer hyperlocal coverage to a small area. Then you have TV stations, larger radio stations, and larger newspapers with wider coverage areas.
Even though these larger outlets are often called “local” media, they are really regional. It’s important for journalists in these newsrooms to remember that their reports are reaching people in multiple “local” areas.
How can media outlets covering a wide area appeal to all viewers, especially considering the smaller staffs in smaller newsrooms and the long travel distances?
Many outlets assign reporters to specific geographic beats to ensure that those areas are being covered. Some even establish a bureau staffed by a journalist in a key part of the viewing area to ensure regular coverage.
If a bureau isn’t realistic, plan to hit the road often. Unless it’s a breaking news story, plan ahead to gather multiple stories on one trip and spread the coverage out over multiple days. Some coverage areas are so big that an occasional overnight trip might be merited.
Another option is to develop a network of stringers, freelancers, and regular audience members who just want to help out. Regularly remind your audience how to share their photos and videos, and thank them for their submissions.
Some outlets also make promises of regular coverage through segments dedicated to specific communities. It’s been a longtime tradition for weekly newspapers and rural radio stations to recruit a community member to create a weekly report. Some TV stations employ a similar strategy either through dedicated coverage of a community or a daily segment that summarizes news headlines from around the viewing area.
You must ensure that every report is written to appeal to a regional audience. A seemingly hyperlocal story may be broadened to explain how people might be impacted even if they aren’t directly affected.
Sometimes, it’s what you don’t cover that can also send a message: some spot news incidents may be too small for a regional outlet. You don’t want audience members saying, “the same thing happened in my town last week and you didn’t cover it!”
You also can’t serve a neighboring state solely with coverage from elsewhere in the state. People can already get coverage from other state news outlets online. You need to actually go there some times to cover what doesn’t come in on the feed.
It’s also important to constantly remind the entire newsroom that we are speaking to the entire region, not just the city we’re in. Living and working in the same city every day, it can be easy to forget that your audience extends outside of the city limits.
For sports, a common strategy is to cover out of town teams when they come closer to the station for a game and to try to cover every team at least once per season.
For both news and sports, one way to extend the work you’ve already done is to check back for followup stories.
But among all of these things, weather coverage is the quickest and easiest way to serve the whole viewing area at once. Most TV stations now offer short-term forecasts for numerous communities and some even run extended forecasts for multiple regions. Just make sure the meteorologist doesn’t stand in the same place all of the time or people will complain that you’re always blocking their town!
These are just a few ideas, what are yours? Email [email protected].
Jon Ellis has worked in small-market TV news for 20 years in assistant news director and producer positions.
LINK: More Newsroom Notes