Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/06/02

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Subject: [Leica] Chicago Sun Times
From: lrzeitlin at aol.com (lrzeitlin at aol.com)
Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2013 21:40:09 -0400 (EDT)
References: <mailman.1458.1370147517.1182.lug@leica-users.org>

Sonny writes:

"Larry
As I understand it, WTNH has been a distant number two in the news 
market
for years, and they've been holding on to that for dear life against
WVIT.   Number one WFSB still does investigative reporting."

Sonny,

By "local" news I mean news of the New Haven area and the towns along 
I-95 on the north shore of LI Sound. (Guilford, Branford, Bridgeport, 
Westport and Stamford). WTNH is located in New Haven. All the other 
Connecticut TV stations are in Hartford in the center of the state. 
Local news, high school sports, traffic reports are what attract local 
advertisers, the bread and butter of regional TV stations and small 
newspapers. All the national and international news comes from AP, 
Reuters, and the networks themselves. WTNH has no national reporters. 
They take what ABC gives them. It is understandable being number two in 
the news market. Hartford is both the state capital and has many more 
people than New Haven. All New Haven has is Yale. But it is regrettable 
that few stations do investigative reporting. There is hardly a town in 
the state that doesn't have a full share of scandal and corruption.

But like newspapers most TV stations are hanging on by their 
fingernails. Competition from the internet, Hulu, cable and Netflix has 
decimated their business. If you have a computer or even an iPad you 
don't need a TV set. WTNH has let all their cameramen, most of their 
directors and producers and virtually all of their technical staff go. 
Studio camerawork is handled remotely from the station chain 
headquarters in Springfield, Ma. Local TV, and I suspect national TV is 
a declining business. The buggy whip makers of the 21st century. Image 
making is still important. After all those 500 cable channels have to 
broadcast something. But most of it is being done by independents and 
free lancers. Working as a photographer is like working as a fine 
artist, writer or poet. You have to find or make your own market.

Larry Z





Replies: Reply from sonc.hegr at gmail.com (Sonny Carter) ([Leica] Chicago Sun Times)