(This is the first in a series of artilce on how the public became disconnected from the voting process - in the media capital of the world.) 

Local TV newscasts and the internet are now the public's number one source of news.  While there are signs that newspapers, magazines and cable TV are using their internet sites to expand news coverage, most local TV news stations do little more than repeat the limited news they cover on the air, on their station’s website. 

In the early days of TV to obtain a broadcast license to operate a station the government forced the owners to include public service and community news on their programming schedule.  When the FCC was created by the 1934 Communication Act there was strong support in congress led by New York’s Senator Wagner to make sure the airways were used to inform the public.  The public services requirements in the act was a compromise betweens Wagner’s supporters who wanted to give 25% of the airways to non profits and educational institutions and those who wanted complete private ownership of the airways.  Wagner followers were continuing the will of the founding fathers who believed it was government’s role to design institutions to keep the public informed.  The First Amendment protects freedom of the press not because the Founding Fathers valued words, but because they valued truth.  Does anyone believe New Yorkers can vote in 2008 with some understanding of who they are electing or understand the extent of corruption in their government from watching local TV news?   

Deregulation of the FCC, which started during the Nixon era, eliminated the fairness doctrine and rules that pressured owners to serve their communities' needs and interests.  Congress recently continued the deregulation process when it allowed every TV station during the change over from analog to digital signals to create several new stations in their bandwidth without any fees or conditions to serve the public good.   In effect, Congress gave the TV stations a license to make money, while turning its back on the intent of the writers of our constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Local TV news focus is frozen in Nixon’s 70’s where consultants, developed the "Eyewitness" and "Happy Talk" news formula the standard.   The top news stories are always on crime, sex and weather  . . . Stories about animals often dwarf matters of social and economic significance. "Missing in action," are any "investigations or analysis about the New York State Legislature, the City Council, or the ongoing corruption in government." "If you want to hear about any intelligent insight of the political scene," catch Leno's monologue, the Daily Show or David Letterman's 'Top 10 List' - because you won't find it on your favorite station's late news."

On a typical night of watching local news, crime and storms outside of New York occupied 30 percent of what little time was actually devoted to the news (40 percent). Commercials and promos consumed an almost equal amount of time (36 percent). Sports and weather filled 22 percent; anchor chatter, 2 per cent.  Gone are the local TV news editorials of the past which are so important to a functioning democracy, according to Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Payne.

Why in the era of the greatest breakthroughs in new communication technologies since the Guttenberg press is local TV coverage dominated by boiler plate crime, weather and sex coverage?  News directors and station owners love these types of stories, because they have a one-to-one ratio between making the assignment, getting a story on-air and receiving high ratings.  The crime scene or weather slot, marked off in yellow police tape, doesn't move; no matter when the reporter arrives there's always a picture to shoot, preferably live. No needs to spend off-camera time digging, researching, or even thinking. Just get to the crime scene, gets the wind blowing through their hair, and the rest will take care of itself.  For the sex stories, just have an intern pop up the TMZ website then print and read on the air the latest scandal.  Other non research fillers of local news are the coverage of press conferences by connected local elected officials who are running for higher office or need to be on TV.   The absurdity of an elected official telling us of some problem at a new conference that they were elected to solve is lost by all involved; especially the reporter who reads the news release written by some flack paid to fool them, as their own investigation.

With this dumbing down era of research and limited news coverage, the stations are discovering that they can replace their high paid veteran anchors with low paying young people that happen to be pleasant on the eyes and require much lower salaries.  The ratings actually went up when Channel 2 put a good looking sportscaster on their news programs, as their anchorman.  Too many TV reporters started out as models or actors, rather than reporters for local newspapers or students in journalism school.  A reporter with Tim Russert skills could not get pass the guard station, yet stations constantly hire good looking reporters from out of state who have no clue to New York’s culture, neighborhoods or government.  Clueless reporters are the major reason why many news reports contain one line comments from two New Yorkers that often contradict one another.  A reporter who knew the facts would be able to analysis the issue and not need to use this boiler plate formula.

Gone are experienced anchors and reporters like Andrew Kirtzman, who along with a good salary, has a good understanding of the politics and government he covered – he knew who to make phone call to get the facts.  One of the greatest local news reporters of all times, the late Jerry Nachman, learn the ins and outs of New York with a decade of local radio experience, would never make it on the air today, because he was too fat.  Now when a governor gets drummed out of office, a TV station sends an inexperienced reporter whose story is based on the newspaper accounts and the ever increasing public relations flacks and consultants who can spin these new, inexperienced reporters effortlessly.  Noting is ever said about the consultant agenda or how appearing on TV gets the consultants more work.  It makes us in the know crazy when they turn into NY1 and see consultants like Alfonse D’Amato getting paid for spinning comments favorable for his clients on the air.

Trading reporters between stations does not seem to have any effect in getting more viewers.  Ernie Anastos who has been on WABC, WCBS, WOR and WNBC is now with Fox 5 where his show’s ratings are down.

It is not only musical chairs with reports and anchors; it is also with local news management on all the stations as ratings go up and down.  In some sought of weird dance, owners of local stations hire the same new smoke and mirrors executives who worked for a competitive station to deliver the same limited product on theirs.  The secret about the ratings that nobody talks about is that the viewership of Eyewitness news at 5pm has more to do with how many people are watching Oprah at 4pm than with the happy news content that is available on every channel.

All these local management wonder-boys and girls give same excuses why local TV stations don’t cover the news better.  They say their station spans too much territory to be truly local, covering overlapping cities, counties, towns, wards, election districts, boroughs, and even states. New York City's stations reach deep into Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. As former NBC programmer and researcher wrote with only a touch of hyperbole more than thirty years ago, "There no longer is a New Jersey, New York, or Connecticut - only a series of roughly circular areas, each with transmission towers at the center. In the technology age it is the TV signal.” 

Thirty years of amazing technology advances about the only thing that has not changed is the content and quality of local news.  In this age the TV signal and the Internet, the area of coverage is meaningless if they are used to their proven potential.  Today’s local news executives and owners act clueless about how the Internet blogers have expanded and created a news revolution, which is destroying the newspaper, magazine business and changing cable’s 24 news networks. 

Local TV newscasts are relatively cheap to produce and a major profit center for stations owners - there is plenty of money to improve their content.  Why have they not tried to adapt to the new technologies like the newspaper and magazine business?

Nixon’s deregulation and broadcaster’s greed are the main reason for lack of change of content.  It will cut into profits for stations and the high salaries management receives to expand their news coverage on the Internet.  Local TV has become a willing enabler of our dysfunctional government and campaigns.  In fact, they count on the broken campaign system, like the 30 second campaign commercial for their profits.

Will the wretched TV news picture change in the Internet era?  Stations still don't know what they'll actually do with the new government donated digital spectrum, which creates several new channels for their use and bring viewers movie-quality, high-definition pictures and sound, which will improve the stations' look but not their content.  A sign of hope, though, is WNBC decision to make one their new digital channels into a 24 hours local news station.   Little is known about how this new channel will operate, but the competition against NY1 and other news outlets will increase the pressure on all to do more investigative stories and objective analyses.

Another problem to be watched are the new low paid reporters, who because of the higher salaries of government flacking and lobbying, allow their news reporting to be influenced by their search for a new higher paying job in those fields.  Davidson Goldin, who was co-anchor of NY1's "Inside City Hall," now hopes to help himself by helping some of the very people he once interviewed by opening up his own political consulting firm.  Dozens of former journalist are now working as high paid flacks all over government, private business and politics.  Many of the performers in the Inner Circle, the journalism organization that puts on an annual dinner that parodies local politics, are former reporters who work in public relations or other fields.

Someone better step up soon because the city’s only source for investigative, objective reporting and editorial power, the city’s dailies are after years of steady decline, fading fast.  All are cutting staff and news coverage as costs rise and their readership moves to the internet.  If something does not happen fast, elections will be manipulated out of the public sight and government will be run by consultants and political leaders making millions for their clients and friends.  If one wonders why State Senator John Sabini was appointed to take over a state run OTB agency to end a completive re-elections against a candidate chosen by the Queens Democratic machine, one can easily conclude we are already in the era of soviet style elections and government.  Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

There are rumors that if the Democrats get the presidency and veto proof control of congress, they are going to restore the Fairness Doctrine to go after conservative talk radio, which has done a good job mobilizing its listeners against the democrat’s agenda.  Maybe the new leaders of the government should end all of Nixon’s deregulation of TV and the news media to allow Jefferson’s democracy of a free independent press that does it job to inform, be restored to the people of the City of New York and America.