It has become more and more common for TV markets like San Francisco and Los Angeles to have two, or even three TV stations now owned by the same media companies.
But what about a market where one company owns five-out-of-six TV stations in town? That's exactly what happened in Palm Springs this week, with the announcement that the ABC affiliate, KESQ, was buying the CBS affiliate, KPSP.
After nearly 10 years on-the-air, KPSP’s owner, Jim Houston, had decided to sell his CBS affiliate to KESQ’s owner, Gulf California Broadcasting, which will now control five TV stations in the Coahcella Valley.
And that’s why viewers should care.
As the media website NewsBlues put it, “Think about it. One owner now controls CBS, ABC, Fox, CW, and Telemundo in one market. Journal Broadcasting Group’s KMIR-36-NBC is the only competition.”
Media consolidation has been rampant across the country, as the news business fights to redefine itself in the internet age. Many of us grew up in a world of three or four TV channels. But now, with hundreds to choose from, the pie of advertising dollars is split into hundreds of slices.
Of course all across the economy there are fewer choices than there used to be: fewer banks, fewer department stores, fewer brands of gas stations. So why should TV be any different? The answer is that the airwaves belong to the people. Those airwaves are a public trust licensed to broadcasters. But in exchange for that license, broadcasters are supposed to serve the public’s “interest, convenience and necessity.”
But in 2003, the FCC agreed to expand the number of local stations one owner could have (it’s ironic that relaxing the rules began under the Clinton-Gore administration, rather than under the deregulation-happy Republicans). The FCC’s action came despite its own internal study which showed that local ownership of TV stations produced more news coverage.
And that’s what’s lost in all these media mergers.
The consolidation of the KESQ and KPSP newsrooms has already led to staff and management cuts, and there may be more to come. Right now the evening newscasts for both stations will originate from KESQ’s studios. But this summer, both will operate from KPSP’s more modern studios in Thousand Palms (which will finally improve KESQ’s on-air signal). When the dust settles, will all those engineers, producers and even anchors be necessary?
The fact is, producing alternating newscasts under one roof, led by the same management team, is bound to lead to less competition in the field and a repetition of stories on-air.
The same economics are also driving the newspaper business, of course: over a recent three year period, one-fourth of all newspaper employees lost their jobs. And while the public may not have sympathy for what’s referred to in some quarters as “the media elite,” it is the public that is the ultimate loser in these cutbacks.
Imagine all the news stories that aren’t being told because there are fewer journalists to tell them.
The journalists who are left, like those who have (so far) survived the KESQ/KPSP merger will work harder for salaries that might surprise you. While local anchors here in the Coachella Valley can earn six-figure incomes, many of the front-line news gatherers are often called “one-man bands” because they cover stories as both photographers and reporters. Some of those people earn as little as $13 dollars-an-hour.
Again, I don’t expect the public to feel any special sympathy for the media. But we should have some sympathy for ourselves, since we’ll have fewer news outlets and news stories chronicling our lives in what is supposed to be the information age. ###
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