Local News on the Rise: Stations increase daily broadcast minutes

The latest RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey reveals another record-breaking year for local news, with both television and radio stations reporting significant increases in the minutes of local news they broadcast daily.

The average amount of local news on TV rose by 18 minutes per weekday, while radio stations added 21.2 minutes.

Despite the median amount of local news remaining the same, the average increase means an additional 78 minutes of local news per week. Interestingly, the average amount of local news fell by 6 minutes on both Saturday and Sunday, however, the median remained the same.

The survey shows growth in local news across all market sizes except the smallest. Similarly, all staff sizes, except the smallest, either increased their local news output or maintained the same level.

In the previous year, a number of TV news directors in the top 100 markets expected to add news and they did. This trend seems to repeat itself, with no news directors expecting to cut news in 2023. 

The number of TV stations originating local news rose from last year’s 707 to this year’s 711, following a drop from 710 to 705 the previous year. After a decade of industry consolidation and an average annual loss of seven newsrooms, the number seems to be settling into a small variable range – just over 700. However, the elimination of local news at five Sinclair stations brings the total number of local newsrooms back down to 707.

These 707 TV stations run news on those and another 402 stations, bringing the total number of stations running local news to 1,109. This is a decrease of 11 from last year’s all-time high.

In total, there are 179 NBC affiliates, 167 CBS affiliates, 163 ABC affiliates and 80 Fox affiliates with newsrooms. Telemundo has 27 and Univision 34.

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The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2022 among all 1,812 operating, non-satellite television stations and a random sample of 4,819 radio stations. Valid responses came from as many as 1,365 television stations (75.3%) and 777 radio news directors and general managers representing 2,514 radio stations.

The research was supported by the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the Radio Television Digital News Association.