Dak’s Take: Innovate or disappear, the new reality for local news

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Local news has always been the lifeblood of communities—reporting on everything from school board meetings to local sports rivalries. But if you’re in this industry, you can sense the ground shifting under your feet. Gone are the days when a local station could bank on a captive, linear TV audience and a tidy advertising revenue stream. Today, the battle for attention is fierce, the consumer is restless and the mandate is clear:
Innovate or disappear.
We’ve reached a pivotal year. That might sound dramatic, but it’s backed by real numbers and even starker industry sentiment.
A new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence calls 2025 “a pivotal year for the global media landscape” where the decline is “irreversible.” Why? Declining broadcast TV revenue. More ad dollars are heading to streaming. A slump in cable network profits. Even more cord-cutting. In many ways, local news has become the canary in the coal mine, facing pressures that media conglomerates are only starting to feel.
But let’s back up to the broader context.
Last month’s industry developments tell a compelling story about the true value of local news. When Allen Media announced plans to centralize weather coverage for 36 stations through The Weather Channel in Atlanta—effectively firing over 100 local meteorologists—the backlash was swift and decisive.
Viewers didn’t see this as an “upgrade” with “incredible new immersive technology,” as the corporate spin suggested.
Instead, they saw it as losing trusted members of their community, professionals who understood their specific weather patterns and local concerns. The resulting petitions and social media campaigns forced a reversal of the decision, proving that authentic local connections can’t be replaced by national brands, no matter how prestigious.
This episode crystallizes a crucial truth: while technology and efficiency matter, the human element of local news—the faces and voices that become part of viewers’ daily lives—remains irreplaceable.
Consolidation and M&A set to reshape news
Wave after wave of mergers and acquisitions have left few truly “local” players standing in the news landscape. Whether you see this as a dire threat or an opportunity, the ownership picture is changing at lightning speed. New players arrive with fresh capital—but also with demands for returns on investment. Look no further than Allen Media’s attempted centralization of weather coverage for a stark example of how financial pressures can lead to misguided decisions that undervalue local connections.
This push for ROI is transforming newsroom operations in two key ways.
First, it’s driving aggressive restructuring and workflow changes aimed at creating leaner, more tech-savvy operations. Second, it’s forcing a hard look at revenue models beyond traditional advertising. The data suggests this transformation, while painful, may be necessary for survival.
The Local Media Consortium’s latest “Industry Insights Survey” found a promising trend: digital revenue increased for 45% of local media organizations in 2024, with 83% expecting stable or growing digital revenue in 2025. The success stories are coming from unexpected places—video, connected TV, and even newsletters are proving to be robust revenue generators when properly executed.
But here’s the reality check: while traditional media companies struggle with transformation, new competitors are rushing in.
A recent Pew Research Center study found that about one in five Americans—and a whopping 37% of adults under 30—now regularly get their news from social media influencers who often lack any journalism background. Eye-rolling at influencer culture won’t change this fact. If local news organizations aren’t delivering relevant, timely stories on the platforms where younger audiences live, these new players will continue to fill the void.
The streaming squeeze and the growing technology gap
CBS News’s recent relaunch of “CBS Evening News” will ultimately be a unique case study at the national level, moving away from the “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality toward deeper, more thoughtful reporting. This pivot recognizes that while breaking news drives immediate attention, it’s substantive journalism that builds lasting audience relationships. Local newsrooms would do well to take note: sometimes the most valuable stories aren’t the most sensational ones.
The technology gap in local news isn’t just about outdated equipment—it’s about outdated thinking.
While linear television continues its predicted decline (S&P forecasts a 9.3% drop in broadcast TV and radio ad revenue for 2025), many newsrooms are still operating as if it’s 2010. The “M-Connect Survey” from Mediagenix found a sobering reality: 55% of media organizations remain in the early stages of digital transformation, struggling with basic elements like data-driven decision-making and automation.
This gap becomes even more critical when considering how audience behavior has evolved. Hub Entertainment Research reports that the average U.S. household now consumes content from 13 sources.
Appointment viewing feels as antiquated to younger viewers as a telegram would to their parents. Yet many newsrooms continue to operate with disjointed systems that make multi-platform distribution a daily struggle. A recent Dalet and Caretta Research report puts numbers to this pain point: 45% of newsrooms cite legacy systems as a major barrier to efficiency.
So how do we tackle these issues?
The path forward requires more than just technical upgrades. It demands a fundamental shift in how we think about news delivery. This means:
- Embracing story-centric, multi-platform strategies that put content first and platform second
- Implementing workflows that leverage automation to free up journalists for actual journalism
- Developing engaged, local-first coverage that aligns with digital revenue opportunities, from subscriptions to sponsorships
It’s no longer enough to passively deliver news on a schedule, to deliver news that can be found elsewhere, to deliver the same news and ‘breaking news’ across 10 separate dayparts.
Today’s audience demands context, interaction, and personalization. They want news that fits their schedule, not ours. Most importantly, they want coverage that proves we understand their community—something that a centralized operation or an algorithm can’t replace.
Where do we go from here?
True innovation means more than setting up a streaming app or hiring a TikTok personality. It demands a fundamental rethinking of serving our communities while building sustainable business models.
Success in local news requires balancing technological advancement with authentic community connection. Sure, automation and AI can help parse data and sharpen content strategies… but it can’t report the news. At the core, the survival of local television requires remembering why it matters in the first place: telling the stories of communities that would otherwise go unheard.
Local news won’t vanish overnight, but it’s morphing into something far more dynamic—and potentially more impactful.
The question is whether we have the will (and the courage) to meet audiences where they are heading rather than where they’ve been. The recent industry developments make one thing clear: viewers still deeply value local connection, but they expect it to be delivered in modern, accessible ways. That’s not just a challenge—it’s an opportunity to reinvent local news for the next generation.
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Broadcast Business News, Heroes, Journalism, Local News, Voices