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What do y'all think of the media in the area. We've got three TV stations and two medium daily newspapers (Morning News and ADG) two smaller dailies (Daily Record and Northwest Arkansas Times, even though they are owned by the ADG) and a bunch of weekly papers. How if the coverage? What would you change?

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Well first of all, welcome to the forum.

Next, I would like to see less Ft. Smith/River Valley News on 5 News, and all the other news stations. I know KNWA moved their facilities to Fayetteville and Rogers, but most News Broadcasters: ABC, NBC, CBS, etc still have there main operations in Ft. Smith. No offense to Ft. Smith, but NWA is much bigger and has more going for it. I don't want to hear about how a kid stole candy in Van Buren, I'd rather here about things like development, buildings, etc.

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Welcome to the forum diplodocus. We'll soon be getting another station to get news. Although I still haven't figured out how much it will cover NWA/Ft Smith river valley area. If I had any complaints I wish at least one of the other tv stations would make the move and be located mainly in NWA not Ft Smith. I wish we could have something like they have in Little Rock. They have a program called Good Morning Arkansas. It covered more than just your regular news you'd see in a standard newscast. Aside from the Morning News the main papers are tied in to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Overall I do like the paper although there are times I wish there was a little more focus on NWA and not central Arkansas. Is it always so slow here in NWA that they find some way to put central Arkansas news on the front page of the NWA section? But overall I guess I'm just being picky. While internet news on Arkansas and NWA isn't too bad I do wish there was a little more of it. Pictures are rarely used for internet news. It was once mentioned about a magazine that covered development news and such. But it sounded like maybe it was a one time thing. Never heard anymore about it.

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Well first of all, welcome to the forum.

Next, I would like to see less Ft. Smith/River Valley News on 5 News, and all the other news stations. I know KNWA moved their facilities to Fayetteville and Rogers, but most News Broadcasters: ABC, NBC, CBS, etc still have there main operations in Ft. Smith. No offense to Ft. Smith, but NWA is much bigger and has more going for it. I don't want to hear about how a kid stole candy in Van Buren, I'd rather here about things like development, buildings, etc.

Ah I was too slow typing all that and you beat me. :lol: I do agree with you. It's not that I want all news of Ft Smith and the river valley cut out of the news but I do wish at least one of the other stations didn't cover it so much. At least there is one station that focuses just on NWA. The NBC is pretty much only located in Fayetteville now. Although they are coverting their former Ft Smith affiliate to a FOX. I haven't figured out how that is going to work. Do they even have a studio down in Ft Smith anymore and is it where it's going to be based out of. I know at first it's going to rely on KNWA for a lot of it's programming and news. This makes me wonder if it's also going to be NWA based not Ft Smith. It also looks like the early morning anchor will eventually be the main FOX anchor when that station is up and running. They've mentioned an e-mail address. I keep forgetting to write it down. But once I tried searching and I don't think they have a website up yet.

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Ah I was too slow typing all that and you beat me. :lol: I do agree with you. It's not that I want all news of Ft Smith and the river valley cut out of the news but I do wish at least one of the other stations didn't cover it so much. At least there is one station that focuses just on NWA. The NBC is pretty much only located in Fayetteville now. Although they are coverting their former Ft Smith affiliate to a FOX. I haven't figured out how that is going to work. Do they even have a studio down in Ft Smith anymore and is it where it's going to be based out of. I know at first it's going to rely on KNWA for a lot of it's programming and news. This makes me wonder if it's also going to be NWA based not Ft Smith. It also looks like the early morning anchor will eventually be the main FOX anchor when that station is up and running. They've mentioned an e-mail address. I keep forgetting to write it down. But once I tried searching and I don't think they have a website up yet.

This new Fox station is supposed to be up and running by Aug 28th. It will still be mostly NBC news until they work out details with Fox Arkansas. Also, this will be another HD station. This makes me very excited. They tried to start broadcasting HD two years ago before the Superbowl but never got it going for some reason. So at least NWA we finally have Fox HD.

Here is more info from the Times: FOX in Fayetteville

Here is the new fox stations website: KFTA

(It is not currently very informative)

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Diplodocus,

Welcome.

Here's what I think we need to / will see on NWA/FSM TV media:

1. I still don't think it's wise for the stations to try to break up the market...more people in a designated television market area means more $$$ for the station...advertisers, particularly the national ones, pay for numbers. More money means more $$$ for staff, equipment, etc.

What I think we'll see is NWA taking over the dominant position from Fort Smith in this market. I think that's still pretty much unheard of...it would be like Pine Bluff taking over the dominant position from Little Rock in their market, or Muskogee taking over from Tulsa in their market.

2. KFSM and KHBS need to, IMO, drastically improve their sets. Some of those sets look so 1989 (sorry to sound snobbish). KNWA is the only local 'cast that has a modern-looking set (and with point #1 in mind I still don't agree with their seeming "NWA only" focus, but perhaps this set and their mindset go hand in glove).

3. We need someone to start traffic helicopter reports.

4. As this market grows (and if FSM and NWA stay together, which I think KHBS/KHOG and KFSM are trying to make it do) we need to have some older anchors in place. This market will probably always be a "feeder" market for reporters and anchors to move up to places like Atlanta, Dallas or even Los Angeles.

However, looking at Tulsa 'casts on a trip there this weekend I see men in their 30s, 40s, 50s or older, particularly the meteorologists. If this market grows the way we think it will shoot into the Nielsen top 100 DMAs, perhaps with a bullet. Again, more $$$ means more $$$ for salaries, and some of these anchor/meterologist/reporter positions will perhaps become more like destination jobs rather than stepping stones.

(Congrats to Craig Cannon of KHBS who's been in this market for decades and made it work.)

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This new Fox station is supposed to be up and running by Aug 28th. It will still be mostly NBC news until they work out details with Fox Arkansas. Also, this will be another HD station. This makes me very excited. They tried to start broadcasting HD two years ago before the Superbowl but never got it going for some reason. So at least NWA we finally have Fox HD.

Here is more info from the Times: FOX in Fayetteville

Here is the new fox stations website: KFTA

(It is not currently very informative)

Thanks for the info. Yeah this will be a totally seperate FOX. I'm not sure what will happen to the current FOX. No offense to it but I'm looking forward to another FOX. This current one just never has seemed to have very good equipment. They've been working on HD for how long?

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Diplodocus,

Welcome.

Here's what I think we need to / will see on NWA/FSM TV media:

1. I still don't think it's wise for the stations to try to break up the market...more people in a designated television market area means more $$$ for the station...advertisers, particularly the national ones, pay for numbers. More money means more $$$ for staff, equipment, etc.

What I think we'll see is NWA taking over the dominant position from Fort Smith in this market. I think that's still pretty much unheard of...it would be like Pine Bluff taking over the dominant position from Little Rock in their market, or Muskogee taking over from Tulsa in their market.

2. KFSM and KHBS need to, IMO, drastically improve their sets. Some of those sets look so 1989 (sorry to sound snobbish). KNWA is the only local 'cast that has a modern-looking set (and with point #1 in mind I still don't agree with their seeming "NWA only" focus, but perhaps this set and their mindset go hand in glove).

3. We need someone to start traffic helicopter reports.

4. As this market grows (and if FSM and NWA stay together, which I think KHBS/KHOG and KFSM are trying to make it do) we need to have some older anchors in place. This market will probably always be a "feeder" market for reporters and anchors to move up to places like Atlanta, Dallas or even Los Angeles.

However, looking at Tulsa 'casts on a trip there this weekend I see men in their 30s, 40s, 50s or older, particularly the meteorologists. If this market grows the way we think it will shoot into the Nielsen top 100 DMAs, perhaps with a bullet. Again, more $$$ means more $$$ for salaries, and some of these anchor/meterologist/reporter positions will perhaps become more like destination jobs rather than stepping stones.

(Congrats to Craig Cannon of KHBS who's been in this market for decades and made it work.)

I do see your point on keeping both markets together. But I think that causes a few problems for us here in NWA. I think if the stations are going to be kept together I don't think the stations are going to go to the trouble of moving their studios out of Ft Smith and move more into NWA. Just seems to me they'll pick the cheap way out and keep it the same as it is now. Just try to sometimes cover more NWA news. They seem to have done that so far. But I still think having the studios down there makes it more lilely that they'll talk about news in the river valley because it's what they are around.

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I do see your point on keeping both markets together. But I think that causes a few problems for us here in NWA. I think if the stations are going to be kept together I don't think the stations are going to go to the trouble of moving their studios out of Ft Smith and move more into NWA. Just seems to me they'll pick the cheap way out and keep it the same as it is now. Just try to sometimes cover more NWA news. They seem to have done that so far. But I still think having the studios down there makes it more lilely that they'll talk about news in the river valley because it's what they are around.

Thanks, Mith.

In the past you used to see more combined markets (i.e. Joplin, MO-Pittsburg, KS, Shreveport, LA-Texarkana, TX/AR*, Greenville-Anderson-Spartanburg, SC-Asheville, NC). Some like the latter are pretty much the same. Shreveport's become the Shreveport market (for now). We're obviously still witnessing what's going to happen here.

* Did you see where Matt's put a poll up on the "Arkansas" forum about whether Texarkana should have its own forum? If that metro's growing THAT much...still say it eventually bodes well for FSM and NWA. The Texarkana discussion's for a different thread, but maybe the market will become Shreveport-Texarkana again. KTAL (ABC or CBS affiliate) used to be in TXK while the other two main commercial stations (KSLA and KTBS, I think) were physically in Shreveport with Texarkana news bureaus, hence the old DMA division.

BTW, I'll qualify my own "traffic reports" rant. I guess it would be wiser to incorporate such reports (needed as they are) when there are more alternate routes to direct NWA motorists on than currently exist).

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Thanks for the info. Yeah this will be a totally seperate FOX. I'm not sure what will happen to the current FOX. No offense to it but I'm looking forward to another FOX. This current one just never has seemed to have very good equipment. They've been working on HD for how long?

I believe about a month before the Superbowl in 2005 they said that they were going to try and get HD up and running so they could broadcast it, but they had too many problems or who knows what. So it never happened. At least it seems to be coming along now. Especially for NFL fans - it is so much better in HiDef!

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I believe about a month before the Superbowl in 2005 they said that they were going to try and get HD up and running so they could broadcast it, but they had too many problems or who knows what. So it never happened. At least it seems to be coming along now. Especially for NFL fans - it is so much better in HiDef!

Yeah it was before the Superbowl and they still haven't gotten it going. I almost got the impression that they gave up. Maybe they eventually found out they weren't going to be the FOX affiliate and just haven't bothered trying to get it going again.

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Diplodocus, you started this topic, how do you feel about the media? I'm assuming you had some reason for starting this topic. Just curious to see what you have to say on this matter.

I work for one of the newspapers and I'm always interested in what folks think about local media in general and newspapers in particular. I notice that all the replies on this thread have been about TV news, which is generally dismal everywhere and particularly dismal in NWA. In a couple of other towns I've worked in there was a lively Internet-forum discussion on the local media that was primarily bashing in nature. But that's OK. Bashing is entertaining.

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I work for one of the newspapers and I'm always interested in what folks think about local media in general and newspapers in particular. I notice that all the replies on this thread have been about TV news, which is generally dismal everywhere and particularly dismal in NWA. In a couple of other towns I've worked in there was a lively Internet-forum discussion on the local media that was primarily bashing in nature. But that's OK. Bashing is entertaining.

Here's my thoughts on the newspapers:

- I like the combined Benton County Record-NWA News/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. By the same token, I think it has too many sections. Kudos to the B/R/S/F news for having a smaller, more navigable paper, but...guess I'm contradicting myself in the first sentence.

- The B/R/S/F editorial section seems to me quite left-leaning. Most American newsrooms are this way but it seems like the News goes out of its way to be so.

- It almost seems like our papers could be called "The barefoot news" in the summer...so frequently I see pictures on the front page of kids, teens, etc in bare feet. Not a bad thing, I suppose, as it conveys a relaxed, slower pace like we sort of still have here in NWA. I've just seen "lead" pictures on the papers like these time and again.

- It's very refreshing, still, being in a two-newspaper market, Diplodocus. I hope that lasts for awhile...

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I work for one of the newspapers and I'm always interested in what folks think about local media in general and newspapers in particular. I notice that all the replies on this thread have been about TV news, which is generally dismal everywhere and particularly dismal in NWA. In a couple of other towns I've worked in there was a lively Internet-forum discussion on the local media that was primarily bashing in nature. But that's OK. Bashing is entertaining.

One of my first posts mentions some newspaper issues. :D I guess I'm old fashioned and still read the paper. But I think more and more people are just getting their news from either tv or the internet. Internet news is convenient but I think sometimes you might miss something because you didn't know to look for it. I am glad there are still some newspapers not 'affiliated' to the Democrat Gazette. Nothing against it, it's a nice paper although I do get annoyed sometimes with some of the central Arkansas news thrown in. I think they could find other NWA issues to talk about than sticking some of the articles about central Arkansas on the front page of the Northwest section. For important news I don't mind so much. But when some of the Arkansas Targets start selling puzzles of the Old Mill in North Little Rock and it's on the front page of the Northwest section, it just makes me wonder where the emphasis really is. Is the Morning News the only major paper in NWA that's not affiliated/owned by the Dem-Gaz?

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Here's my thoughts on the newspapers:

- I like the combined Benton County Record-NWA News/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. By the same token, I think it has too many sections. Kudos to the B/R/S/F news for having a smaller, more navigable paper, but...guess I'm contradicting myself in the first sentence.

- The B/R/S/F editorial section seems to me quite left-leaning. Most American newsrooms are this way but it seems like the News goes out of its way to be so.

- It almost seems like our papers could be called "The barefoot news" in the summer...so frequently I see pictures on the front page of kids, teens, etc in bare feet. Not a bad thing, I suppose, as it conveys a relaxed, slower pace like we sort of still have here in NWA. I've just seen "lead" pictures on the papers like these time and again.

- It's very refreshing, still, being in a two-newspaper market, Diplodocus. I hope that lasts for awhile...

The two-newspaper market is a unique beast these days, especially in a market this size. It's good for the readers, and for the employees, if I might say. I like working for a paper in a two-paper market. The papers are more willing to invest resources in gathering news. And the competition keeps them honest.

As far as the bare-footed kids, both papers do use a lot of feature photos, but there is not a whole lot of photogenic breaking news in the area (except for the daily car wreck somewhere on the Interstate). It's a challenge to get new and eye-catching feature photos when they are used so often.

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As far as the bare-footed kids, both papers do use a lot of feature photos, but there is not a whole lot of photogenic breaking news in the area (except for the daily car wreck somewhere on the Interstate). It's a challenge to get new and eye-catching feature photos when they are used so often.

I appreciate the pictures of "bare-footed kids" playing at the Rogers splash park or area playgrounds. It's a kind reminder to me that Northwest Arkansas isn't just the booming economic and commercial development engine in the state but that there's still some humanity left here to be appreciated.

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I work for one of the newspapers and I'm always interested in what folks think about local media in general and newspapers in particular. I notice that all the replies on this thread have been about TV news, which is generally dismal everywhere and particularly dismal in NWA. In a couple of other towns I've worked in there was a lively Internet-forum discussion on the local media that was primarily bashing in nature. But that's OK. Bashing is entertaining.

Not trying to get you to reveal your occupation necessarily. But if you do work for Northwest Arkansas Times I was curious what your opinions on it after it's 'affiliation' with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Does it have a lot more resources now than it had previously? If that's not asking too much, that is. Just curious how things have changed.

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Perhaps I should have voiced this earlier but I really do like the Northwest Arkansas Times . Even after it basically became just a section of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette . I also like the photographers, have to throw that in there since I like taking pics myself. I seem to think along the same lines of them. I don't know how many times I go take some pics and then the next day I see a pic in the paper around the same area I was . I took some of the new school on Rupple over the weekend and I noticed a pic of it in todays' paper. Just a slightly different angle from where I was. I can't say that anyone is copying me on that one though. I haven't posted those pics yet. :lol:

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Not trying to get you to reveal your occupation necessarily. But if you do work for Northwest Arkansas Times I was curious what your opinions on it after it's 'affiliation' with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Does it have a lot more resources now than it had previously? If that's not asking too much, that is. Just curious how things have changed.

Actually, I work for The Morning News. I don't know much about the inner workings of the NWA Times. I do know one of their photogs whom I worked with at another paper a few years ago, but I haven't spoken to him since he moved to Fayetteville. I've been in newspapers in Arkansas for 11 years and I remember how the Times used to be. It's a shadow of its former self in my opinion. I'm a fan of newspapers generally and I don't like what the ADG did to the Times and I think you'll see it disappear eventually as the Times. The ADG will want to integrate it totally into the statewide product.

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I have to say that I enjoy The Morning News because they focus on this area. Most of the front page section is dedicated to the NWA Metro with a bit involving Ft. Smith (at least 5 or 6 pages). ADG seems to split this up with coverage statewide. Overall both are good papers, I don't think they need any changes.

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Actually, I work for The Morning News. I don't know much about the inner workings of the NWA Times. I do know one of their photogs whom I worked with at another paper a few years ago, but I haven't spoken to him since he moved to Fayetteville. I've been in newspapers in Arkansas for 11 years and I remember how the Times used to be. It's a shadow of its former self in my opinion. I'm a fan of newspapers generally and I don't like what the ADG did to the Times and I think you'll see it disappear eventually as the Times. The ADG will want to integrate it totally into the statewide product.

Yeah I have been worried about that. Simply make it the Northwest Arkansas section of the paper. Well that and the one in Benton County. I suppose they'll get rid of that one too. But anyway, I do like the Morning News as well. But I do tend to read the Northwest Arkansas Times more. But as I said before it's nice to have a local paper. I always thought it was an interesting setup with slight differences with each city too.

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Actually, I work for The Morning News. I don't know much about the inner workings of the NWA Times. I do know one of their photogs whom I worked with at another paper a few years ago, but I haven't spoken to him since he moved to Fayetteville. I've been in newspapers in Arkansas for 11 years and I remember how the Times used to be. It's a shadow of its former self in my opinion. I'm a fan of newspapers generally and I don't like what the ADG did to the Times and I think you'll see it disappear eventually as the Times. The ADG will want to integrate it totally into the statewide product.

Diplodocus,

Let me preface my comments by saying we (my wife and I, who run a gift store) have advertised with the (Bentonville) Morning News and have gotten some good results. Our former rep from there was a sterling guy and I wouldn't hesitate to advertise there again.

Let me also say that elsewhere I've had some on-line forum gay/lesbian/transgender friends with whom I talk issues of Christianity (I'm very much the evangelical Christian who doesn't believe at all that same-sex-attraction is an inborn/genetic trait (with that said, it's not at all easy to overcome and I can see exactly, or at least nearly so, how someone could develop (or think they've developed) the trait from an early age (like age 3) and believe they were created that way)). Some of these acquaintances lived in Arkansas a few years or decades ago and had a very difficult time here. I've cited some of The Morning News and articles you've printed such as this one and this one (with an E-MAIL ADDRESS, no less!) as proof indeed about how things have changed up here in NWA. (Not to mention my seeing a young man, a checkout clerk at the Wal-Mart across from that company's headquarters, who wore rainbow triangle and "I (heart) Ashton Kutcher" buttons on his blue vest and told me NO ONE ever gives him a hard time about doing so including, apparently, store management.) I don't think I could offer better proof than those Morning News articles.

That being said...

I just worry about how leftward some of the stories I'm seeing seem to be in your paper, sir (or ma'am). I'm not trying to be rude...as mentioned earlier, most American newsrooms are liberal-leaning to say the least. It's just that many of the editorials and even some of the stories give me an uneasy feeling beyond the reporting from a point of view that's different than mine. Right now I don't have any such stories to share and if I did I don't think this would be the most appropriate forum to address them.

Again, if it works for your paper, best to you. I'm just wondering if indeed this is happening whether it couldn't come back to haunt the Morning News someday as this is still a conservative area. (And may I add that even evangelical conservative Christians I meet and listen to are quite respectful of people with whose points of view they differ such as (oftimes) GLBT ones...many ecC'ers are admonishing their fellow ecC'ers to not shy away from truth but ALSO not to be hypocritical and hurtful to those with whom they disagree.)

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