Brian Lawlor
It wasn’t that long ago when intense competition between television news outlets over talent and ratings still made headlines here in the Phoenix area. But with the financial outlook of the industry rapidly spiraling downward, the old battles between local news outlets have changed, according to a memo written by the head of television for the E.W. Scripps Company.
Brian Lawlor, the company’s senior vice president of television, sent an email to news staffs in Phoenix and two other cities earlier this week announcing the creation of a so-called “Local News Service” in each city. The service is essentially an agreement between Scripps-owned stations in each market and their News Corp.-owned counterparts to share stories with each other. “In previous years it may have been unimaginable to consider sharing resources and video with a direct competitor,” Lawlor wrote in the email obtained today by Heat City. “It is clearly a new day.”
A new day indeed. Lawlor’s email told employees the agreement means that a single production crew will cover “routine news events” like press conferences and sports, and both stations will get to use the footage on air or online. In Phoenix, it means that the local ABC and Fox affiliates, which compete for viewers on a daily basis, will get to piggyback off of each other’s resources. The deal was also struck for stations in Detroit and Tampa, Fla.
“I hope you will keep an open mind to this new opportunity and consider the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead with our local coverage,” Lawlor wrote.
The memo contains far more information about the partnership than was released earlier in a joint statement by Scripps and the News Corp. subsidiary, Fox Television Stations. For one, Lawlor tells employees that the goal is to free them up to create “unique local content,” rather than sending them to cover a press conference or game that every other local outlet will be at. He described the strategy as the way “our local news brands will stand out from our competitors in our local markets.”
Still, Lawlor’s email doesn’t describe how the agreement will be executed at each station. For example, does this mean that packages will be pre-edited and pre-scripted, leaving it to anchors to read the story on air? And will each station still maintain editorial independence, or will viewers likely see the same story frame-by-frame in each newscast? These questions have yet to be answered for staffers or viewers.
With the news service launching this month, Lawlor also said it is “very possible” that other television stations in each city will join up.
Already in Phoenix earlier this year, the city’s three other television news outlets entered into a similar partnership to share a single news helicopter rather than spend money to launch three aircraft at once.
The former president of sales for the Scripps television division, Lawlor was promoted to the head of the division in January. He replaced Bill Peterson, who retired from Scripps at the end of 2008 with a compensation package of roughly $1.88 million a year, according to SEC reports.
Scripps owns television stations in eight states, and newspapers in nine. Earlier this year, the company shuttered the Rocky Mountain News, the oldest newspaper in Colorado, amid a wave of financial difficulties.
Full disclosure: Since January, I have made unpaid, semi-regular appearances on the Scripps-owned ABC 15 to discuss the Serial Shooter trial.
Lawlor’s entire email to staff is below.
From: Lawlor, Brian.
Sent: Wed 4/1/2009
To: BRIAN_LAWLOR_DISTRIBUTION_LIST@LISTS2.SCRIPPS.COM
Subject: New PartnershipDear Colleagues,
Unique local content is what is going to differentiate the Scripps television stations in each of our markets. That premise is at the foundation of our commitment to the “Newsroom of the Future.” Drilling deeper into our communities, getting more people on the street creating content, and sharing that content across multiple platforms is how our local news brands will stand out from our competitors in our local markets.It is with that vision in mind that I am proud to announce today a partnership with NewsCorp’s Fox television stations in three of our markets. In Detroit, Phoenix and Tampa, Scripps and the Fox stations have created a “Local News Service” (LNS) that will serve as the foundation for a joint newsgathering partnership. In these markets we will be combining resources that will minimize duplication of staff and equipment at routine news events such as press conferences and athletic events. Video shot by an LNS photographer will be shared and owned by both stations, and available for distribution on all platforms. It is very possible that additional stations will join the LNS in each of these three markets.
By sharing resources at many of these routine events, our Scripps stations will have more of our news staff available to cover stories that would have previously been passed over due to lack of resources. We will now have the people and time to more effectively
tell the stories that are at the heart of our local communities.In previous years it may have been unimaginable to consider sharing resources and video with a direct competitor. It is clearly a new day, and we need to evaluate efficiencies and distribution opportunities that allow us to better serve our entire communities and become the predominant news brand in our local markets. I believe this partnership is the perfect complement to the “Newsroom of the Future” in these three markets and will allow our depth of coverage in Detroit, Phoenix and Tampa to be more complete than ever.
I hope you will keep an open mind to this new opportunity and consider the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead with our local coverage.
Brian