Compared to WNWO-TV, Channel 24, David had it easy. He faced only one Goliath.
WNWO has the daunting task of taking on two Toledo television Goliaths tomorrow when it launches a 5 p.m. newscast. Don't look for David to walk away a winner in this one. At least not anytime soon.
WTOL-TV, Channel 11, and WTVG-TV, Channel 13, have been the undisputed television news leaders in Toledo for decades. WNWO has been around since 1966, but its history is one of a perennial also-ran.
“Let's face it,” former WTOL anchor Jeff Heitz said, “[Channel] 24 has had it tough since the day it went on the air. It was No. 3 when I started at WTOL in 1972, and it was No. 3 when I left in 2001.”
That's No. 3 among Toledo's three 11 p.m. newscasts. If you count the 10 p.m. offering by WUPW-TV, Channel 36, there have been ratings periods in which WNWO had the fewest viewers among the four late-night newscasts.
Still, there will never be a better opportunity for WNWO to launch a 5 p.m. newscast. The NBC affiliate is counting on the Winter Olympics to get things off to a running start.
“I can tell you that in the past, a number of NBC affiliates have used the Olympics as a real springboard to march forward [in news],” said Bob Papper, a professor of telecommunications at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. “You're going to get people dropping in and taking a look at you. The Olympics gives you an opportunity to showcase what you're doing. Whether they stay around depends on what you deliver.”
Tomorrow, as many as 45,000 area residents are expected to watch Olympic coverage from 4-5 p.m. The current No. 1 program in that time slot, Oprah, on WTOL, attracts about 31,000 adult viewers.
It's hard to overstate the importance of lead-in programming. There's a reason why WTOL pays more than $500,000 per year for the rights to Oprah. The program is very effective in retaining viewers for WTOL's top-rated 5 p.m. newscast.
WTOL and WTVG already air local news from 5-6:30 p.m. WNWO previously aired Judge Judy at 5 p.m., then had local news from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Starting tomorrow, all three stations will have a 90-minute block of news beginning at 5.
According to Nielsen Media Research, WTOL had 62,000 viewers for its 5 p.m. newscast during the November ratings period. WTVG attracted 23,000 viewers -- down from 30,000 during the previous November. WTVG's decline at 5 mirrored the ratings decline of its lead-in program, The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
So at 4:50 p.m. tomorrow, WNWO -- thanks to the Winter Olympics -- is expected to have an audience the size of Oprah and Rosie combined. But the question is, how many will still be there at 5? One barometer: Judge Judy drew about 20,000 adult viewers at 5 p.m.
“For two weeks, they're going to have a phenomenal lead-in,” WTVG general manager David L. Zamichow said. “Then, it's going to be Judge Judy [which will move to 4:30 p.m. after the Olympics].”
And Judge Judy's popularity appears to be waning. During the February, 1998, ratings period, the show had 12,000 more viewers than it has now
Local news is serious business for television stations. The importance is reflected in their estimated annual news budgets: WTOL, $2.6 million; WTVG, $2.4 million; WNWO, $1.7 million; and WUPW, $850,000.
But that type of investment is not without reward.
“In a well-run station, [local news] is the No. 1 profit center,” WTVG's Zamichow said. “Advertisers want local news.”
Yes, they do. “As far as I'm concerned, news is the best thing I can purchase on television for my clients,” said Don Lea, owner of the advertising agency Don Lea Associates. “The news is always fresh. It never goes into reruns.”
According to multiple sources, the going rate for a 30-second commercial on Toledo's 11 p.m. newscasts ranges from $150 (WNWO) to $500 (WTOL). A 30-second spot on WTVG costs about $400, while a spot on WUPW's 10 p.m. newscast runs about $200. A typical 30-minute newscast will have eight minutes of commercials -- or 16 30-second spots.
WTOL can charge more for commercials because its 11 p.m. newscast has more adult viewers (70,000) than the other three late-night newscasts combined (64,000).
Advertising has been a tough sell for all media entities -- newspapers, radio, and television -- during the past year. According to sources, the four television stations combined for about $46 million in revenue in 2001. The previous year, they combined for about $55 million.
“We have been in downturns before [such as 1979-80 and 1991], but I've never seen it at this depth for so long,” said WUPW general manager Ray Maselli, a 37-year veteran of the television business.
Therefore, it's not that surprising that WNWO is increasing the amount of news it offers without increasing its staff. When WTOL and WTVG launched their 5 p.m. newscasts -- on the same day in April, 1994 -- each added four positions.
Television industry observers say WNWO is going to have a tough time succeeding without investing more in its news operation.
“The station is getting what it's paying for -- third in news investment, third in news ratings,” said Vernon Stone, journalism professor emeritus at the University of Missouri. “It's unlikely it will do any better than the third it's doing elsewhere. A horse slow from undernourishment normally does about the same on one track as another.”
Carl Gottlieb, deputy director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a Washington-based think tank, said WNWO is operating at a financial disadvantage against WTOL and WTVG and, therefore, the odds are against long-term success.
“When you don't add, or have, the needed staff to effectively mount your best effort, you start out in a hole,” Gottlieb said. “As a former news director who has been involved in program additions and expansion, I know that you can just get a broadcast on the air to create more commercials. You can also produce the best possible newscast and give yourself a better shot at success.”
WNWO news director Lou Hebert is convinced the station's monetary commitment is adequate.
“I'm not a believer that money is the key to success when it comes to TV news,” he said. “Yes, the 5 p.m. [newscast] will be a major challenge, but we are going into this with no illusions. We don't expect miracles. We do expect that within time, we will be able to compete honestly with credibility and creative resourcefulness. ... We will have to become more efficient, that's all. We will do a lot more with what we have.”
Unlike WTOL and WTVG, which switch news anchors during the 90-minute news block from 5-6:30 p.m., WNWO will go with Jon Clark and Nora Murray throughout. Jennifer Stacy will play a prominent role, serving as the point person for breaking news. Bill Spencer and Jim Tichy will handle weather and sports, respectively.
If WNWO's 5 p.m. newscast is a ratings success, then it can expect more financial support from its owner, Alabama-based Raycom Media. Raycom owns stations in 27 Nielsen markets, including Cleveland and Cincinnati. Of those stations, 13 are NBC affiliates; WNWO is the only one without a 5 p.m. newscast already in place.
Meanwhile, hovering over the industry is the fact that four stations (in Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee), citing financial reasons, have closed their news operations in recent months. According to the Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation, 69 percent of TV stations in Market Nos. 51-100 have profitable news operations. (Toledo is Market No. 68.) The 2001 survey, conducted by Papper and a Ball State colleague, Michael Gerhard, found that only 8 percent operate at a loss. All four of Toledo's TV news operations are believed to be profitable.
“I think we can be very patient in that we are not committing resources that are beyond our means,” said Eric Braun, Raycom's corporate news director. “We are not going hog wild. ... Our philosophy is that we finance our expansions out of revenue. We do these advances with caution and reserve.”
Raycom's philosophy begs a chicken-or-the-egg question: Is it possible for WNWO to compete against Toledo's television Goliaths without first investing in more personnel? As WUPW's Maselli said, “Considering the competition, it's a gutsy move.”
Advertising executive Michael Fruchtman, of Fruchtman Marketing, believes WNWO's gamble is worth the risk.
“There's plenty of room for more news,” he said. “It's where stations make their mark. To me, this move makes a lot of sense.”
First Published February 9, 2002, 4:27 p.m.
