"HUBBING"

DEVELIN(2006) MISSOLIAN.COM/ 10/ 06/ 2002

What is emerging very slowly around the country is "hubbing." That means that a number of stations combine their news with other stations owned by the same company. A news cast is then created for each station specific to that region.

The majority of the newscast is national news. Local news for Montana is created in Iowa. Local reporters send their news to Iowa where a broadcast is prepared and packaged with the national news that stems from Minneapolis.

If a company owns 20 stations each makes a contribution, but only one station completely prepares the broadcast. Then each local has a taped local version with the same announcers and local news is patched into each tape. So Cedar Rapids and Missoula have simi liar tapes, but with different weather and sports.

Then the full newsroom of each station is laid off. One or two reporters are needed at each locale to help make up the local and the "hub" is in Minneapolis. They have the full news room. Radio is doing the same thing.

Many are laid off. Profits go up and the consumer is rarely none the wiser. Thus local news is no longer local. It looks local, but it is not. Cosmetics transcends substance.