More Stations Produced More Local News During 2020

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, May 12, 2021 | 2:01pm CT

RTDNA

Local radio and television news played an essential role during 2020 in keeping communities informed during COVID. The first installment of the annual RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Newsroom Survey shows that despite facing revenue shortfalls, budget cuts and unprecedented operational challenges, more local radio stations report running local news in 2020, with an increase among AM stations offsetting a slight decrease among FM stations.

27.1% of radio stations report an increase in the amount of news they aired, up by more than 10 percentage points from 2019. Larger stations, stations in larger markets and public stations were most likely to produce more news. While more than half of radio news managers report their budgets did not change in 2020, the percentage saying their budgets decreased doubled to 18.2%.

Radio profitability was down slightly but more stable than TV profitability, though just over 40% of radio managers didn't know their department's profitability. 12.4% reported a loss in 2020 versus 7.3% in 2019. On the other hand, radio website profitability was up slightly, driven by growth in major markets, though close to 60% weren't sure of their website's profitability. The Tow Center COVID-19 Newsroom Cutback Tracker reports budget-related cutbacks in more than 700 radio newsrooms, including company-wide cuts to staffing, programming or hours for at least 8 major station groups.

COVID had noticeably different and mixed impacts in local radio news compared to TV. 8% of radio respondents report coronavirus or the associated economic disruption ended their local news programs altogether. Major markets and public radio stations were more likely to be affected. In contrast, just over 40% of radio respondents report no ongoing significant impacts to their stations. Among those that do, maintaining remote staff was the most reported impact. 70% of radio news managers expect no meaningful long-term changes.

Remote work was again the most reported impact among those expected ongoing changes. Given a typical radio news department includes just one full-time employee, this could account for the relatively low reports of ongoing impact.