Return of the Local News Competition
By Scott Moore A few months ago, Long Island-specific daily newspaper Newsday announced that it’s website would be moving from a free, ad-supported version to a pay-only version for readers online. Intertwined for this company was the facts that its printed version raised its daily price 25 cents and they were recently bought by local media conglomerate Cablevision, which owns the News 12 Long Island television channel. I wrote a blog at about this time, entitled “I’d Rather Pay for the Post,” theorizing that Long Islanders would soon be driven to find another source of news given the cost and obvious connection between the two news organizations. I guessed that perhaps another newspaper might rise up to be an alternative to Newsday or the big New York City papers would attempt a move out to the Island. I never expected, however, to see what has played out. Verizon, a company most noted for it’s phone network, announced that it’s FiOS television customers would begin to receive a new, local news channel for their Long Island subscribers - FiOS 1 Long Island. According to an article from Newsday, the new station is playing a looping clip that tells viewers that the channel will arrive soon. While the move is clearly business as usual for Verizon, probably an attempt to down Cablevision’s dominance over the Island as well as eliminate the advertisements claiming their exclusive News 12 Long Island channel as “only available on cable,” the move must be applauded from the journalism community. In an area of over 3 million people, giving Long Island a true competitor to the figurative monopoly that the Cablevision company held for the last year brings a real sense that the calvary has arrived. Competition is the life-force that drives journalists to be more timely, fact-checked, and newsworthy. The idea that News 12 has to work harder will only make them a better news organization, as well as FiOS 1. While Cablevision’s spokesperson notes in that article that the new FiOS channel will not be a threat, the company has reason to be worried - if news content and quality sags and FiOS 1 proves itself to be as good as, if not better than, News 12, potential customers and viewers will go where the better source, and deal, is. Hopefully, we will see the continuing of this kind of event. More newspapers opening, news channels developing, and the overall expansion and rebirth of the journalism community - especially here in one of the country’s biggest markets and communities. |
Competition is the
Competition is the life-force that drives journalists to be more timely, fact-checked, and newsworthy. GHD