Opportunity Lost: Blogs on Local TV Station Web Sites

<jats:p> With concern about shrinking audiences for local television newscasts (Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2005), many TV stations are investigating ways to maintain viewer interest (Whitney, 2005). One possible way to involve viewers with the station's offerings is to drive them online, to the station's web site. To do so, it's necessary to offer content that goes beyond the online versions of current news stories. The weblog, or blog, might be one method to entice viewers to visit the station's web site, and thereby develop a relationship with viewers beyond that of broadcaster and viewer. This study examines the blogs of local television stations in the top 50 Nielsen markets as of May 2006. The author seeks to determine who writes the blogs, which formatting features blogs have in common, and what types of content are found on the blogs. The study also addresses the current state of blogging on television station web sites and whether blogs are offering viewers an outlet to engage with the stations. The results will provide a snapshot of blogging by local television stations, which can be used for comparisons as blogging develops in the future. </jats:p>