Study: A Vanilla Year for Local TV Staffers

By Kevin Eck 

pew facts salariesThe Pew Research Center showed a study produced by the RTDNA and Hofstra University detailing “5 facts about the state of local TV newsrooms.”

Despite the combined $8 billion price tag of the nearly 300 stations that were bought and sold over 2013, the study showed news staff at local TV stations are being counted on to do more with less for small increases in low pay.

The study’s five main findings were:

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1. Staffing levels have dropped in 2013 with larger stations getting hit the hardest.

2. While news anchor salaries dropped, meteorologist and sports anchor pay stayed the same. Reporters saw a small uptick in pay.

3. Ad revenue from newscasts accounted for 50 percent of a station’s overall revenue in 2013.

4. Slightly more newsroom budgets grew than shrank.

5. Both the number of stations airing newscasts and the number of stations not producing their own newscasts grew.

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

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