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Independent news services like Conus are having to reinvent themselves to survive
Independent news operations such as Conus are always looking for ways to stay competitive in a business dominated by the broadcast network affiliate news services and CNN Newsource.
Conus doesn't have the backing of a huge news organization like ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC or CNN. But since its inception in 1984, the company has managed to satisfy a select group of broadcasters. Conus news service is basically a news cooperative with a finite membership of 125, and stations in various-sized markets-from KCOP in Los Angeles to WTA.r-TV in Altoona, Pa.
Some local TV stations are willing to pay for more than one news service. "We need as many sources as we can get to fill our newscasts," says Mike Cutler, news director at WTVF (TV) Nashville, Tenn., which uses Conus, CNN and CBS' Newspath. "If someone said we had to have two, we could make it. But we have the luxury of having three services," he adds. However, other stations such as KJRH(TV) Tulsa, Okla., have decided to rely solely on NBC News Channel, its network affiliate service. "Given the money and the cost, we felt there was duplication of service. It's a good chunk of change we can put to something else," says Todd Spessard, news director at KJRH, which stopped using Conus this year.
And WAVE(TV) Louisville, Ky., another former member, says it dropped Conus a year ago for CNN Newsource. "Conus just didn't compete at the newsfeed service level with CNN," says Kathy Beck, the station's news director.
Conus knows that...