The Janitor's Closet

Revamping Local News: The Outdated Model That Ignores Reality

For decades, local news has been tailored to a specific demographic: white males aged 35 to 65. This wasn’t accidental—it was an intentional strategy based on the belief that this audience didn’t want to see stories about white tragedy. Instead, the focus remained on crime committed by minorities, political topics that reinforced their views, and stories that fit a neat, predictable narrative. But with the rise of the internet and social media, this format is outdated and in desperate need of a revamp.

A Flawed Formula

The structure of local news was built on a simple idea: cater to the largest and most loyal audience. Traditionally, that meant white men in middle age, who were seen as the most engaged viewers. The assumption was that they preferred news that reaffirmed their worldview rather than challenged it. Crime coverage, for example, often highlighted Black and brown perpetrators, reinforcing stereotypes while largely ignoring crime within white communities.

This editorial approach wasn’t just about catering to biases—it was about maintaining advertising dollars. Businesses targeting this demographic wanted their ads placed alongside stories that wouldn't make their audience uncomfortable. News producers knew this, and so they designed broadcasts that carefully filtered reality to keep their viewers engaged and, more importantly, unchallenged.

The Disruption of the Internet

Then came the internet and social media, shattering the control that local news once had over its audience. Now, people aren’t limited to what their local station chooses to report. Social media exposes them to viral stories, independent journalism, and unfiltered perspectives. Suddenly, white tragedy—the thing that local news avoided—was unavoidable. Opioid addiction in rural America, mass shootings in suburban communities, and police brutality against poor white individuals became topics of national conversation.

This shift has forced news consumers to recognize that tragedy isn’t confined to a specific race or socioeconomic status. The internet has democratized access to information, showing a fuller picture of reality than local news ever did. And that has left traditional local news scrambling to maintain relevance.

The Need for a New Model

To survive in the digital age, local news must abandon its outdated approach. The idea that white audiences don’t want to see white tragedy is not only inaccurate but also insulting. The reality is that audiences—regardless of race—want news that reflects their actual communities, not a curated version designed to keep them complacent.

News organizations must diversify their coverage, telling stories that resonate with a broader audience. This means covering opioid addiction in small towns as much as urban gun violence, reporting on corporate corruption alongside street crime, and addressing systemic issues that impact everyone. It also means hiring journalists from different backgrounds who can provide perspectives that challenge the old narratives.

The future of news belongs to those who adapt. If local stations refuse to break free from their outdated model, they’ll continue losing audiences to independent outlets, social media influencers, and digital platforms unafraid to report the full truth. The world has changed. It’s time for local news to catch up.

And that's what The Robert Hall Report and its affiliates—Robert Hall Radio and robertHall3rdTV—bring to the market: an option. When one station or news outlet says this, we hope to be an alternative view, providing a more balanced and complete perspective.

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