Hearst-Argyle's David Barrett
April 12, 2004 OF BROADCASTERTHE YEAR DAVID BARRETT KENNETH GABRIELSEN
Hearst-Argyle’s David Barrett GoodGood News,News, GoodGood GuyGuy TVB Special BROADCASTING & CABLE 4.12.04 Broadcaster of the Year | David Barrett
OF BROADCASTERTHE YEAR DAVID BARRETT Here’s some good news about a man who helps good stunts but to quality journalism that has been recognized with newscasts happen: At April 15’s TVB Conference in New York, the country’s most prestigious TV-journalism awards. This David Barrett, president and chief executive officer of Hearst- year alone, WESH Orlando, Fla., is being awarded both a Argyle Broadcasting, will receive BROADCASTING & CABLE’s George Foster Peabody Award and duPont-Columbia Award. annual Broadcaster of the Year Award. Last year, WISN Milwaukee received a Peabody and WCVB The gregarious Chicago native gets the nod this year for Boston a duPont-Columbia for local news efforts. Those his tireless efforts ensuring that Hearst-Argyle stations are awards are the gold standard for TV journalism. So is Hearst- among the strongest in the country in serving their communi- Argyle’s comprehensive campaign coverage. ties, while watching the bottom line and expanding the The 55-year-old Barrett understands that better than most. company’s business opportunities. Barrett believes in the values of good television and community The newscasts of the Hearst-Argyle stations are usually service. He loves news, supports it, and sets high standards for No. 1 or 2 in their markets. And that’s due not to sweeps everyone involved in every aspect of his operation.
the head. But Barrett lived to tell about notice that Hearst-Argyle intended to BY STEVE MCCLELLAN it and, eventually, to laugh about it. stay. “We said we were going to go for it. That says a lot about Barrett, It was a risk for the company,” but it hen David Barrett joined Conomikes, and the culture at Hearst. helped Hearst leap into the big time of Hearst Broadcasting to Then as now, says Barrett, “We take risks television ownership, Barrett says. run WBAL (AM)/(FM) Bal- and make decisions together on matters The business philosophy behind that timore nearly 20 years of great import in a collaborative way.” W ago, one of his first mis- That’s why Barrett is the third-ever sions was to grab the radio rights to the Broadcaster of the Year, an award he’ll “We define success Baltimore Orioles baseball team from a receive at the Television Bureau of Ad- rival station. It took him three years, but vertising’s annual conference April 15. in television as how he finally persuaded then-station own- Unlike the two other winners—Viacom’s er Edward Bennett Williams to give in. Dennis Swanson (who won the award effective we are in local It didn’t hurt that the incumbent when he was general manager of New communities with our rights holder had defaulted on pay- York television station WNBC) and Tri- ments. Barrett lobbied hard to get cor- bune Co.’s Dennis FitzSimons—Barrett news services and how porate approval for the multiyear, mul- cut his teeth in radio, not television. timillion-dollar rights deal. He knew the Like the best radio stations, though, engaged we are with the payoff would be handsome, even if the Barrett knows the value of hyper-local community. Part of that Birds, in rebuilding mode during the broadcasting. 1988 season, played only average ball. Hearst-Argyle is among a handful of is ... being good partners But alas, they didn’t play average ball. group owners that keep an eye on the Not even close. They played like dodos, principle of serving the public interest with our advertisers.” starting the season 0-21. Barrett was as without hurting the bottom line. DAVID BARRETT, Hearst-Argyle embarrassed as the players. Five years ago, the company bought “My name was all over it,” says Barrett the nine Pulitzer Publishing Co. TV sta- today, adding that the spring of ’88 “is a tions for $1.7 billion, a deal Barrett calls time I will never forget.” a “defining transaction” for the company. decision to go for it has been engrained During the streak, his boss, mentor, In today’s world of media consolida- in Hearst executives for generations. At and then-vice president and general tion, broadcasters have been forced to Hearst-Argyle, Barrett is both steward manager of Hearst Broadcasting, John decide whether to grow and stay in the and benefactor of an approach that says Conomikes, called him after each loss to game or sell out and leave the business. well-reasoned risk is risk worth taking. give him a proverbial slap on the back of The Pulitzer deal put the industry on “Today, I’d say if we’re doing things The Barrett File
KENNETH GABRIELSEN CURRENT POSITION: President and CEO, Hearst-Argyle Television BORN: June 20, 1948, Chicago EDUCATION: Seven semesters at Loyola College, just one short of a degree. Doesn’t seem to have held him back, though. FIRST JOB IN BROADCASTING: Account executive at WGLD(FM) Chicago in 1970. He was still at Loyola. FAVORITE NATION OUTSIDE OF THE U.S.: Oh, that would be Canada. That’s where he got his first big break, running radio stations in Montreal and Toronto in the 1970s. Also, two of his three kids were born there and have dual U.S./Canadian citizenship. MARRIED: Elizabeth Balzer, March 3, 1973 KIDS: Casey (29), Kate (25), and Liza (21) FAVORITE SPORT: Swimming. Olympic swimming to be exact. Son Casey swam in the ’96 games for the Canadian swim team. The girls swam, too, but not at that level. “I spent a lot of time by pools holding a stopwatch,” Barrett says. BEST CAREER MOVE: Turning down an offer to run a New York radio station and join- ing Hearst Broadcasting. That was 20 years ago, when Hearst was barely a blip on the industry radar screen. Today, it’s the No. 7 TV group in terms of revenues. MENTOR: John Conomikes, who ran Hearst-Argyle before him and taught him a lot about both business generally and the business of television.
As head of WBAL(AM/FM) Baltimore, Barrett grabbed the rights to the Orioles games away from a competitor. NAACP’s Kweisi Mfume, here with Barrett, hosts series The Remarkable Journey for Hearst-Argyle.
right, we’re not hanging any individuals HIS RADIO ROOTS was born and raised. As a senior at Loy- out there on their own to make high-risk More than half of Barrett’s career has ola College, he “fell into” a radio job to decisions. That goes back to the culture of been devoted to radio. In fact, he had help pay his college bills. (He also the company and how we like to operate. never worked at a TV station before moved furniture and was a lifeguard.) The story about the Orioles is fun to tell 1989, when Hearst handed him the reins He and his siblings learned quickly to now, but, once the decision was made, I of WBAL Baltimore, where he’d been take care of themselves and each other. had the commitment of the company.” running a TV-radio combination for five Their father died when Barrett was 20, In January 2001, Barrett was named years. (Technically, Hearst Corp. alone forcing his mother to take a job. In ad- CEO of Hearst-Argyle Television, the No. owns the radio station, and Hearst-Ar- dition to Barrett and an older brother, 7 group TV operator by revenue, ac- gyle owns the TV station, but both are there were two younger sisters in the cording to Bear Stearns. The 20-year commonly run.) family, so anything he could do to earn Hearst veteran has been toiling in the His radio career started in Chicago, a little extra money would be helpful. industry since 1970. not far from the suburbs where Barrett Working for rock station WGLD(FM), he TVB Special BROADCASTING & CABLE 4.12.04 Broadcaster of the Year | David Barrett
discovered, “I had a pretty good apti- called then) and came across a sales- tude for sales,” and, as advertisers soon management position for a Montreal Growing the Business learned, he was also good at collecting rock station. payments. (To know Barrett is to sus- It turned out to be a huge risk and Hearst-Argyle grew through shrewd pect as much: He’s built like a lineman big break. “I was ready for something acquisitions of other major broadcast groups. Here’s a look at how the company for the Chicago Bears.) That was im- different,” Barrett recalls. Station own- put it all together portant back then, since compensation er Geoff Stirling was looking to the 1928 Hearst Corp. enters broadcasting with acquisition of was based on payments received. U.S. for someone with experience sell- WSOE-AM Milwaukee. The station becomes the foun- After two years, Barrett was reading ing the album-oriented rock (AOR) dation of WISN-TV. the classified ads in BROADCASTING format, which had first taken root in 1931 Hearst acquires WTAE-AM Pittsburgh. magazine (as this publication was the states. So Barrett headed north, 1935 Hearst acquires WBAL-AM Baltimore.
1948 WBAL-TV Baltimore, the nation’s 19th TV station, is launched. WLWT-TV Cincinnati, the nation’s 20th station, is launched by Crosley Broadcasting. WBAL-TV was a pioneer in color TV. The station also introduced the legendary Romper Room in the early 1950s.
1953 WBAL-TV is among the nation’s first stations to trans- mit in color. Also in the ’50s, television licenses are granted for WISN-TV and WTAE-TV.
Hearst was a TV pioneer, launching the nation’s 19th station.
1972 License for WCVB-TV Boston is awarded to Boston Broadcast Corp.
1981 Hearst acquires WDTN-TV Dayton, Ohio, and agrees to acquire KMBC-TV Kansas City, Mo. (In 1967, Phil Donahue (left) began his innovative talk show format at WDTN Day- ton, Ohio, when it was called WLWD.)
1986 Hearst acquires WCVB-TV Boston for $450 million—at the time, the highest price paid for a TV station.
1994 Argyle is founded, acquires WNAC-TV Providence, R.I.; WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, Mich.; WAPT-TV, Jack- son, Miss. 1995 Argyle acquires WGRZ(TV) Buffalo, N.Y., and KITV(TV) Honolulu (including satellite stations KMAU, Wailuku and KHVO Hilo, Hawaii).
Barrett’s station group won the University of Southern California-Annenberg School’s Walter Cronkite Award for excellence in journalism in 2000 and 2002. Bottom: NBC correspondent James Hattori presents the 2002 prize to Barrett. Growing the Business
Argyle goes public. The new studio at KITV(TV) is America’s first com- mercially licensed digital TV station.
Also in 1995, Oprah Winfrey hosted a public-affairs show, linking all of Hearst’s stations together for the evening.
Oprah Winfrey talked about big issues with Hearst stations in 1995.
1996 Hearst acquires WTMV(TV) Tampa, Fla., renaming it WWWB(TV). Today, it is WMOR(TV). Hearst launches KCWB(TV) Kansas City, Mo., through a local marketing agreement, later renaming it KCWE(TV).
Argyle acquires KHBS(TV)/KHOG(TV), Ft. Smith/ Fayetteville, Ark. Argyle announces exchange of WZZM(TV) and WGRZ-TV with Gannett Inc. for WLWT-TV Cincinnati and KOCO-TV Oklahoma City. Hearst-Argyle executives celebrate being listed on the New York Stock Exchange on July 22, 1998 (Barrett is at far right). 1997 Hearst acquires WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach, Fla. made a pitch, and got the job. stations in that market,” says Barrett. Hearst Broadcasting and Argyle announce and com- The big break came just four months Montreal was gearing up to host the plete merger; Hearst-Argyle Television is formed. later, when the general manager left 1976 Olympics at the time. and “they turned to me and said ‘you look after it.’” At the tender age of 24, JOINING HEARST Barrett was general manager. By 1980, though, the Canadian econ- A year later, he married his long- omy was heading south, and soon so time Chicago sweetheart, Elizabeth was Barrett. The Bronfmans sold the Hearst-Argyle successfully syndicates $1 billion Balzer, and, after four years in Mon- radio stations, and Barrett returned to credit facility to a consortium of international banks. Hearst-Argyle successfully completes public offerings treal, yearned to come back home. the U.S. to accept a job running Dou- of 4 million shares of Series A common stock and $300 But the Bronfman family persuaded bleday’s KWY(FM) St. Louis. Not for million of 10-year senior notes and 30-year debentures, improving its trading, liquidity, and cost of capital. him to put off those plans. In addition long, though. A year later, he was back Company’s bank credit facility and senior notes to owning distiller Seagram and Ma- in Canada, recruited by media baron receive investment-grade ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. jor League Baseball’s Montreal Expos, Ted Rogers to run a pair of Toronto ra- KITV transmits digital TV in December, becoming they owned a news, talk, and sports dio outlets. “It was an unstable period nation’s first commercially licensed station to do so. KITV is subsequently named boomer in the Montreal market and in my life,” recalls Barrett. “I wasn’t “Broadcaster of the Year” by wanted Barrett to run it, along with an letting any roots sink in.” Television Broadcast magazine. FM beautiful-music station. “It was a After two years of running the spectacular time to be running those Toronto combo, Barrett departed TVB Special BROADCASTING & CABLE 4.12.04 Broadcaster of the Year | David Barrett
Growing the Business
KENNETH GABRIELSEN 1998 Hearst-Argyle successfully completes public offering of $200 million of 20-year notes. Hearst-Argyle refinances nearly all of its subordinated debt. Swap of WDTN(TV) Dayton, Ohio, and WNAC(TV) Providence, R.I., for KSBW(TV) Monterey-Salinas, Calif., and WPTZ(TV)/WNNE(TV) Burlington, Vt./Platts-
burgh, N.Y., is announced. Hearst-Argyle announces it will acquire Pulitzer Pub- lishing Co.’s broadcast group’s nine TV and five radio stations. Hearst-Argyle announces it will acquire the Sacramento, Calif., TV properties of Kelly Broadcasting Co., including NBC affiliate KCRA(TV) and a time bro- kerage agreement for The WB affiliate KQCA(TV) Sacramento. Hearst-Argyle receives FCC and regulatory approvals of Pulitzer and Kelly transactions
1999 Hearst-Argyle completes acquisitions of the Pulitzer and Sacramento stations, bringing the company to 26 TV stations reaching about 17.5% of U.S. TV households, as well as seven radio stations. John Conomikes (left) steps down as president and co-CEO of Hearst-Argyle, concluding a dis- tinguished career of more than 45 years in broadcast TV. Conomikes, who remains on the company’s board, is succeeded by David Barrett, who had been executive VP and COO. Canada for good, briefly rejoining tion. However, Conomikes convinced Seven Hearst-Argyle stations are digital-ready, plac- Doubleday in Washington, D.C., to him that his long-term future was ing Hearst-Argyle among companies in the forefront of the transition to digital television (DTV) and high-defi- run WAVA(FM). Within months, how- better served at Hearst. nition television (HDTV). ever, he left after a falling out with his “It was probably the best decision I Hearst-Argyle announces a partnership with Internet Broadcasting Systems Inc., developer of Web sites for boss. It was not the best time for him made in my life,” Barrett says. Within TV stations, to create a “network” of Web sites includ- professionally. a year, he was given responsibility for ing sites for Hearst-Argyle stations. Hearst-Argyle also acquires an approximately 30% equity interest in pri- But what Barrett didn’t know at the all seven radio properties in the vately held Internet Broadcasting. time was, his career was about take a Hearst portfolio. (That seems quaint 2000 Hearst-Argyle completes its acquisition of The WB af- turn for the better. John Conomikes, in today’s world, where the biggest filiate KQCA(TV) Sacramento, creating a successful duopoly with NBC affiliate KCRA(TV). the general manager of Hearst Broad- player, Clear Channel, owns 1,200 sta- Hearst-Argyle launches “Commitment 2000,” a year- casting, needed someone to run tions.) Fifteen years into his career, long project throughout the station group to commit to thorough daily political-news coverage during the Hearst’s two radio stations in Balti- Barrett was, in his own words, “totally 2000 campaign and election season. Later in the year, more and offered Barrett the job. a radio guy.” as part of “Commitment 2000,” Hearst-Argyle becomes the first large TV-station group to commit to But not right away. Conomikes He had gained some exposure to tel- a minimum of five minutes’ nightly newscast airtime to liked Barrett and was quite impressed evision but no operating experience candidate coverage and is subsequently followed by other major station groups. with his knowledge of radio. “But I with the medium working for the Hearst-Argyle becomes one of the first major station was concerned that he was unem- Bronfmans’ CTV station. As the head groups to announce a policy of not airing advertising for R-rated movies during the family viewing hour in ployed, so I interviewed 12 other peo- of Hearst’s radio group, he increasing- prime time. Hearst-Argyle partners with Belo Corp. and LIN Tele- ple, who were employed. None of ly realized that “95% of what we cov- vision to launch a Broadcast Sales Academy to train them were in the same league as ered was related to TV.” the industry’s next generation of sales professionals. Hearst-Argyle announces it will sell its three radio David Barrett.” But by the time he And he was right. Hearst had large- stations in Phoenix to Emmis Communications and will simultaneously acquire WMUR(TV) Manchester, made a job offer, Barrett was mulling ly concluded by then that its invest- one to run a New York City radio sta- ments in the future would be in TV KENNETH GABRIELSEN Hearst Broadcasting group: sevenra- deputy, the entire tohelphim run that hetapped Barrett as his new on Conomikes. He wassoimpressed dio stationshadmadeanimpression Barrett ing andConomikes general managerofHearst Broadcast- death oftheMickey Hooten, deputy to havehim. cial guy, andthe islucky industry TV the toolstobeabigplayer. He came soobvious thatthisguyhadall then Hearst rett withresponsibility for WBAL(TV), and cableand,in1989,rewarded Bar- Hearst abig run groupTV someday young radio executivewasdestinedto after Barrett joined Hearst thatthe in Baltimore. Soon after, withthe fateintervened Conomikes saysheknewsixmonths ’ s orsomeoneelse ’ s work at WBAL andatthera- ’ ” s co-owned CBSaffiliate ’ No. 2 executive. ’ s. s. “ It justbe- ’ s aspe- — a single station. TV million, atthetimearecord for price Hearst hadacquired in1986for$450 burgh and WCVB Boston, which tions, includingflagship WTAE Pitts- andsixtelevisionsta- dio properties That LESSONS LEARNED the businesscould possiblyhave.TV anybody in opportunity best learning for eightyears, with Internet Broadcasting System. and Gannett anda Web-site venture and syndicationventure withNBC businesses, includingaproduction ing Hearst worked closely, dramatically expand- For thenexteightyears, thepair began, withConomikes ashismentor. and immersionintothe business TV “ They alsobranched outintonew Being John Conomikes ’ s whenBarrett ’ s TV holdings. s TV ” saysBarrett, ’ s real education ’ understudy “ was the ”
2001 2003 2002 Growing theBusiness the California Walter CronkiteAward fromtheUniversityofSouthern numerous broadcastjournalismawards,includinga with Hearst-Argyle anditsstationsleadtheindustry March 2001. kind exchange.Thetransactionsarecompletedin N.H., fromImesCommunicationsinathree-way, like- by Nielsen. national news-and-informationWeb sitesasmeasured The IBSNetworkenterstheranksoftopfive fornia Cronkite Award fromtheUniversityofSouthernCali- coverage. LikeCommitment2000,itearnsaWalter Hearst-Argyle launches production andsyndicationunitintoNBC TV households.Hearst-Argylesubsequentlymergesits spective stations,whichcollectivelyreach60%ofU.S. syndicatedprogrammingontheirre- velop andcarry and NBCEnterprisesjointlyannounceaventuretode- Argyle, GannettBroadcasting,theNBCstationgroup, man oftheboard.Marbutremainson owner, succeedsBobMarbutasHearst-Argylechair- dent andCEOofHearstCorp.,Hearst-Argyle companies emy, aninnovativetrainingprogramforthe (IBS) other partnersintheInternetBroadcastingSystems its seriesonBoston WCVB-TV BostonearnedtheduPont-ColumbiaAward for age oftheColumbiaSpaceShuttletragedy(In2002, tional duPont-ColumbiaJournalismAward forits cover- of smokedetectors;andWESH(TV)Orlando,Fla.,ana- national PeabodyAward for aseriesontheeffectiveness for groundbreakingnewsseries:WISN(TV)Milwaukee,a highestnationalhonorsgrantedtoTVbroadcasters, very becomes CEO. end; DavidBarrett,presidentandco-CEOsince1999, executive chairmanofHearst-ArgyleTelevision atyear- plan, BobMarbut,co-CEOsince1997,becomesnon- is partofNBCEnterprises. Hearst-Argyle, Belo,andLINTelevision. successful BroadcastSalesAcademyformedearlierby practices of a national mortgage-service provider.practices ofanationalmortgage-service Award foritsinvestigativeseriesexaminingthebusiness receives aNationalAssociationofConsumerAdvocates project [below]).Separately, WBAL(TV)Baltimore Following thecompany development,Hearst- In agroundbreakingindustry Victor Ganzi,adirectorofHearst-Argyleandpresi- Hearst-Argyle andBelolaunchtheProducerAcad- The NBCownedTVstationsjoinHearst-Argyleand Hearst-Argyle stationsearnawardsthatareamongthe “ Commitment 2000 SOURCE: ’ “ s AnnenbergSchool. network ’ s AnnenbergSchoolforCommunication, ’ newsproducersmodeledafterthe ” Hearst-Argyle TelevisionInc. oflocalWeb sites. ’ s massive company Hearst-Argyle stationsviathe distributedtothe ing interviews, news bureauconductsnewsmak- and PresidentGeorgeW. Bush. DonaldRumsfeld(left), Secretary bassador PaulBremer, Defense vice, withIraqadministratorAm- Hearst-Argyle ” “ project. Commitment 2002 ’ s managementsuccession “ ’ Big Dig s dedicatedsatelliteser- ’ s Washington ” construction ’ s unit,which ” ’ election s majority TVB Special BROADCASTING & CABLE 4.12.04 Broadcaster of the Year | David Barrett
Conomikes retired as president of vertising, and provides content for oth- Hearst-Argyle Television in 1999, but he’s “The level of competition er stations. It also has a small stake in one of the most active retirees in the won’t slow, and figuring out NBC Enterprises and gets dibs on new business. He’s still on the Hearst-Argyle first-run offerings from the company. board and is very involved in the affairs how to meet the needs of Both ventures are profitable, but have of Hearst Corp. “In some ways,” says Bar- yet to pay off for Hearst. rett, “John never retired. He is still the guy our customers—both Like many broadcast executives, Bar- I trust and most rely in the business.” advertisers and viewers—is rett believes it’s critical that the industry Conomikes is also on the boards of figure out the best way to exploit the dig- Lifetime, A&E, and ESPN (Hearst has a continual process.” ital spectrum; he thinks NBC has been minority stakes in each). “He’s the the most aggressive trying to come up youngest 72-year-old you’ll ever meet,” DAVID BARRETT, with workable ventures that will benefit Barrett marvels. “As a mentor, he was Hearst-Argyle the network and its affiliates. But Barrett’s the single most important guy teaching not expecting much soon. Of course, me about business and the business of Barrett. “Five years from now, we won’t none of it will amount to a hill of beans television.” be the same company with the same unless cable agrees to carry the entire In 1997, Hearst spun off its broadcast- number of stations. We’re still building spectrum. That, Barrett suggests, just ing group into a so-called “reverse merg- it. If I ever say we’ve finished, it’s time for may take governmental intervention. er” with Argyle Television, a television me to go. It’s a never-ending process.” “The level of competition won’t slow,” group with about the same number of he says, “and figuring out how to meet the stations as Hearst but in smaller mar- “STRAIGHT, DIRECT” needs of our customers—both advertis- kets. At the time, the Hearst properties “David is a unique manager,” says Tony ers and viewers—is a continual process.” had three times the revenues of Argyle. Vinciquerra, president of the Fox Net- Barrett has thrown out some ideas Together, they formed the publicly trad- works Group, who worked with Barrett publicly about how to do that, but they ed Hearst-Argyle Television, with com- for five years between 1997 and 2002, haven’t always been well received. Giv- bined pro forma revenues of approxi- when he was COO. “He’s very honest, en the longer workday and other diver- mately $385 million. very straight, and very direct. No one sions fracturing the viewing audience, When the merger was completed, ever wonders where they stand with he wonders if at least one network Barrett was named chief operating offi- him because he’s very clear about it.” ought not call it a day at 10 p.m. rather cer of the company, and Conomikes and Vinciquerra recalls, “We were buying than 11, to stem the erosion in late- Bob Marbut, who had run Argyle TV, be- companies and integrating them, and night news viewing. Which network? came co-CEOs. The merger gave Hearst- we had lots of struggles and lots of is- Barrett says the worst performer in Argyle the public currency it needed to sues. But he was always right there for prime time ought to consider it. That, of expand, says Barrett. It did so quickly, support and to discuss issues and come course, would be ABC. targeting the Pulitzer stations. up with solutions.” “Local news is something that is terri- With the stock transaction, Hearst Barrett has only lost his temper once bly important to our viewers, but there Corp. remained the principal owner, but that Vinciquerra can remember. That are days where we put it on at 11 p.m. its stake was reduced from more than was when a certain small and relatively and it’s not in step with the way people 80% to 66%, while Pulitzer family mem- new broadcast network (that shall re- use television and the way people live bers were issued 37 million new shares main nameless) pulled an affiliation their lives. It’s on too late.” of Hearst-Argyle stock, giving them a from a Hearst-Argyle station after prom- Barrett thinks job one is serving view- combined stake in the company of be- ising to renew it. ers. If that happens, he says, the busi- tween 7% and 8%. ness imperatives should take care of At around the same time, Hearst-Ar- FUTURE CHALLENGES themselves. “We define success in tele- gyle bought KCRA Sacramento, Calif. Even-handed and level-headed as he is, vision as how effective we are in local But it was the Pulitzer deal that signaled Barrett still jokes that he hopes he’s communities with our news services Hearst- Argyle’s long-term intentions. It smart enough to figure out the business and how engaged we are with the com- doubled the size of the company, to 26 someday. munity. Part of that is being very en- stations and nearly doubled the size of Hearst-Argyle is kicking the tires of gaged on the local sales front and being its annual revenue base to $710 million. new technology. Under Barrett, it has good partners with our advertisers.” But in days of megamedia giants, is branched out with related ventures. It’s Since his days in radio, he has learned that big enough to stay independent? “I a part owner of Internet Broadcasting how to do it like few others. And, in think we can, but time will tell,” says System, which builds Web sites, sells ad- time, the Orioles got better, too. BY KIM MCAVOY
Last December, as New Hampshire vot- ers engaged in their quadrennial flirta- tion with presidential politics, WMUR Manchester scrapped traditional sound- bite news, opting instead for its own ver- sion of reality TV. In a one-hour special, On the Cam- paign Trail, the Hearst-Argyle station gave viewers a much more personal slice of campaign life. In one segment, it vis- ited the apartment that then-candidate Joe Lieberman and his wife rented in All Hearst-Argyle stations implement the chain’s mandate to provide comprehensive political coverage during the election year. Manchester (usually candidates stay in hotels) and even offered a scene of Lieberman doing his laundry. Likewise, the special gave a glimpse of Gen. Wes- This Station ley Clark’s exercise routine, including swims at the YMCA, and took a cam- paign-bus ride with Sen. John Edwards Group Takes and his two small children. Hearst-Argyle’s Coverage of the New Hampshire primary actually “Commitment” began in earnest last May. WMUR sponsored town- Politics lives up to its hall meetings, conducted one-on-one interviews, name broadcast special-issue forums and live debates, as well as preparing countless reports about the candi- dates and the presidential primary campaign. Seriously Like others in the Hearst-Argyle Television fam- ily, WMUR has one mandate: to provide the most comprehensive news coverage of national, state, and local campaigns possible. Referred to corpo- rately and on the air as Commitment 2004, it has been a part of the company’s policy since 2000. It’s a priority for Hearst-Argyle President and CEO David Barrett, a driving force behind the initiative. “He really believes in it,” says Candy Altman, vice president of news for Hearst-Argyle Television. “The commitment project grew out of our con- viction that comprehensive coverage of the political process is something our viewers want,” says Bar- rett. Viewers rely on us to help them be informed about candidates and issues in every election cycle.” It also makes sense on the bottom line. The heavy coverage makes the stations an even more attractive choice for political advertising, he says. Essentially, stations commit five minutes a day WCVB Boston’s Natalie Jacobson interviewed the Democrat John Kerry at WMUR prior to the New Hampshire primary. to candidate-centered coverage. Those segments TVB Special BROADCASTING & CABLE 4.12.04 Broadcaster of the Year | David Barrett
BARRETT’S KINGDOM
MKT. % OF U.S. STATION MKT. (AFFILIATE; CH.) RANK COVERED*
WCVB Boston (ABC; ch. 5) 6 2.207 WMUR Manchester, N.H.-Boston (ABC; ch. 9) 6 WMOR Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (WB; ch. 32) 13 0.760 KCRA Sacramento, Calif. (NBC; ch. 3) 19 1.151 KQCA Sacramento, Calif. (WB; ch. 58) 19 WESH Orlando, Fla. (NBC; ch. 2) 20 1.148 WTAE Pittsburgh (ABC; ch. 4) 21 1.093 WBAL Baltimore (NBC; ch. 11) 24 0.994 WISN Milwaukee (ABC; ch. 12) 31 0.807 WLWT Cincinnati (NBC; ch. 5) 32 0.801 KMBC Kansas City, Mo. (ABC; ch. 9) 33 0.799 KCWE* Kansas City, Mo. (UPN; ch. 29) 33 WYFF Greenville, S.C.-Asheville, N.C. (NBC; ch. 4) 35 0.743 WPBFM West Palm Beach, Fla. (ABC; ch. 25) 39 0.329 WDSU New Orleans (NBC; ch. 6) 42 0.618 WXII Greensboro, N.C. (NBC; ch. 12) 46 0.595 KOCO Oklahoma City (ABC; ch. 5) 45 0.597 WGAL Harrisburg, Pa. (NBC; ch. 8) 47 0.588 KOAT Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M. (ABC; ch. 7) 49 0.582 KOCTS Carlsbad, N.M. (ABC; ch. 6) 49 KOFTS Albuquerque , N.M. (ABC; ch. 3) 49 KOVTS Silver City, N.M. (ABC; ch. 10) 49 WLKY Louisville, Ky. (CBS; ch. 32) 50 0.287 WAPT Jackson, Miss., arranged for gubernatorial candidates to meet casually over dinner at the homes of average viewers. KCCI Des Moines, Iowa (CBS; ch. 8) 72 0.376 KITV Honolulu (ABC; ch. 4) 71 0.376 KHVOS Hilo, Hawaii (ABC; ch. 13) 71 must air during prime news times (5- ways of covering politics.” KMAUS Wailuku, Hawaii (ABC; ch. 12) 71 11:35 p.m.) in the 30 days prior to pri- Hearst-Argyle ABC affiliate WAPT KETV Omaha, Neb. (ABC; ch. 7) 78 0.363 WAPT Jackson, Miss. (ABC; ch. 16) 89 0.150 mary and general elections. Jackson, Miss., met that challenge WPTZ Burlington, Vt.- 91 0.298 “We encourage political program- during last year’s political fireworks Plattsburgh, N.Y. (NBC; ch. 5) WNNES Hartford, Vt. (NBC; ch. 31) 91 ming throughout the year, not just the between then Democratic Gov. Ron- KHBS Ft. Smith, Ark. (ABC; ch. 40) 108 0.120 30 days prior to the election,” says Alt- nie Musgrove and his Republican KHOGS Fayetteville, Ark. (ABC; ch. 29) 108 KSBW Monterey-Salinas, Calif. (NBC; ch. 8) 120 0.214 man. And there are rules that give challenger, Haley Barbour. Trying *As calculated by the FCC S = satellite station coverage some integrity. For example, something new, the station set up a M = management agreement, station owned by Hearst Corp. a story about political poll results dinner for the candidates with a typi- OTHER MEDIA INTERESTS: Two radio stations; program and syndi- cation partner with NBC Enterprises. Online interests: ProAct doesn’t count as part of the five min- cal Jackson family. “We allowed the Technologies Corp. (personal-finance-human-resources Web site); about 24% of Internet Broadcasting Systems Inc. (site developer). Par- ent Hearst owns Hearst Entertainment and Syndication, 50% of Life- utes. Those stories should be part of family to dictate the questions and time Television (joint partner with ABC Inc.), New England Cable News (with MediaOne), TVA (Brazilian pay company, with ABC), 20% of the regular coverage, she says. the conversation,” says News Director ESPN, A&E Television Networks (joint venture with NBC and ABC), newspapers, monthly consumer magazines including Esquire, Town & During the 2000 and 2002 election Bruce Barkley. “It was less staged and Country, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar cycles, Hearst-Argyle stations broad- more unpredictable.” cast a cumulative 200 hours of politi- When it was Barbour’s turn for din- cal news, according to Altman. ner, something unexpected hap- Besides five minutes a day of “can- pened: His wife, Marsha, accompa- didate sound,” stations aired debates, nied him. There was a last-minute interviewed candidates in their scramble to add a place setting, and homes, televised dinners with the dessert had to be shared “`We got a candidates and local families, and little flak from the Barbour campaign conducted interviews in the studio for including that piece of informa- followed by questions on the Internet. tion,” says Barkley. “They felt like we “Truth checks’’ of political ads were were taking a shot at them.” But view- another valuable asset in covering ers got a frank political conversation elections. Station Web sites are also and a real picture of a dinner party— chock full of political information. even the kind that has a glitch. A five-minute obligation might seem With the campaign rife with mud- a news director’s nightmare. Altman slinging, WAPT had ample opportuni- doesn’t think so: “Newspeople like to ty to do “truth checks.’’ NAFTA and its do political coverage. This is a fun proj- affect on the region became a hot is- For two years, WBAL’s Laura Kinney pushed for an exclusive interview ect for news managers because it chal- sue. Musgrove portrayed Barbour as a with President Bush. It aired on 25 of Hearst-Argyle’s stations. lenges them to come up with different NAFTA supporter. Barbour ran an ad citing numbers showing how many jobs “This is a fun project for frustration. In 2002, the station offered left during the Musgrove years and did- candidates in the gubernatorial and n’t include numbers for jobs added. news managers because Senate races an opportunity for a prime WAPT set the record straight. A seg- it challenges them to come time debate. It never happened. The in- ment illustrating the loss and gain of cumbents weren’t interested, says News jobs in the state aired. Barbour’s cam- up with different ways of Director Dave Busiek. “Incumbents paign grumbled, says Barkley. But the don’t want to give their challenger that station saw a need for balance. covering politics.” kind of a forum. They’ll give you some Clearly, others in the television in- lame excuse and then wink at you.” dustry are devoting time to election CANDY ALTMAN, But Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin ac- news, but Hearst-Argyle stands out. Hearst-Argyle Television cepted another station’s offer. Busiek says “Hearst-Argyle is a leader in this area,” that debate aired Saturday afternoon, op- says RTNDA President Barbara posite a University of Iowa football game. Cochran. “I think some of the innova- the debate and came back at 11 p.m. for Not surprisingly, KCCI’s coverage of tions they’ve introduced into their cam- expanded news coverage. this year’s Iowa caucuses was extensive. paign coverage could inspire others to WYFF and The Greenville News Democratic presidential candidates take a similar approach.” teamed up to pick six families to follow were profiled, and the CBS affiliate car- The group has twice been awarded through the election year. The station ried a series of interviews with each of the University of Southern California- invited those families to the studio for them that were produced through a col- Annenberg School’s Walter Cronkite dinner and the debate. The dinner and laborative effort of co-owned WMUR Award for Excellence in Television Po- reaction to the debate was featured dur- and WCVB Boston. KCCI offered three litical Journalism, for coverage of the ing that newscast. hours of live coverage of the caucus 2000 and 2002 elections, respectively. The truth check is popular in starting at 8 p.m. “Hearst-Argyle stations aired some of Greenville, too. During the 2002 Senate Even one of the industry’s harshest crit- the country’s best coverage of campaign and governor’s campaigns, the station ics, The Alliance for Better Campaigns, news,” says Martin Kaplan, associate ran The Best of Truth Check, a one-hour applauds Hearst-Argyle’s commitment. In dean of the USC Annenberg School and special on the Saturday before the elec- 2000, the Alliance and others urged director of the Norman Lear Center, tion. That program even beat out Jeop- broadcasters to comply with recommen- which oversees the awards, “and they ardy. “The viewers loved it,” Still says. dations of a White House commission also had political stories, and more “They went nuts.” calling for five minutes per day of politi- minutes in those stories, than the na- Of course, aggressive political coverage cal coverage 30 days prior to the election. tional averages.” Furthermore, he adds, cuts two ways. Politicians frequently gripe The industry largely ignored the rec- Hearst-Argyle’s commitment clearly dis- about the cost of political ad time but ommendation, says Alliance President pels the notion that covering politics is don’t always jump at a chance to appear Meredith McGehee. But, she adds, “ratings poison.” on local TV where they can’t control the Hearst-Argyle “deserves great credit for That explains why Hearst-Argyle’s content. Hearst-Argyle sometimes en- saying we’re going to invest in this be- WYFF, an NBC affiliate in counters candidates reluctant to partici- cause, if it’s done right, we can make Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C., pre- pate in televised debates or even taped this watchable television.” empted Friends for the Democratic interviews, says Altman: “Candidates Says McGehee: “If you have a willing presidential debate earlier this year. The want to speak directly to the people. They management and good journalists, station “owned’’ the night, says News don’t want any questions.” nothing is more interesting than Amer- Director Andy Still. Viewers tuned in for KCCI Des Moines, Iowa, shares that ican politics.” ■
402804 Reprinted from Broadcasting & Cable, April 12, 2004, by RSiCopyright. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. For reorders call RSiCopyright 651.582.3800. For subscription information call 212.463.6544. PDF Expires 4-16-05.