commentary

Once again, the public is being denied an opportunity to witness a very important judicial event. The decision by Colorado judge William Sylvester ordering that James Holmes’ latest court appearance be closed to cameras is yet another example of how far we haven’t come in being able to shed light on one of the most basic aspects of American society — its jurisprudence system.

The horrific massacre in the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado refocused a spotlight on an area already scarred by senseless gunfire. Naturally, local news crews mobilized quickly and relentlessly, not only in an effort to inform their public, but to also to reassure them. Stations took the unprecedented step of moving their normal morning content to their subchannels to maintain their nonstop coverage. This wasn’t done for commerce; it was done because it would be unthinkable not to. Broadcasters feel that this is their unassailable duty to their community, that this is how they serve the public.

Do the media have a responsibility not to talk about certain subjects or raise certain possibilities because it might put ideas in people’s heads? There are numerous examples of media outlets showing restraint.

With Kansas City as a backdrop, Major League Baseball celebrated itself with its annual All-Star Game recently, pulling in strong summertime showing of 10.9 million people tuning into the game. Dayton, Ohio, tied with Dallas for the fifth-highest market rating for the game, even though Dayton has no MLB team. But it is the home of the minor league Dayton Dragons. So that’s something to pay attention to — a baseball-hungry market with no major league team. Local advertisers who are active in markets like Dayton would be wise to remember that heavy viewing doesn’t necessarily require a heavy market team presence.

Pivotal Research Group’s Brian Wieser: “The death of TV has been predicted with regular frequency. One of the most detailed pronouncements was published last week by Henry Blodget’s Business Insider. While the article is certainly thoughtful and among the most detailed we have read on the topic, we fundamentally disagree with many of the article’s underlying data points and related conjecture. Thus, we also disagree with the conclusions.”

In many households, the same thing has happened to the TV business that has happened to the newspaper business: The user behavior that supported the traditional all-in-one TV “packages” — networks and cable/satellite distributors — has changed. Here are the key points of this shift in user behavior for the traditional TV business.

RTDNA Chairman Kevin Benz: “American journalism risks losing the trust of the very people we work for, the American citizen, if we do not recommit to powerful, ethical reporting and concentrate on the message we are sending.”

By the time Comcast gets things right, broadcast’s prime roost won’t be the same.

Terry Heaton: “Local broadcasting is in the midst of a perfect storm with only two opportunities for tomorrow: a successful MDTV strategy with the digital broadcasting chip in smartphones, and figuring out how to monetize local unbundled, on-demand content. Let’s be real; the day is coming when program makers will distribute their stuff directly to consumers and share money with no network, and we’ve got to be ready.”