Austin TV News coverage missing out on covering the Texas Hill Country

AUSTIN, Texas - Sept. 20, 2016 - PRLog -- I spent 6 years covering the news in the Austin area, 3 years for KEYE TV news and 3 more with KXAN TV news. I was the "Hill Country" reporter for KXAN but never did much actual reporting out in the Hill Country unless it was bad weather related or the occasional murder or drug related story. I used to think my job was to cover the "Hill Country", because that was my title to the public, but the reality is most Austin news directors don't care to cover what happens out in in the lake highlands or outside of  Travis County unless it's "bad" or "negative" news. It used to bother me but over time I realized that's just the way news is anymore. Like the old Eagles song "dirty laundry" news directors are preoccupied with fires, shootings, murders, drownings, crime in general, with a "bubbly" anchor reading the teleprompter with a "gleam in their eye". The occasional "good news" that gets coverage better happen inside the city limits of "Austin" otherwise, don't bother. There's no way they'll be sending a tv photographer out of Austin city limits for "positive" news.

One of the problems with Austin news coverage is that it's a pretty peaceful city with passive residents who mostly don't watch the news on a regular basis unless bad weather is coming. Nielsen ratings show that roughly 90% of tv viewers don't want the news on a regular basis. News directors are forced to look for "bad news"  but the reality is that there's not much of it, it's always been this way around Austin. The fact that the large majority of people get their news online with yahoo or google news or twitter means that the "News at 5, 6, 10" are already "old" news, that's why the tv newscast audience continues to shrink, which explains the tired "investigates" stories trying to bump their audience at least for a day.

The second problem is that most of the news directors are from out of state and don't know the local culture, history or the locals themselves and don't care to get to know the culture either. Some news directors are from Kansas, some Oklahoma, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, you name it. Plus they're only passing by with a gig lasting 3 or 4 years, so there's no reason to make roots. Many of them are single, have no spouses or mates and thus have no other life than the "newsroom". Life is lived in a bubble, looking down on their staff with one eye always looking for the next gig.

Finally the pay is very low compared to other larger TV markets. Low pay means getting only managers that can't get a job in bigger cities or have little experience. Reporters do a nice job but with low pay, the good ones have no reason to stay and leave for bigger paychecks fast, that's why you see so many young faces who look like they're brand new in town, then they're gone before you know it.

It's sad that a cool city like Austin and the Texas Hill Country can't get fitting "news coverage" that reflects the city, its people, its culture for what it is: Music, technology, major business deals, creative people, great entertainment, high quality of life, fun outdoor events, Texas Hill Country happenings and lake living stories. But so long at the average pay is lower other tv markets the same size, don't expect to see any quality newscasts in the near future.

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