Friday, November 14, 2008

NBC, Fox to pool news services

Yes, the tough economic times has yielded another unexpected result - competitors working with each other.

NBC-owned and Fox-owned decided to pool their news-gathering sources with the title Local News Service, or LNS.

This affects only markets where NBC and Fox O&Os are competing with each other. Chicago is included, along with New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Washington D.C. The plan is expected to roll out next year.

The LNS concept involves cameramen from both stations shooting news footage around in their markets, with a LNS editor determining which events the news pools cover. The footage then will be sent to both stations in the market where news executives will decide what footage can be used.

Editorial and voice content of each station aren't affected, and all employees involved in the service are staying with their respective companies.

Philadelphia's WCAU (NBC) and WTXF (Fox) will get the ball rolling in January, with other markets coming on line in a few months.

TV Newsday interviews the individuals behind the new news service: Fox's Jack Abernethy and NBC's John Wallace.

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