Originally developed by Jay Kernis, former NPR Senior VP for Programming
and expanded by KJZZ, WGVU, Northwest Public Radio, KUOW, KPLU and WNIJ
Tier Five: LOCAL MEANING
What news event, person, trend or new idea is making – or is about to make – a real difference in our community? What truly reflects who we are and why we live here? What will have lasting impact? What trends and events are not being noticed?
Tier Four: LOCAL IMPACT/NATIONAL
What is the local impact – or local representation – of a national or international story?
This often difficult reporting can be more satisfying to listeners by connecting local communities and activities to what is happening elsewhere. At its best, it fosters civil discourse and the desires to learn more and become more involved.
Tier Three: CULTURAL RESONANCE
Stories that explore the people, places and activities that create the cultural fabric of our communities: profiles of local musicians, artists, writers, influential cultural thinkers or well-known local “characters” (such as the ferry boat operator who’s worked the local river for 50 years).
The “gold standard” of this type has been set by series such as StoryCorps and Hidden Kitchens.
Tier Two: STAGED
City council or school board meetings, local government and political pronouncements, news conferences are scheduled events, pre-scripted in many cases by communications officers and rehearsed by participants.
This stuff usually sounds like news, but much of it may not be very important in the long run nor very interesting. It may be worth a headline (maybe an actuality) but not a report or interview.
Tier One: COMMERCIAL
“If it bleeds, it leads.” Crime, fires, sensationalized weather, local sports, and those quirky/human-interest kickers that inevitably end a newscast on a “fun” moment. This coverage is led by local TV stations or newspapers rather than by the curiosity or will of the public-radio newsroom.
Many deny their station covers such stuff. But, in its analysis of the 7-8 a.m. hour of Morning Edition on more than 40 stations, the Morning Edition Grad School (MEGS) team reported hearing a “disturbing amount” of this tier.
Focusing our local news coverage on Tiers Three through Five will accomplish three important goals:
- It will clearly differentiate public radio from commercial news media and deliver greater service to listeners.
- It will point the way to the most effective allocation of personnel and resources.
- It will emphasize quality over quantity in local news programming and allow us to lead coverage rather than follow others.
If you want to know how your stories compare, listen to the WNIJ local newscasts across a single week and chart where each local story falls in the tier structure.