Scharfenberg Investigates the Decline of TV News in RI

Veteran Cranston reporter David Scharfenberg (as one of the newer hires he got downsized from the Projo when they went thin) tells the story of how Jim Taricani and other investigative reporters for TV news are being expected to do more with less. From the Providence Phoenix:

There has been plenty of hand-wringing, in these parts, over the decline of the local broadsheet. The Providence Journal is the paper of record, after all, the agenda setter. And the agenda is decidedly thinner these days.

But that other mainstay of Rhode Island news — the local television station — is taking a beating, too.

The three major local newscasts – at WJAR (Channel 10), WPRI (Channel 12) and WLNE (ABC6) — have shed dozens of jobs in recent months. Live, on-scene reporting is in decline. Investigative work has taken a hit. And it could get worse. Quickly.

Television advertising revenue, in free-fall across the country as the auto industry cuts back on marketing outlays, is dropping at twice the national average here as Rhode Island continues its headline-grabbing economic implosion. [full text]