The May Sweeps

The May Sweeps are over and the results have TV executives scratching their heads all over town. While there were certainly wins for the stations, the overriding concern is the loss of viewers by all the stations during their very lucrative news periods.

Local news has always been a cash cow. It still is. But it is becoming more and more difficult to capture that elusive 25 to 54 year old viewer. It's ironic that while newsrooms work hard to capture that demographic, it's the older viewer that makes up the most loyal segment of the audience.

I spoke recently to a group of seniors, most of them heavy news viewers. They were, frankly, offended at the idea that they didn't count as much as younger viewers.

They suggested, rather than target a specific age group, that we simply cover the news that has impact on the lives of East Tennesseans. And, they said, do it in a style that is clear and straight forward.

With that in mind, here's what WATE offered in May:

Kristin Farley wrote a fascinating story of life deep inside an East Tennessee mine. It offered a look at one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

Lori Tucker unveiled one of East Tennessee's newest pieces of medical technology, a heart scan that provides a 3-D image of the arteries around the heart. What the scan detects literally saves lives.

Don Dare did a series of stories on a furniture dealer who took people's money, but didn't deliver any furniture. The dealer shut down his Knoxville business, but Don was able to track him down in Greeneville. And it didn't end there. Don continues to follow the story, helping upset consumers get their money back.

We pointed out problems at a local high school's science lab. The 30-year old lab was so outdated and dangerous that students weren't allowed to use the bunsen burners for their experiments. The County Mayor has committed 250,000 dollars for capital improvements at the lab, and a major private fundraising effort is raising tens of thousands of dollars for lab equipment.

We also brought to light a local elected official who, in his official capacity, made thousands of dollars from the federal government while on a humanitarian mission to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

We did many other stories in May. The heartbreaking story of a Roane County deputy and his friend killed in an ambush and the aftermath of those killings. The death of an Assistant Chief Deputy in a car wreck. The May primary and the debate over term limits. The opening of the Family Justice Center, one of only fifteen facilities like it in the country to help women and children who are victims of domestic abuse.

In the months and years ahead, we'll continue to investigate the stories we feel are important to East Tennesseans and we'll deliver them in a clear and straight forward manner.