WIN News

The words you’re missing here are ‘dedicated local’ ABC’s news is a composite of local, national and international.

All 8 minutes of a local news segment doesn’t make a local bulletin - with the rest from the metro’s - remember that

Disagree.
With sport (another 5) weather (another 5) that’s about 20 minutes of pure local content.

20 minutes is ads

That make up is not dissimilar to 9 bulletins in other cities which are one hour and are “local”

With TCNs “local” Sydney news at an hour, with 20 minutes of ads, 20 minutes of state , national and international news - I would
Say that leaves about 20 for pure local Sydney news sport and weather, no?

About the same as Nines new bulletins.

And when you say “the rest from the metros” those are national stories that are shared across all stations be it Sydney or Adelaide.

6 Likes

You make excellent points here!

WIN can obviously claim freely that they are the only dedicated local news, etc.
But the thing here is, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that viewers want more than that… They want convenience.

And convenience comes in having everything you care about (local, national, major international, etc.) all together in the one place, without having to sit through and tune into two separate news bulletins.

I can’t wait for when 9 News launches in North QLD, because I want to be able to sit down and see what’s happening in my city, as well as any major national stories, or state stories, all together in the one place, as does my family.

5 Likes

Yes. This is the format used all
Over the US on hundreds of stations.
Local national
And state all in one bulletin.

Overall, Nine News Canberra have the advantage as local breaking Canberra stories will be covered quickly where with Win its pre-recorded.

2 Likes

I don’t see the difference in convenience between watching one hour 6-7 on SC9 and one hour on 7QLD also 6-7pm; just the stories will be in a slightly different order.

Wait and see . . . local sport will wrap into the local segment, commercial content for news hour is 13 minutes (can push to 14 mins if averaged over more hours - see ACMA) and as you say yes the remainder non local come from Sydney Melb etc.

Don’t get the point(s) national and international aren’t ‘local’ which is what I was referring to in the first place, why offer same against same - that is what I am referring to. Isn’t it good in all forms of selling anything to offer a point of difference good or bad - too many people are comparing apples with apples

I’m honestly surprised that WIN News hasn’t yet promoted the fact that their bulletins are entirely produced/presented from regional Australia* as opposed to the new editions of Nine News will be produced and presented from the capital cities.

When you consider that many people who live in the regional areas that WIN News broadcasts to probably don’t want anything to do with the city, IMO it makes sense for WIN to do a “made in regional Australia, for regional Australians” type of promotional angle.

*Yes I know that the production of WIN News is largely centralised in Wollongong and the Sunshine Coast, but their bulletins (unlike Nine’s) are entirely produced and presented from regional Australia nonetheless.

1 Like

Composite bulletins work best. It allows a viewer to get the biggest stories of the day in one bulletin be they around the corner, or around the globe. All from one presenter. All
Stories can be news worthy with the biggest stories or the day. And being a composite bulletin 9 News Canberra can go live to network reporters or Canberra reporters. Or regional reporters.

WIN is at a disadvantage. So much is filler and not good content.

Even a Sydney bulletin of purely Sydney news would not be a good watch. Factory fires m4 pile ups.

That’s why composite bulletins are best - and I think where we are headed. WIN is going to get killed. They have everything working against them
Now.

Lower Ten platform.
Taped bulletins
Slow dated format
Too similar look to 9 News
Unable to have the days big stories
(You need to watch from 5pm for the big stories)

6 Likes

I’m not sure that matters.

If you’re in Orange - news from Wollongong is no more relevant than news from Sydney. It’s still news read from hundreds of kilometers away.

In fact - I grew up on the north coast of NSW. We had highways and flights to Sydney. Not Wollongong. Selling the news as a better choice as it’s done in a “regional”
City like Wollongong rather the the “capital”
City of Sydney - well, I don’t think that’s a selling point. Honestly regional cities have ties to their capital cities - not otter regiaonl cities hundreds of Kms away.

I’d imagine people in orange hahe more ties to Sydney than Wollongong. And people In ballarat have more ties to Melbourne than Wollongong. And people in Mackay are tied more to Brisbane than maroochydore

So to me, that’s not really a selling point.

I don’t think anyone in wagga feels like Wollongong is more relatable than Sydney.o

5 Likes

The new regional Nine bulletins, though, are still a compromise. They aren’t fully customised for each region. So for some areas when the main story of the day is a local story, viewers will still have to watch the state/international stories that open the bulletin and wait for the first window of local news. Obviously, a financial decision, but the ideal would have been to be able to customise a much greater proportion of the composite bulletin.

Yes very true. A compromise. But I’d rather a live bulletin and wait 8 minutes to get my local news.

Then am antire taped pieced together bulletin

1 Like

Let’s face it, we lost “true local” bulletins when everything became centralised.

I think the best thing for win to do is a 1 hour bulletin at 5pm and insert a 30 minute window at maybe 5:30, as 5pm may be to early for some viewers. Rebrand to WIN Eyewitness News, dual hosts, ten inspired graphics, and an on location weather presenter.

4 Likes

Perhaps it will vary from day to day. There might be days with a big local story or stories when it is worth tuning in at 6pm to WIN and even again at 6.08 on SC9.

1 Like

Regarding Nine News’ new bulletins; If Canberra has a big news story, they could lead the statewide bulletin with it. Same with all the other regional variants if the story is big enough. It doesn’t have to be national/Sydney centric in the first block.

6 Likes

Montage of Canberra bulletin from last night for comparison purposes

4 Likes

Composite bulletins are better, you’re right, but in the era of aggregation as it stands today, you must understand the nature of displacement costs to all regional networks -

I ask you the question . . what would you rather, mass retrenchments and no local news as it costs the regional networks upwards of 30k - 40k per hour to displace a metro news before any costs are incurred in producing their own local news.

Or on the other hand maintain a local bulletin outside the metro bulletin hour (which is significantly less in displacement costs) and importantly at the same time provide employment for young camera ops, editors, producers and journalists etc. in their local region receiving broadcast training which they would not find in a metro environment?

Again I come back to the argument, stop comparing like for like - the metro bulletins by their very right must be better in all aspects with the budgets and staffing applied, and local bulletins are a fertile training ground for the industry - you choose . . . training, employment of cut all regional news costs and no localism.