Local News Designed For Streaming Audiences
Focus is on Local Stories
The Local reports only on local, regional and state-level news stories. It doesn’t cover national or international stories. It leaves those to other news organizations better focused or equipped to do so. By focusing on local news, The Local will help fill an important void created by the loss of local news sources across the county.
Our objective is to provide as much relevant detail about each story as possible so viewers have complete confidence the story is reported fairly, honestly, and completely. Stories air only when they’re ready and only when they’re complete and meet the highest of journalistic standards.
To more fully explain the story, additional details of every story will be available through the N2 website or news app. This provides consumers with an additional level of detail they can read while watching the story on platform, listen to while in the car or exercising, view on social media, or view while winding down at the end of their day.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a phrase written by people who don’t like change. The corollary, then, is “The only constant is change” and that’s the world we live in today. Declining newspaper subscription rates is change. Distrust in news organizations is change. The Internet is change. Streaming is change. Social media is change. Change is all around us. Yet despite the persistence of change, local newscasts look the same way they did 50 years ago.
Local newscasts are 30 minutes long; 12 minutes for news, four minutes for weather, seven minutes for sports and seven minutes of commercials. The average length of an individual local news story is 41 seconds. At the national level, the show is still only 30 minutes, but the average story length is two minutes and 43 seconds. The result, as legendary anchorman Walter Cronkite put it, news is nothing more than “a headline service.”
Hosted talk programs are typically an hour long. In these shows, the hosts tell you what they think about the news. They’re not adding any further reporting the news, they’re simply talking about it. Sadly, many in the public view this as “the news” itself, but it isn’t. These types of shows contribute significant confusion, hyperbole, and inject “alternative facts” into the news ecosystem, which only adds to greater distrust, heightens public anger, and threatens democracy.
A typical newscast comprises two key elements: content and presentation. Content embodies the core journalism that people seek, demanding engagement, information, accuracy, and honest delivery. Presentation pertains to the visual aspect, including the role of on-air personalities. Consumers desire visually appealing newscasts but don't want personalities or gimmicks to overshadow the journalism. Regrettably, in today's news landscape, journalism is sometimes sacrificed for personalities and ratings.
Consumers are transitioning away from traditional linear platforms, such as broadcast, in favor of news and entertainment on social media and streaming platforms. Hence, our primary focus is delivering essential local content to these platforms.
As an original news source and reporter, N2 is committed to rebuilding an independent news ecosystem that reinstates trust in news as a reliable source of information, upholds accountability for public officials, and safeguards democracy. We have confidence in the viability of this approach.
Only Local News
not National
not International
News Delivered Honestly
As a news content production company, N2’s veracity and viability depends on providing to the streaming platforms stories with the highest levels of journalistic integrity and honesty. Before we release any story, we will be sure that, to the best of our ability, we have dotted every “i” and “crossed every ’t’.” The facts will be clearly presented and plainly understandable.
What makes us different?