Channel 7 opts out as local TV newsrooms pool forces

Four of the five major local broadcast network TV affiliates have agreed to a joint newsgathering operation using pool camera crews in a bid to cut costs.

The only holdout is WLS Channel 7, which is no surprise, as it's the top-rated station in news and overall in Chicago. It has the most resources and makes the most money locally.

Fox's WFLD Channel 32 and NBC's WMAQ Channel 5 first came up with the newsgathering agreement in the fall based on a similar deal in Philadelphia. They pitched it to other stations, and CBS' WBBM Channel 2 and WGN Channel 9, the Tribune-owned CW affiliate, both agreed to join in, while Channel 7 did not.

"They asked us if we were interested, and we just politely declined," said Channel 7 President and General Manager Emily Barr. "We want to remain a very strong, independent voice. And the best way for us to do that is to maintain control over all aspects of coverage."

"It's a very innovative and I think efficient way for newsgathering," countered Channel 32 Vice President and General Manager Pat Mullen. "It just makes sense."

Two crews from each of the four stations will be assigned by a rotating managing editor and assignment editors from each to cover the day's news. They figure to cover events that don't necessarily require a reporter, such as photo-op news conferences and postgame coach and manager interview sessions in sports.

"There's an awful lot of times when we're basically out there shooting duplicative video and we're all doing the same thing," Mullen said. "This is going to allow us to still gather that video, and then we'll take our people and do more enterprising stories."

A weekend car crash or house fire or Mayor Daley breaking ground at some new building site might get pool coverage. Daley doing a news conference on some City Hall scandal most likely would not.

"Any time we feel it's important to have a reporter on site to ask additional questions," Mullen said, "we're going to have a reporter and crew there."

Individual reports culled from pool footage would still have "the look and feel and focus of the local station," Mullen added. "How we edit a story may be dramatically different from how another station edits it."

Barr, however, defended the high quality and craftsmanship of the Channel 7 crews and the fine points of camera angles and other shooting techniques, saying, "I would argue that the photography is as much a part of the story as the words and the sound."

She added that she did not believe sending crews out without a reporter was generally a good way to save money. "You want to have somebody there to ask the questions and know that the photographer has his or her back," Barr said.

Channels 5 and 32 have already been sharing helicopter video for five months. The new four-way Local News Sharing system, or LNS as Mullen calls it, is scheduled to go into effect next week, working out of Channel 2's new downtown studios at Washington and Dearborn, but separate from the station's news operation.