(Writer's note: The first portion of this blog, including its stories, were written on Tuesday. Its conclusion was written this evening. My apologies for not putting it up sooner.)
As I accompanied the KAKE photographers today, I got to see firsthand how the relationships between the Wichita stations stand.
While covering a sentencing at the Federal Courthouse, all of the news stations were standing outside, since cameras were not allowed in the building. As we were waiting, the photographer and I began chatting with one of the other station's reporters. He told us about his new business that he was trying to start up, and how he was only working part-time for the TV station now.
After a while, the reporters who were there (both from our station and from theirs) had to leave to go to a press conference, leaving only one photographer from each station at the courthouse. The way the courthouse is set up, there are two exits. No one was sure which exit the defendant would come out.
So, the stations agreed that each photographer would cover a different door, and which ever station got the footage would simply send it to the other -- thus, splitting the coverage.
Almost as soon as our reporters left, the defendant came out of the courthouse -- at the end opposite the one KAKE was covering. Fortunately, one of the other news station's photographers got the shot of him walking out of the courthouse; and they did end up sharing the video with us.
When we got back to the station, and I was talking to the news director about it, he said that they often did that whenever coverage was overlapped: shared helicopter rides over blocked off areas, shared video, shared stories, shared sources. Granted, it wasn't on a day-to-day basis, but perhaps every once in a while, he said, the Wichita TV stations would join their forces together for the sake of efficiency, decency, or (perhaps) simplicity.
Then, on our way back from a different assignment, which we were not giving too much attention to (since there weren't too many updates), we ran into a different news station on their way to the same story. Both the photographer and I were interested as to why they had decided to cover the story so in-depth since there weren't many changes in the story.
But, I suppose that -- at the end of the day -- competition can make the news better, or it can make it worse. Ultimately, if one station isn't getting people the information they need, then another station always has that opportunity.
Competition is better for the people and better for the industry, as a whole. Competition allows people more choices, more access to the latest technology, updates, etc. If the news industry were monopolized (especially by the government), there is good chance that the owners/directors/"big cats" would "brain wash" their audience into believing whatever they wanted them to. When you only hear certain stories, or certain sides of the story, or certain voices in a vast crowd, is that news? Monopolized news industries are sure to have their bias, and without any competition to keep them in check, they will persuade their audience into their manner of thinking.
Nevertheless, just as the quote in the title says: "Rivalry is the life of the trade, and the death of the trader."
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