ABSTRACT
Local television news organizations are faced with increasing competition and a decreasing audience. With the advent and success of regional cable news operations and with the proliferation of news sources now available via home computer, future success of local TV news is likely to be linked with its ability to convince viewers that it is in touch with the local community. Education is a process that might open a dialogue between stations and communities of color, whether it's the station trying to educate the public on how to get a story covered or whether it's community members taking time to educate journalists about local history and current concerns. A qualitative approach was chosen for several reasons. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in the midst of deregulating the broadcast industry, have created an atmosphere in which increasingly fewer and fewer companies own more and more television stations.
