RunningHead:TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC

Reachingamovingtarget:HowlocalTVstationsareusingdigitaltools
toconnectwithGenerationC

DouglasA.Ferguson
ProfessorofCommunication
CollegeofCharleston
Charleston,SC

ClarkF.Greer
ProfessorofDigitalMedia&CommunicationArts
LibertyUniversity
Lynchburg,VA

SubmittedtotheMassCommunicationDivision
NationalCommunicationAssociation
AnnualConvention2015


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
2
Abstract
Televisionisexperiencinggenerationalshiftsinviewing,dueinlargeparttodigital
technologies.Thisstudyexaminedtheextenttowhichastratifiedrandomsampleof178local
televisionstationsintheUSaremeetingthedemandsandneedsofGenerationCthroughtheuse
ofsocialmedia,mobiletechnologyandotheronlinecommunicationtools.Themajorfindingof
thisstudywasthattelevisionstationshaveagrowingrepertoireofsocialmediaandother
connectivitytoolswithwhichtoengagetheirviewers,butthatstationsinlargermarketsare
makingfulleruseofinteractivetechnologies.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
3
Reachingamovingtarget:HowlocalTVstationsareusingdigitaltools
toconnectwithGenerationC
Thefactthatthetelevisionindustryisundergoingamassiveseachangeisnotsurprising
news.Nationalbroadcastnetworksandlocaltelevisionstationsarebothexperiencingseismic
shiftsinaudiences,aswellasinthewayprogrammingisdistributed.InanOctober2014
Newsweek
article,Maney(2014)asserted,broadcasttelevisionisabouttogothewayofAM
radio.Digitaltechnologiesarerapidlyalteringallfacetsoftheindustry.TheInternet,in
particular,hasservedasasignificantimpetusinchangingthenatureofsocietyfromonethatwas
traditionalandorganizedintothatwhichisnowcharacterizedasmobileandindividualized
(Maney,2014).EvenTVadvertisingisundergoingatransitioninsalesandplacementmethods
byexperimentingwithprogrammaticbuyingnationally(Shields&Marshall,2014)and
automatedspotsaleslocally(Stilson,2015).
Recenttrendsintelevisionviewershipoffertentativenewsforbroadcast'sfuture.Several
marketresearchstudieshavefoundthatthepreponderanceofviewersstillwatchtraditional
television(Friedman,2014),withmorethaneightintenviewerswatchingliveTVviaa
traditionalset(McAdams,2014).However,theotheraspectofviewershipisanagingTV
population.Inthe20132014televisionseason,theaverageageofviewerswasjustover44,
whilenetworkprogramviewersaveragednearly54yearsofage(Kang,2014).Onlythenumber
ofolderviewersremainsconsistent,whileyoungeraudiencenumbersaredecreasing.
Reportsaboutlocaltelevisionviewershipalsoarealsonotencouraging.Althoughthe
numberofpeoplewatchinglocalTVnewsincreasedfrom2012to2013,viewershipwasstill


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
4
downfrom2007to2013(Matsa,2014a).Reasonsfortheincreasein2013mighthavebeen
attributedtointerestinseveralmajornewstopics.
Withgenerationalshiftsintelevisionviewingpreferencesandtheproliferationofdiverse
digitalcommunications,howwellistheTVindustrystayingaheadofthecurve?Thatquestionis
especiallycrucialforthefutureoflocaltelevisionandtheemergenceoftheconnectedgeneration
GenerationC.Giventheextentofonlinenewsaccessandsharingthroughsocialmedia,as
wellascitizencontributionstotheprocess,MitchellandPage(2014)notedthatnewsoperations
mustbecomeinvolvedinmultipleformsofcontentdistribution.Withthatinmind,thepurpose
ofthisstudyistoexaminetheextenttowhichtelevisionstationshaveincorporatedsocial
networks,mobiletechnologiesandotherdigitaldistributionchannelsintotheirinformation
repertoires.
DefiningGenerationC
Audiencesegmentationhastypicallybeenbasedondelineatedageranges.Although
thereissomevariationinestablishingbirthyearsaccordingtodifferingsources,thereisgeneral
agreementontheidentificationandcharacteristicsofindividualsfallingwithinthoseparameters.
Forexample,theseincludedesignationssuchasSilent,BabyBoomersandGenerationX(see
e.g.,Fry,2015).Comparedwithgenerationaldivisionsbasedonstandarddemographicssuchas
birthyears,membersofGenerationCaredefinedaccordingtotheuseofcommunication
technology(Hardey,2011)and"basedoninterestsandbehavior"(Solis,2013,p.32).
AlthoughGenerationCdescribeslifestyleoveragecategories,millennialsages18to34
arethehighestpercentageofconnectedindividualsand"spendthemosttimeusingmedia"
(Irwin,2014,para.4).Inaddition,millennialsviewYouTubemorethananyotheronlinesource


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
5
(Guimares,2014).Furthermore,onereportpredictedthatGenerationCwillcomprisefourin
tenpeoplelivingintheU.S.by2020andwillprovidetheimpetusforeconomicgrowth,changes
inbusinesscommunicationandextendedsocialconnections(Friedrich,Peterson,&Koster,
2011).
AnearlydiscussionofGenerationCbyTrendwatcher(GenerationC,2004)defined
theseindividualsasconsistingoffourattributes:contentproducedbythegeneralpublic,
particularlyonline,ascomparedwithcontentgeneratedbyprofessionalscreativitycontrolby
theindividualoverpurchasesandproductdevelopmentandcelebritystatusoftheindividual
throughwidedistributionofonlinecontent.Friedrich,PetersonandKoster(2011)defined
GenerationCas"connected,communicating,controlcentric,computerized,
communityoriented"(para.6).
Alsoreferredtoasdigitalnatives,theseindividualshave"grownupwithubiquitous
digitaltechnology"(Manafy&Gautschi,2011,p.xi).ResearchbyMorrealeandcolleagues
(2014)foundthatGenerationCcollegestudentsperceivedthemselvestobecompetentintheuse
ofcommunicationtechnologies,andweremostactiveintextingandcellorsmartphoneuse,and
theuseofsocialmedia.Additionally,researchhasfoundthatcollegestudentsaresoconnected
totheiriPhonesthattheyexperiencedlessanxiety,lowerbloodpressureandheartrate,and
higherfeelingsofpleasantnesswhentheywereinpossessionofthephonewhenitwasringing
(Clayton,Leshner,&Almond,2015).
Thenotionofconnectivityisparticularlynoteworthy.Accordingtovariousmarket
researchreports,individualsages1834comprisethehighestpercentageofsocialmediausers
(Nielsen,2012),particularlyFacebook,Instagram,Twitter,Tumblr,PinterestandSnapchat


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
6
(Guimares,2014).OnlyLinkedInwasdominatedbyusersage35andolder(Guimares,2014).
GenerationCalsoviewsexperienceswithcompaniesasimportantandseestheimportanceof
sharingtheirexperienceswithothers(Solis,2013).Theyalsotendtotrustwhatpeoplewhothey
perceivetobefriendspostonline.OnestudyfoundthatmembersofGenerationCwere
confidentinthetruthfulnessofcommentspostedto"consumerreviewsites"(Hardey,2011,p.
761).Theabilitytoconnecthasalsoredefinedtheconceptofworkfortheseindividuals.For
them,workisnotrelegatedtoaspecifictimeandspace,oreventotheamountoftimespenton
individualtasks(Evans,2011),largelybecausetechnologyallowsthemtoworkandinteract
fromanywhereatanytime.
Attitudesaboutanorganizationbasedonitsuseoftechnologyisalsoapertinentissuefor
thepresentstudy.Forexample,priorresearchfoundthatmillennialshadahigherperceptionof
brandsthatusedsocialmedia(Agozzino,2012).InastudyofGenerationC,Hardey(2011)
concludedthat,inordertoreachthem,companiesneedtofacilitateusergeneratedcontentto
"buildbrandloyalty"andtobetterunderstandhowthatgroupthinksandwhattheythinkabout
(p.763).
ItisnotsimplythatGenerationCisconnectedonsocialmedia,butthattheyuseavariety
oftechnologies,suchasmobile,tomaintainconstantconnections(Solis,2013).Accordingto
Nielsen(2012),membersofthatgroup,ages1834,comprisethehighestpercentageofpeople
whoownmobiledevices.Inaddition,aPewResearchstudynotedthat83percentofsmartphone
ownerswereages1829(Mobiletechnology,2014).Usingacombinationoftechnologyisalso
afactor,withonereportrevealingthat60percentofsocialmediausebyayoungerdemographic
isthroughmobiledevices(Adler,2014).


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
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DiffusionTheoryandOrganizationalAdoptionofInnovations
Theimplementationofemergingtechnologiesbylocaltelevisionstationsisrooted
theoreticallyindiffusionofinnovations.Examiningtheadoptionofcommunicationplatforms,
suchassocialmedia,offeranunderstandingbothofthesenderandaudiencememberswho
choosetofollowthestation'ssocialnetworkpostings.Televisionstationsmightadopta
particularmedium,buttheperceivedeffectivenessofinnovationadoptiondecisionsarelimited
unlesstheiraudiencesbecomeapartofthecommunicationprocessbyfollowingorsubscribing
tothemedium.Diffusionisdefinedasaninnovationbeingcommunicatedovertimethrough
variousmediaamongmembersofasocialsystem(Rogers,1995).Inthepresentstudy,thesocial
systembeingexaminedislocaltelevisionstationsandtheextenttowhichthoseentitieshave
adoptedtheuseofsocialnetworks,informationfeedsthroughRSSandmobiledevices(suchas
apps)toconnectwithGenerationC.
Innovationadoptionoccursattwolevels.Attheindividuallevel,whetherornotaperson
adoptsagiveninnovationisrelatedtofiveperceivedcharacteristicsoftheinnovation(Rogers,
1995).Firstisrelativeadvantage,whichincludesweighingthebenefitsofadoptingthe
innovationcomparedwithcosts.Individualsmayalsodecideaboutimplementinganinnovation
basedonthecompatibilityoftheinnovationwiththeperson'svalues,knowledgeandexperience
withsimilarinnovations.Third,isassessingthelevelofcomplexityassociatedwiththe
innovation.Forthischaracteristic,higherlevelsofperceivedcomplexitymeanlesschanceof
adoption.Thelasttwoinnovationcharacteristics,observabilityandtrialability,involvethe
potentialadopterseeingtheinnovationinusebyothersandtryingtheinnovationthemselves.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
8
Adoptionofinnovationsmayalsooccurattheorganizationallevel.Asitrelatestothe
catalystforadoption,therearedifferingmotivationsfororganizationaldiffusion(Rogers,1995).
Oneisoptionalanddeterminedbytheindividual.Second,themotivationtoimplementan
innovationmaybecollective,withtheadoptiondecisionmadebyagroup.Third,adoptionmay
beauthoritydriven,inwhich"fewindividuals"makethedeterminationtoadoptapracticeor
object(p.372).
Therearevariousfactorsthatinfluencetheimplementationofideasorobjectsin
organizationalsettings.Theseinclude"organizationalstructure,"theamountofresources
available,management,aswellasindividualswhoserveaseitherapositiveornegative
influenceofadoption(Rogers,1995,p.376).Organizationsmayalsoencounterissuessuchas
"performancegap,"whichisthedifferencebetweenanticipatedandactualresultsof
implementinganinnovation(Rogers,1995,p.393).Additionally,thesizeofanorganizationhas
beenfoundtocorrelatewiththedegreeofinnovativemess,sothat"
Largerorganizationsare
moreinnovative
"(Rogers,1995,p.379,emphasisinoriginal).Giventhatfactor,thefollowing
hypothesisisproposed:
H1:Televisionstationsinlargermarketswillevidenceahigherlevelofinnovativenessas
seenintheimplementationoftoolsforconnectivity.
LocalTVStationsTechnologyAdoption
Threetrendsareparticularlynoteworthyregardingthecurrentandfuturestatusof
television.Oneistimeshiftedviewing.AlthoughviewerspreferwatchingTVonatraditional
set,onestudyfoundthatjustover40percentpreferviewinglivetelevision,while43percent
preferredviewingatadifferenttime(Friedman,2014).Digitalisplayinganimportantrolein


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
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viewerdynamics.LiveTVviewingisdecliningamongyoungerages,dueto"timeshiftingand
newonlineoptions"(Pallota,2014,para.2).Nielsen(2014a)reportedthattotaltimeviewingTV
hadincreasedin2014however,thegrowthwasattributedtoonlineviewing,withincreasesin
digitalconsumption.
Asecondtrendistheuseofalternativetechnologies,includingacquiringvideocontent
viamobiledevices,andbyoptingforstreamedprogrammingandoptingoutofcableservices
(i.e.,cordcutting).OnlineproviderssuchasNetflixandHuluhavebeeninexistenceforseveral
yearshowever,traditionalprogramprovidersarebeginningtotapintochangesinaudience
preferencesbyinstitutingtheirownformofalacartetelevision.Forexample,CBSis
attemptingtoattractcordcuttersbystartingitsownstreamingservice(Steel,2014).
ThethirdTVindustrytrendistheimpactofsocialmediaonnewsconsumption.Astudy
bythePewResearchCenterfoundthatsocialmediausersarealsousingthenetworkstoshare
storiesoreventocontributecontent(Matsa,2014a).AbouthalfofFacebookusersgetnewsfrom
thesocialnetwork,althoughmorethanthreequartersofthosepeoplegetnewsincidentally
(Matsa,2014b).Thereportalsonotedthatthedemographicsofpeoplewhoaccessnewson
socialmediavaries,withages3049predominantonFacebookandGoogle+,whilethetopage
groupfornewsis1829onTwitterandYouTube.
Overthepastthreedecades,mediascholarshavestudiedtheevolvinguseofvarious
technologiesbylocaltelevisionstationsintheU.S.Forexample,apairofstudiesinthe1980s
examinedtheuseofsatellitenewsgathering(SNG)equipment.Onestudyfoundthatlessthana
fifthofstationsusedSNGgear,withlargemarketstationshavingmore"access"tothe
technology(Lacy,Atwater&Powers,1988).Thesecondstudynotedthatcostwasanissuein


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
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adoption(Lacy,Atwater,Qin&Powers,1988).Additionally,competitionwasapartofthe
adoptionrationale,inthatahigherdegreeofcompetitionmeantitwasmorelikelyastation
woulduseSNGequipment.Basedonmarketdynamics,thefollowinghypothesisisproposed:
H2:Stationsinmorecompetitivemarketswillevidencemoreuseofconnectivitytools
thanlesscompetitivemarkets.
ResearchaboutemergingtechnologyandTVstationshasalsoincludedaseriesofstudies
abouttheadoptionoftheWeb.ComparedwiththeSNGfindingsnotedabove,onestudyfound
thattherewasnorelationshipbetweencompetitionandthetypeofcontentonTVstations'
websites(Kiernan&Levy,1999).However,theresearchrevealedthatthereweresome
significantdifferencesinsitecontentbasedonnetworkaffiliationandincome.Theresearchers
concludedthatstationsatthetimedidnotappeartobeusingtheWeb'sfullpotential.Basedon
thatfinding,thisstudyseekstoanswerthefollowingresearchquestion:
RQ1:Whatistherelationshipbetweennetworkaffiliationanduseofconnectivitytools
bylocalTVstations?
Typeofcontentofferedonlinehasalsobeenconsidered.ChanOlmstedandPark(2000)
foundthatfewTVstationsofferedwebcastsofnews,withmoststationssimplyusingtext.They
alsonotedthattherewaslittlepresenceofinteractiveelementsorameansforsitevisitorsto
offerfeedback.Instead,thefocuswasondeliveringnewsandprogramminginformation.In
recentyears,YouTubehasbecomeapopularmediumforyoungeraudiencestobothviewand
contributecontent.A2014studybyPewResearchfoundthat,foradultWebusersoverall,
YouTubewasthesecondmostaccessedsocialnetworkafterFacebook,withmorethaneightin
ten1829yearoldshavingusedthatonlineresource(Anderson,2015).


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
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ResearchhasalsoexaminedhowbroadcastandcablenetworksusetheWebasatoolfor
enhancedtelevision(Ha,2002).Thestudyfoundthereweresomedifferencesinwhatbroadcast
TVandcableofferedontheirwebsites.Broadcastnetworkshadmorevideoclipsand
programminginformationtoconnectwithshowfollowers.Incontrast,cablenetworkwebsites
weremoreuserfriendlyandhadmoreinteractivefeaturesthroughgamesandquizzes.The
analysisalsorevealedthatneitherbroadcastorcablesitesprovidedmanyparticipation
opportunities.
Localtelevisionstationsattempttodifferentiatethemselvesfromtheircompetition
throughprogramming,technologyandpromotion.Somestationshaveexperimentedwith
convergedoperationswithnewspapersthatincludedsharingnewsandresources(Singer,2004
Smith,Tanner&Duh,2007).Otherresearchfoundthatstationsalsouseweathertechnology,
suchasradarand"satellitemaps,"asapromotionstrategy(Daniels&Loggins,2010).In
particular,thestudynotedthatthetopstationsinamarketweremorelikelytobrandtheir
weathercasts.
Morerecently,anumberofstudieshavefocusedontelevisionandsocialmedia.
ResearchcomparingTVnetworksandmajornewspapersfoundthatthenetworksreliedon
Twitterasanewssourcemorethandidthenewspapersexaminedinthestudy(Moon&Hadley,
2014).AstudyoflocalTVstationTwitterpostingsfoundthatuseofthesocialnetworkdiffered
accordingtomarketsize(Greer&Ferguson,2011).Largemarketstationshadmoreinvitations
forinteraction,whilestationsinmediumsizemarketsweremorelikelytouseTwittertopromote
thestation'swebsite.Overall,Twitterpostingscomprisedmostlynewscontentandlittle
promotion.Similarly,researchaboutTVstationuseofPinterestfoundthatonlyabout


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
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20percentofpinspromotedthestations,withlifestylethepredominanttypeofcontent
(Ferguson&Greer,2015).Marketsizewasrelatedtopostingsinthatlargemarketstationshad
themostpinboardsandmorefollowers,butstationsinsmallmarketsprovidedmorepins.Given
findingsofthesestudies,thefollowingresearchquestionisposed:
RQ2:Whatistheextenttowhichstationsarecreatingcommunity,basedonmarketand
stationcharacteristics?
Giventhewidespreaduseofsmartphonesby1829yearolds(Mobiletechnology,
2014)anddependenceonthistechnologybycollegestudents(Clayton,Leshner&Almond,
2015),itisalsopertinenttoexaminethisaspectoflocalTVconnectivity.Todate,onlyahandful
ofstudieshaveconsideredmobiledevicesinrelationtotraditionaltelevision.Onestudy
examinedtheuseofiPadstowatchtelevisionandfoundthatviewingTVontabletcomputers
wassupplementingratherthanreplacingwatchingtelevisiononatraditionalset(Greer&
Ferguson,2014).AstudyoftelevisionstationsinTampa,Florida,foundthatnewsonthe
stations'websiteswasthesameasthatfoundonthestations'mobileapps(Padley,2012).
Drawingonfindingsofpriorresearchaboutmobiletechnologyandtelevision,thisstudyseeksto
answerthefollowingquestions:
RQ3:Whatistherelationshipbetweenstationcharacteristicsandtheextenttowhich
televisionstationsarecommunicatingviamobileapps,RSSfeedsandalerts?
RQ4:Whatistherelationshipbetweenstationcharacteristicsandtheextenttowhich
stationsprovideopportunitiestocontributecontent?


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
13
Method
Stationswereselectedthroughastratified,systematicselectionaccordingtomethods
adaptedfrompriorresearch(ChanOlmsted&Park,2000Kiernan&Levy,1999).Stratawere
definedaslarge(150),medium(51100)andsmall(101210)markets.Withineachstratum,
20%ofmarketswereselectedsystematicallywitharandomstart.Thisresultedinselecting10
marketseachformediumandlarge,and22smallmarkets.180stationswerecoded.Twoof
thoseweremissingevenbasicinformation.
Withineachmarket,theauthorsaccessedthewebsitesofallfullpower,
EnglishlanguagestationsthatwereaffiliatedwithABC,CBS,NBC,FoxandCWnetworks.
WebsiteswereprimarilylocatedusingStationIndex.com,whichlistsmarketsinorderoflargest
tosmallestbasedontheestimatednumberofTVhomes,aswellasstationswithinthosemarkets
andlinkstothestationswebsite.Someweblinkswereoutdatedandlinkstosomeotherstations
werenotprovided.Inthoseinstances,asearchwasconductedforthestationsitethroughaweb
searchengine.Forsituationsinwhichmultiplestationssharedasinglewebsiteandsocialmedia
links,theauthorsrecordeddataforthestationsasiftheywereindividualentities.
Codinginvolvedsearchingthestationswebsiteforlinkstosixsocialmedia:Facebook,
Twitter,Instagram,Pinterest,Google+andYouTube.Thosesocialnetworkswereselectedfor
inclusioninthisstudybecausetheyrepresentedsixoftheeightmostvisitedsocialmediasitesin
lateOctober2014(Experian,2014).Also,apreliminarysitereviewrevealedthatTVstations
werelikelytoofferalinktooneormoreofthosesixsocialmedia.Websitestypicallydisplayed
socialmediaiconsatthetoporbottomofthehomepage.Socialmediasiteswereprimarily


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
14
accessedthroughthoselinks.Ifalinkforasocialmediasitewasnotpresentonthehomepage,a
Websearchwasconductedtodetermineifthestationhadagivensocialmediaaccount.
Theresearchersfirstrecordedthenetworkaffiliationofthestation,theNielsen
DesignatedMarketArea(DMA)rankandtheestimatednumberofTVhomes(Nielsen,2014b).
GiventhatthefocusofthisresearchisthewaylocalTVconnectswithGenerationC,codingof
socialmediaandothertechnologicalfeatureswasbasedonthreecharacteristicsofthat
generationnotedpreviously(e.g.,GenerationC,2004Friedrich,Peterson&Koster,2011):
Connected,Content/ControlandCommunity.
Connected
:Toassesslevelofstationconnectivity,theresearchersindicatedwhetheror
notthestationprovidedRSSfeeds,offeredamobileapporlinkedtoasitefortheuserto
downloadanapp,orprovidedawaytosignupforemailortextalerts.
Content/Control
:OnecharacteristicofGenerationCistheirdesiretocontributecontent.
Forthisstudy,contentwasoperationalizedasthestationencouragingandprovidingalocation
forvisitorstocontributecontentviathewebsite.Thisincludedpostingphotos,videosornews
tips.Forthiscategory,researchersindicatedwhetherornotthestationofferedthisfeature(0=no
1=yes)..
Community
:Codinghereincludedtwoelementsthatcomprisethenotionofcommunity:
thestationspostingofcontentandthelevelofbelongingtothestationcommunityasindicated
bythenumberoffollowers(Twitter,Pinterest,Instagram,Google+),subscribersandviews
(YouTube)andlikes(Facebook).
Table1isasummaryofthecontinuousmeasures:likes,tweets,pins,posts,views,
subscribers,followers,TVhouseholds.Nointerpretationwasnecessary,sointercoderreliability


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
15
wasnotanissue.Contentofferedamongthesixsocialmediatoolswasrecodedasdichotomous
(0=none,1=oneormorepieceofcontent(e.g.,tweets),butthensummedintoan
implementationofsocialtoolsscorerangingfrom0to6(
M
=3.70,
SD
=1.71,
N
=178).
Amongthe178stationsinthefinalsample,Facebookwasthemostcommonsocial
medium(169stations).Twitterwasusedby161stations,YouTube(associatedwithGoogle+by
ownership)had100stations.PinterestandInstagramwereusedby72and68stations,
respectively.
Table2showsthefrequencycountsforthediscretemeasures:mobileapps,RSSfeeds,
alerts,andinvitedcontributions(allofwhichwerecoded1whenthestationwebsiteindicated
theuseofthesetools).Mobileappsfounduseinthelargestportionofstations(63.48percent),
followedbyRSSfeeds(59.89percent),invitedcontributions(58.99percent)andemail/text
alerts(56.74percent).Alloftheseseemedinfluencedbywhetherthatstationofferedlocalnews,
whichwasunlikelyforCWaffiliatesandsomeFoxstations.Theapps,feeds,andalertswere
summedintoamobiletoolsvariablerangingfrom0to3(
M
=1.81,
SD
=1.13,
N
=177).
Competitivenesswasmeasuredbysortingthemarketsintotwogroups,lowandhigh,by
virtueofstationscollaboratingwithownership,websitecooperation,orfewerthan4
networkaffiliatedstations(coded1forlow,
n
=84).Highcompetitionstations(coded2,
n
=95)
hadfourormorenetworkaffiliatedstationsandshowednocollaborationforsocialtools,
ownershiporsharedlocalnews).Lowcompetitionstationswerenotsynonymouswithstationsin
smallmarkets.Forexample,Jacksonville(DMAnumber48)wascodedlowcompetitionand
Pocatello(DMAnumber163)wascodedhigh.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
16
Results
Thefirsthypothesisproposedthatstationsinlargermarketswouldevidenceahigher
levelofinnovativenessintheuseofvariousdigitaltools.Thishypothesiswastestedby
comparingtheimplementationofsocialtoolsacrossthethreemarketsizegroups(83stations
belowthetop100DMA,46inthesecond50DMA,and50inthetop50DMA.AnANOVA
2
test,
F
(2,176)=8.78,
p
=.000,
=.03,showedsmall,significantgroupdifferencesbetween

theimplementationscore(3.17)forbottomrankedstationsandthetop50(4.34)andsecond50
stations(3.97),usingTukeybposthoccomparison(
p
<.05).H1wassupported(seeTable3).
Hypothesistwosoughttodetermineifstationsinmorecompetitivemarketswould
evidencemoreuseofdigitalconnectivitytoolsthanstationsinlesscompetitivemarkets.The
hypothesiswastestedusingthesameimplementationscore.Anindependentvariablesttest,
t
(177)=1.06,
p
=.29,revealednodifferencebetweenlowcompetitionstations(
M
=3.56,
SD
=
1.71,
n
=84)andhighcompetitionstations(
M
=3.83,
SD
=1.72,
n
=95).H2wasnotsupported.
Thefirstresearchquestionconsideredwhethernetworkaffiliationmadeadifferencein
2
theimplementationofsocialtools.AnANOVAtest,
F
(4,174)=5.98,p=.000,
=.09,

revealeddifferencesbetweentheimplementationscoreforCWaffiliates(2.39,
n
=23)andthe
scoresfortheotherfournetworkstations:Fox(3.32,
n
=37),ABC(3.90,
n
=41),NBC(4.16,
n
=38),andCBS(4.18,
n
=40),usingTukeybposthoccomparison(
p
<.05).RQ1thusrevealed
somedifferencewithregardtonetworkaffiliation,possiblyrelatedtowhetherastationcarried
localnews(seeTable4).
Researchquestiontwoconsidereddifferencesinthenumberoftweets,postsandpins.An
2
ANOVAtest(
F
(2,175)=26.36,
p
=.000,
=.23)showedlargedifferencesinsummedcontent


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
17
activityamongthethreemarketgroups:Top50stations(
N
=49)averaged48,442tweets,posts
andpins,whilesecond50DMAstations(
N
=47)had37,622postsandstationsbelowthetop
100had17,213(allthreegroupsdiffered
p
<.05byTukeybposthoccomparison).SeeTable5.
Althoughnothingpreventssmallmarketstationsfrompostingasmuchcontentaslargeaffiliates
(andsomestationsdid),topmarketstationsonaverageseemtogivesuchcommunitybuildinga
higherpriority.
Thesecondresearchquestionalsoexamineddifferencesbynetworkaffiliation.Another
2
onewayANOVA(F(4,173)=6.85,p=.00,
=.14)showedthatpostingcontentdifferedby

networkaffiliationdividedintoonegroupcomprisedofthepostsofCWaffiliates(6,822.48,
n
=
21)andasecondgroupcomprisedofthepostsoftheotherfournetworkstations:Fox
(25,827.95,
n
=37),ABC(33,195.36,
n
=42),CBS(37,062.05,
n
=40),andNBC(41,804.08,
n
=38),usingTukeybposthoccomparison(
p
<.05).RQ2thusrevealedsomedifferencewith
regardtonetworkaffiliation(seeTable6).
Thethirdresearchquestionconcernedtheinfluenceofmarketsizeandnetwork
affiliation(i.e.,stationcharacteristics)onstationconnectivityasmeasuredbymobileapps,RSS
feeds,andalerts.TwoANOVAtestsrevealedsignificantdifferences.Formarketsize,Tukeyb
posthoccomparisons(
p
<.05)showedthattop50stationsscored2.28(outofthe3tools)while
smallerstationsscoredlower:second50DMAscored1.83andmarketsbelowthetop100
2
scored1.51(
F
(2,174)=7.79,
p
=.001,
=.08).SeeTable7.UsingTVhouseholdsinsteadof

groups,Pearsons
r
confirmedthefinding,correlatingexactsizeofmarketwithuseof
connectivitytools(
r
=.22,
p
=.003).NetworkaffiliationbyANOVA(
F
(4,172)=6.63,
p
=
2
.0001,
=.13)clearlyidentifiedCWaffiliates(0.91)standingaloneinthelowgroupandNBC


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
18
affiliates(2.29)inthehighgroupintheposthoctests,butthemiddlegroupshowedsome
Tukeyboverlap(Fox1.57)comparedwithABC(1.86)andCBS(2.00),withABCandCBS
bothappearinginthehighandmiddlegroupings.Nevertheless,networkaffiliationmattered.See
Table8.
Researchquestionfouraddresseddifferencesrelatedtothesamestationcharacteristics,
butwithregardtoinvitedcontributions.Allthevariableswerenominal,sotwochisquare
2
crosstabulationswereused.Inthefirstcrosstab,marketsize(
(2,
N
=178)=6.82,
p
=.03)

showeddifferenceswith74.0percentoftop50marketssolicitingcontributionsfromviewers,
followedby56.5percentofsecond50marketsand51.2percentofDMAbelow100.Inthe
2
secondcrosstab,networkaffiliation(
(4,
N
=178)=14.24,
p
=.01)showeddifferenceswith

76.0percentofNBCstationssolicitingcontributionsfromviewers.followedby65.0percentof
CBSstations,61.9percentforABCaffiliates,47.2percentofFoxstations,and31.8percentof
CWaffiliates.Forallstationscombined,59percentinvitedviewercontributions.
Discussion
Nationaltelevisionnetworksaswellaslocaltelevisionstationsareexperiencingchanges
thatrangefromprogrammingdistributionmethodstoshiftsinaudiences.Astheaverageageof
televisionviewersincreases(Kang,2014),animportantissueishowwellboththeindustryand
localstationsaredealingwithchanges,includingcultivatingrelationshipswithyoungeraudience
memberswhorelyheavilyonsocialnetworks(Nielsen,2014)andmobiledevices(Mobile
technology,2014).ThisstudyfocusedontheextenttowhichlocalTVstationsareusingtop
socialmediaplatforms,mobiletechnologyandotherdigitaltoolstoconnectwithGenerationC.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
19
Themajorfindingofthisstudyisthattelevisionstationshaveagrowingrepertoireof
socialmediaandotherconnectivitytoolswithwhichtoengagetheirviewers,butthatstationsin
largermarketsaremakingfulleruseofinteractivetechnologies.Thefindingofsignificant
differencesaccordingtomarketsizeintheimplementationofthesetoolsalsosupportsRogers
(1995)notionthatlargerorganizationsevidencemoreinnovativeness.AlthoughRogersfocused
onorganizationalsize,thereisaconnectedbetweenmarketandstationsizes,particularly
regardingresources.
Smallermarketstationssometimesfeelataneconomicdisadvantagecomparedtolarger
affiliates,especiallywithregardtostateoftheartequipmentandhighpricedtalent.Butopting
tooffercontentonsocialmediaisessentialfree.Insomeoftheverysmallmarketsweobserved,
thosewithsmallstaffsandminimalbudgets,theuseofFacebookandTwitterwassubstantial,
evenspreadingtoInstagram(youngeraudiences)andPinterest(femaleviewers).Encouraging
viewerstosendphotosorvideotothelocalnewsproducersisanactivitythantranscends
economicresources,yetitwasmostlylargemarketstationsthatengagedinsuchoutreachtothe
massaudience.
Networkaffiliationwasalsoadifferentiatingcharacteristicofstationswithregardto
socialmediause,confirmingpreviousresearch(Kiernan&Levy,1999).CWaffiliateswerefar
lesslikelytocourtviewerswithsocialmediaandotherinteractivefeatures.Itmightbeargued
thatCWstationsareweaksisteroperations,especiallywithregardtolocalnewsprogramming.
Competitionamongstationsinamarketwasnotfoundtobeaninfluenceonsocialmedia
use,confirmingKiernan&Levy(1999),butdisconfirmingLacy,Atwater,Qin&Powers(1988).
Thekeydifferenceinthosetwostudiesperhapscentereduponwheretherewasadifficult


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
20
economicchoice:Asnotedabove,usingwebsites(andsocialmedia)isnotaspricedrivenas
purchasingsatellitenewsgatheringequipment.Itmightalsobeanissueofwhetherthestation
dedicatespersonneltosocialmedia.Furtherstudyiswarrantedtodeterminetheinfluenceof
intramarketcompetition.
Opportunitiesforaudienceparticipationwasalsoaconcerninthisstudy.Aswithother
comparisons,thetopmarketshadthemostincidentsofopportunitiestoparticipatethroughsuch
meansascontributingnewsstoryideasorpostingphotosandvideos.Thisfindingis
commensuratewithpriorresearchaboutTwitter,whichfoundthatlargemarketstationswere
morelikelytoinviteinteractionoffollowers(Greer&Ferguson,2011).Regardingnetwork
affiliation,thehighestnumberofstationsthatofferedopportunitiestocontributewereassociated
withNBC.
MembersofGenerationCaredefinedbycharacteristicssuchasadesiretocontribute
content,creativity,connectivityandcomputeruse(seee.g.,GenerationC,2004Friedrich,
Peterson,&Koster,2011).TheanalysisinthisstudyexaminedTVstationsdigitalofferings
associatedwithconnected,content/controlandcommunity.Nearlytwothirdsofthestations
offeredmobileapps.Almost60%ofstationsprovidedRSSfeedsandaround56%offeredalerts
ofvarioustypes.Thisfindingiscrucialforstations,giventheimportanceGeneration
C/millennialsplaceontheirsmartphonesforcommunication(Mobiletechnology,2014Solis,
2013),includingtheuseofmobiledevicestochecknews(Edmonds,2015).Regarding
content/control,nearly59%ofstationsprovidedopportunitiestocontributecontent.
Astudyin2015foundthatFacebook,YouTubeandInstagramwerethetopthreesocial
mediasourceswheremillennialsgetnews(Howmillennialsgetnews,2015).TVstationsin


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
21
thepresentstudyalsoevidencedasenseofcommunitybuildingthroughsocialmedia,primarily
Facebook.AlargepercentageofstationsalsohadaTwitteraccount.However,therewaslittle
useofInstagramandarelativelysmallnumberofstationpostsonthatsocialmedium.Infact,
only68ofthestationshadanInstagramaccount.Givenitspopularityamong1834yearolds
(Guimares,2014),itseemsthatstationswouldbemoreactiveintheuseofInstagram.In
addition,forstationswithYouTubeaccounts,therewasalargenumberofviewsoverall,buta
smallsubscriberbase.Thismightindicatethat,whilepeopleareaccessingastationsvideo
contentthroughYouTube,theyarenotconnectingassubscribers.Becausethisstudyexamined
onlynumbersofviewsandsubscribers,resultscannotbeassociatedwithaparticularagegroup.
FutureresearchshouldseektoprovidedetailsaboutviewershipofTVstationYouTubesites.
Thisstudydidnotinterviewstationpersonneltoascertainthemotivestoengagewith
theirviewers.Futureresearchshouldsurveypromotionmanagersregardingtheiruseoffree
mediatopromotestationprogrammingandnewstalent.Anotherfutureapproachwouldbeto
measureviewersselfreportedpreferencesforsocialmediacontentandmobileapps
downloadedfromlocalstations.ItwouldbeinterestingtocomparethehabitsofGenerationCto
moretraditionalviewers.
AnumberofotherobservationssurfacedthatarepertinentfortheTVindustryingeneral
andlocaltelevisionstationsinparticular.First,somestationsutilizedawidearrayoftoolsto
connectwiththeiraudiences,includingsocialmediaandmobiletechnologies.However,findings
aremixedwhenitcomestoprovidingfeaturesthatmatchthecharacteristicsofGenerationC.As
theTVnewsaudienceages,itisimperativethatstationsfindwaystoincorporatedigital
technologiesintotheircommunicationrepertoireinanefforttocourtyoungersegmentsoftheir


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
22
markets.Justhavingcontent,however,willnotaccomplishthatobjective.Rather,stationsalso
needtoencourageinteractionthroughusergeneratedcontentandsharingtoaddvaluetolocal
newsandinformation.
Second,somestationsaretakingadvantageoftechnology,whileothersareslowtoadopt
somefeaturesdiscussedinthisstudy.Itiscrucialthatstationschangetheiroperationalmodelto
onethatincorporatesdiversetools,rangingfromsocialtomobiletoparticipatory,especiallyto
encouragethedevelopmentofcommunityversuspassivefollowers.Thiscouldincludetailoring
contenttoGenerationC.ItalsomeansprovidingnewsandinformationviaYouTubeto
capitalizeonthedesireforviewingflexibilityandtimeshifting(Pallota,2014).Inaddition,
stationsneedtobeflexibleandcreativeinfindingwaystoimplementtheemergenceofnew
socialmediaplatforms.
Wefounditoddthatstationswouldmakeanefforttoreachspecializedaudienceson
Instagram,PinterestandYouTube,butoftenneglecttodisplayaniconforthosevenues
alongsidetheubiquitouslogosforFacebookandTwitter.Veryyoungviewersmightbemore
inclinedtofollowstationsonInstagramthanFacebook,becausetheyseethelatterastoomuch
inthemainstream.In2015,somestationsstartedtoconsiderlesserknownsocialmediatools
likeSnapchatbecauseofyouthappeal(Marszalek,2015).Futureresearchshouldexaminethat
allegedtrend.
Somelimitationsshouldbenotedregardingthisstudy.Duetoitsfocusoncontent
analysis,thisstudyonlyexaminedobservablenumbersofpostings,followers,views,and
subscribers.Itdidnotanalyzetypesofcontent.Futureresearchshouldcomparethetypesof
newsthisagegroupaccesseswiththecontentthatstationsprovideviasocialmedia.Second,


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
23
giventhenatureofthisstudy,findingscannotbeassociatedwiththeextenttowhichyounger
audiencesareengagedinTVstationuseoftechnologies.Thatisalsoisatopicforfuture
research.Finally,asnotedearlier,thisstudyfocusedonstationusesofdigitaltoolsand,
therefore,doesnotincludeananalysisofstationoperations.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
24
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TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
31
Table1
Descriptivesummaryofcontinuousmeasures
__________________________________________________________________________
Variable

Minimum Maximum Mean

StdDev

Facebooklikes

169

264

3,754,024

117,772.88

307,202.17

Stationtweets

161

27

119,000

34,049.07

27,466.83

Twitterfollowers

161

42

724,000

28,169.88

62,201.86

Instagramposts

68

1,451

399.01

379.48

Instagramfollowers

68

43,114

2,100.51

5,488.53

Pinterestpins

72

12,995

791.53

1,774.48

Pinterestfollowers

72

2,527

466.13

507.71

YouTubeviews

100

77

76,803,609

YouTubesubscribers

100

26,291

1,265.67

3,555.57

Google+views

102

12,479,021

462,007.25

1,520,652.81

Google+followers

100

441,412

12,569.41

64,130.01

a
Stationposts

178

119,000

31,259.26

28,293.90

b
Stationviews

178

81,623,240

2,297,171.67

9,426,522.36

c
Implementation

179

3.70

1.71

d
Mobiletools

177

1.81

1.13

TotalTVHH

180

16,580

3,477,250

597,440.56

718,039.74

3,617,718.18 11,936,875.42

_______________________________________________________________________

a
sumoftweets,posts,pins
b
sumofYouTubeandGoogle+views
c
sumofdichotomoususeofFacebook,Twitter,Instagram,Pinterest,YouTube,Google+
d
sumofdichotomousvariablesmobileapps,RSSfeeds.email/textalerts(seeTable2)


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
32
Table2
Frequenciesofdichotomousvariables

Label

Value

Frequency Percent

Mobileapps

No

65

36.52

Yes

113

63.48

Total

178

100.00

Missing

RSSfeeds

No

71

40.11

Yes

106

59.89

Total

177

100.00

Missing

Alerts

No

77

43.26

Yes

101

56.74

Total

178

100.00

Missing

Invitedcontributions No

73

41.01

Yes

105

58.99

Total

178

100.00

Missing


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
33
Table3
(H1)
Onewayanalysisoftheimplementationofsocialtoolsbymarketsize
______________________________________________________________________________
Source

df

SS

MS

______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups

47.47

Withingroups

176

475.84

Total

178

1523.31

9.07

8.78

.00

.03

2.22

______________________________________________________________________________

TukeyB
posthoccomparison

Subsetforalpha=0.05

MarketSize

Belowtop100

83

3.17

2nd50markets

46

3.98

Top50markets

50

4.34

____________________________________________________________________________

Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
34
Table4
(RQ1)
Onewayanalysisoftheimplementationofsocialtoolsbynetworkaffiliation
______________________________________________________________________________
Source

df

SS

MS

______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups

47.47

Withingroups

174

460.02

Total

178

523.31

15.82

5.98

.00

.09

2.64

______________________________________________________________________________

TukeyB
posthoccomparisons

______________________________________________________________________________
Subsetforalpha=0.05
Network

CW

23

2.39

Fox

37

3.32

ABC

41

3.90

NBC

38

4.16

CBS

40

4.18

____________________________________________________________________________

Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
35
Table5

(RQ2)
Onewayanalysisofpostinga
bymarketsize

______________________________________________________________________________
Source

df

SS

MS

______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups

32,800,000,000 16,400,000,000

Withingroups

175

108,900,000,000

Total

177

141,700,000,000

26.36

.00

.23

622,200,000

______________________________________________________________________________
a

Postingwasthesumoftweets,Instagramposts,andpins

TukeyB
posthoccomparison

Subsetforalpha=0.05
MarketSize

Belowtop100

82

17,213

2nd50markets

47

37,622

Top50markets

49

48,442

____________________________________________________________________________

Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
36
Table6

(RQ2)
Onewayanalysisofpostinga
bynetworkaffiliation

______________________________________________________________________________
Source

df

SS

MS

______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups

19,360,000,000 4,840,000,000

Withingroups

173 122,300,000,000

Total

177 141,700,000,000

6.85

.00

.14

707,100,000

______________________________________________________________________________

TukeyB
posthoccomparisons

______________________________________________________________________________
Subsetforalpha=0.05
Network

CW

21

6822.48

Fox

37

25,827.95

ABC

42

33,195.36

NBC

40

37,062.05

NBC

38

41,804.08

____________________________________________________________________________

Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
37
Table7

(RQ3)
Onewayanalysisofstationconnectivitya
bymarketsize

______________________________________________________________________________
Source

df

SS

MS

______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups

18.53

Withingroups

174

206.94

Total

176

225.47

9.27

7.79

.001

.08

1.19

______________________________________________________________________________
a

Connectivitywasthesumofmobileapps,RSSfeedsandalerts

TukeyB
posthoccomparison

Subsetforalpha=0.05

MarketSize

Belowtop100

81

1.51

2nd50markets

46

1.83

Top50markets

50

2.28

_________________________________________________________________

Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.


TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
38
Table8

(RQ3)
Onewayanalysisofstationconnectivitya
bynetworkaffiliation

______________________________________________________________________________
Source

df

SS

MS

______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups

30.12

7.53

Withingroups

172

195.35

Total

176

225.47

6.63

.00

.13

1.14

______________________________________________________________________________
a

Connectivitywasthesumofmobileapps,RSSfeedsandalerts

TukeyB
posthoccomparisons

______________________________________________________________________________
Subsetforalpha=0.05
Network

CW

22

0.91

Fox

35

1.57

ABC

42

1.86

1.86

CBS

40

2.00

2.00

NBC

38

2.29

____________________________________________________________________________

Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.