Local TV News Divisions Feeling Same Squeeze as Newspapers and Network News

Amid reports of a possible news-sharing partnership between CBS News and CNN and stories about layoffs at CBS stations around the country, today Matea Gold and Meg James of the L.A. Times write about the state of the local news gathering business.

They begin by noting the layoffs last week of more than 160 employees at CBS-owned stations in 13 cities, including a number of top anchors and seasoned correspondents.

"The jettisoning of such experienced on-air talent exposed the weakening of the once-robust local station business, which historically has enjoyed some of the fattest profit margins in the media industry," writes Ms. Gold and Ms. James. "It marked a dramatic shift from the days when television stations paid top dollar to attract big-name anchors."

"Today, stations are feeling the same financial squeeze as their newspaper and network news brethren," they add. "An economic slowdown, combined with changes in news consumption patterns and the migration of advertisers to the Internet, have contributed to a lean start to a year that was supposed to benefit from a gush of political advertising."

Deeper in the piece, the Times adds some new details about the cuts at CBS News:

The network news division has been undergoing its own cost cutting. Last week, CBS News laid off a little more than 1% of its 1,500-person staff. Executives have also been seeking to lower expenses at the network's Baghdad bureau, which costs the news division $7 million a year.

In recent weeks, CBS News executives had been in negotiations with CNN to license the cable news channel's coverage from Iraq when CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan was not there. The deal fell apart over the issue of international rights, according to an executive familiar with the discussions.