'Miami Herald' Seeks New TV Partnership

By: Sandy Brown (Mediaweek) Newspaper and TV-station alliances in Miami were in flux last week as CBS Television Station Group's WFOR-TV and Post-Newsweek's WPLG-TV, the ABC affiliate in the market, both pursued a promotions and news-sharing pact with The Miami Herald.

The courting of South Florida's largest daily paper comes after NBC owned-and-operated WTVJ's recent decision to cut ties with the Herald and partner instead with Tribune Co.'s South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which, in turn, ended its relationship with WFOR.

As a result, the Herald is busy looking for a new broadcast alliance in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market. San Jose, Calif.-based Knight Ridder, parent company of the Herald, no longer owns any television stations but would like a new broadcast marketing partner in the area, according to stations executives in discussions with the paper. Calls made to the Herald for comment were not returned.

Executives at WPLG and WFOR-TV -- which is part of a CBS duopoly in the market along with UPN affiliate WBFS-TV -- confirmed that they were in talks with the Herald last week. "We really enjoyed our relationship with the Sun-Sentinel," said Steve Mauldin, vice president and general manager of WFOR-TV and WBFS-TV. "It would open up a lot of doors. We'd be very excited about the opportunity. There's a lot of upside when TV stations and newspapers work together in partnership."

After his meeting with the Herald late last week, John Garwood, WPLG-TV vice president and general manager, said the discussion of a possible partnership would likely continue for some time. "We're going to have talks about what possibilities exist and what synergies are there," he said.

The WTVJ/Sun-Sentinel switch was precipitated by a waiver on media cross-ownership rules granted to Tribune by the Federal Communications Commission this past summer. The exemption allows the multimedia company to consolidate the business operations of its station WBZL, the local WB affiliate, and the Sun-Sentinel. WTVJ is connected to the two Tribune outlets because it produces a 10 p.m. newscast for WBZL.

WTVJ President and General Manager Don Browne said that beyond the licensing fee his station receives from WBZL for producing its nightly half-hour newscast, there are a number of very attractive aspects to the new alliance, "which in theory should grow ratings and sell more newspapers."

Browne cited opportunities in sharing the news operations' respective talent and resources, cross-promotion and marketing, and conjoined community-outreach programs as all being positive aspects of the new relationship between his station and the Sun-Sentinel.

"There are a multitude of advantages to us being in the right places. This puts us everywhere in the market," said Browne, who pointed to his station's new ability to produce part of its news out of Tribune's Ft. Lauderdale facility as an added efficiency.

Less impressed with cross-company synergies, Miami media buyers were looking ahead to the November sweeps and how the new alliances might affect sweeps.

"We all have to take a wait-and-see position to see what kind of effect on the audience this will have," said Leroy Donald, a local media buyer with Zenith Media. "Given that WTVJ's position with WBZL is now consolidated, it looks like a good thing" for the station and the paper, added Donald. Other buyers took a more dim view of the value of stations and dailies joining forces.

Mike Poller, media director at the Miami-based media agency Poller & Jordan, said the recent alliance swaps will not amount to anything more than painting new logos on station's TV vans and that these deals won't make anyone read more papers or watch more news. "On the whole, there are more options for viewers," said Poller, who said the stations are trying to reinforce their brands by "hopping on the coattails" of the well-established newspapers in the market.