News Releases

RTDNA/ Hofstra Survey Finds One-Man-Band Usage Up Modestly

For Immediate Release: May 14, 2010
Contact: Ryan Murphy, ryanm@rtdna.org

WASHINGTON - Over the last few years, talk about using one-man bands has soared, but it seems that actual use of one-man-bands has risen only modestly, according to the latest installment of the RTDNA/Hofstra survey.

"It appears that with one-man-band usage, a lot of [television] stations are more talk than action, according to the numbers," said survey director Bob Papper, professor and chair of journalism at Hofstra University.

Three years ago, 22.3 percent of surveyed television stations said they "mostly use" one-man-bands.  Today, that percentage is up to 31.7 percent.  The stations reporting "some use" of one-man-bands edged up from 26.9 percent to 29 percent this year.  The "not much" usage category slid from 22.3 percent to 21.0 percent, and the "do not use" group dropped just over 10 points from 28.6 percent to 18.3 percent.

Most of the growth in the use of one-man bands from 2007 to 2010 came in the smallest markets and in the smallest newsrooms.  Only 8.5 percent of the largest newsrooms - 51 or more employees - said they "mostly" use one-man-bands.

RTDNA Members can access the full data from the survey by clicking here.

"Expected use" of one-man-bands is where we see the biggest change - up to 43.1 percent this year from 27.7 percent three years ago. There should be a word of caution in interpreting these results, though.  These are close to the same numbers we had the year before, and the actual growth of one-man-bands was far more modest than the expectation.

About the Survey

The RTDNA/Hofstra University Survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2009 among all 1,770 operating, non-satellite television stations and a random sample of 4,000 radio stations.  Valid responses came from 1,355 television stations (76.6 percent) and 203 radio news directors and general managers representing 301 radio stations.

Some data sets (e.g. the number of TV stations originating local news, getting it from others and women TV news directors) are based on a complete census and are not projected from a smaller sample.

The annual survey is conducted for RTDNA by Bob Papper, the Lawrence Stessin Distinguished Professor of Journalism and chair of the Department of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations at Hofstra University.  This research was supported by the School of Communication at Hofstra University and the Radio Television Digital News Association.

About RTDNA

RTDNA is the world's largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. RTDNA represents local and network news executives in broadcasting, cable and digital media in more than 20 countries.