16. Local news formatting became indistinguishable across the United States
Virtually all local news produced in the United States was developed by a station’s own news department, and the format for the news programs were similar. Nearly all focused on local news headlines, covering national stories only from the angle of how they affect the local audience. Nearly all of them contained a quick look at weather early in the broadcast as a teaser, with a more in-depth weather report later in the program. Weather became a critical part of local news broadcasts beginning in the 1960s. Many larger communities included traffic reports, especially during morning broadcasts, and local sports was covered by most stations. The format; news, weather, sports, became ubiquitous across the country.
Most stations advertised their local news programs heavily, far more than the national news broadcasts, and focused on the accuracy of their weather forecasts. While local news often worked with local newspapers through the 1970s, the practice gradually faded with the demise of newspapers across the country, especially afternoon papers. The majority of local news stations developed websites beginning in the early 1990s, most of which later placed much of their coverage behind a paywall. Nationally, local news was limited to between five and seven hours per day, though some stations provided more, and many operated other stations which repeated and extended the newscasts from the parent station.