SurveyUSA releases for the first time an unprecedented, in-depth look at the TV media landscape in media Market #25, Charlotte.

This is not stale, generic, national research pulled out of some book, with limited and dated relevance to the Charlotte market. This is 3,000 PDF pages of fresh, local, detailed research on the Charlotte media landscape, conducted March 2013, with insight nowhere else found on the Charlotte media market and the talent that drives it.

Which of the following stations has the best local newscast, and which has the worst?

• WBTV, Channel 3, The CBS affiliate, where Dennis Milligan is News Director
• WCNC, Channel 6, the NBC affiliate, where Corrie Harding is News Director
• WSOC, Channel 9, the ABC affiliate, where Julie Szulczewski is News Director
• WCCB, Channel 18, the Fox affiliate, where Angela Robbins is News Director
• News 14, where Jim Newman is News Director

And:

• Which station has the best sports?
• Which has the best weather?
• Which has the best website?
• Which is the most accurate?
• Which gives you both sides of the story?

SurveyUSA has the answers.

Proud to be America’s Pollster®, SurveyUSA interviewed 1,000 Charlotte DMA adults, including 641 respondents who watch local TV news almost every day.

SurveyUSA talked to your viewers. SurveyUSA listened to what they told us. Here’s a sample:

• “Too many wrecks, robberies and rapes.”
• “It’s all about house fires and murders.”
• “The weather reports are a joke – just awful.”
• “The directors on WBT morning news should all be fired.”
• “The world is always ending … right after this commercial message.”
• “We are not kindergartners.”
• “Not enough South Carolina news.”
• “WBT ignores South Carolina.”
• “Too focused on Charlotte.”
• “I’m sick of hearing about Duke.”
• “It’s disgusting to hear so many liberal views.”
• “Too many commercials.”
• “More time on commercials than on the news.”
• “Every other thing is an ad.”
• “Too much emphasis on race car drivers.”
• “I hate the word ‘now.’ When a sentence starts with now, I change the channel.”
• “Steve Udelson should find a new line of work.”
• “You should have more stories about God’s miracles, and please, get rid of the President.”

You can listen to SurveyUSA’s exclusive real-time focus groups right here. Dozens of sound-bites have been edited into two reels.

The first reel is from people who watch Charlotte local news “almost every day.” We asked them what they liked and disliked, and they told us.  We have 22 minutes of actualities, queued and ready.

The second reel is from people in the Charlotte DMA who do not watch local TV news. We asked them why not? They told us. We have 12 minutes of actualities queued and ready.

To listen, just press the orange “PLAY” arrow, below.

This real-time focus group would cost many thousands of dollars to put together if you were to try to do it yourself.  SurveyUSA has done it for you.

We are pleased to make these quantitative and qualitative research findings available to the stakeholders most affected by it:

• General Managers
• News Directors
• Anchors
• On-Air Reporters
• Talent Agents
• Group Heads
• Research Directors
• Promotion Directors
• Program Directors
• Advertisers

Whether you’re a news director worried about slipping ratings, an agent trying to shop a client, an anchor trying to figure out if it’s time to jump to a PR gig, an advertiser wondering which station is really the best place to spend your dollars, or just an interested news junkie, there’s something here for you.

75 pointed questions, with fully crosstabbed results, giving you fascinating insight into:

• 3 of Charlotte’s 4 highest-rated on-air talents all work for the same station.
• That station with the 3 highest rated talents is not the #1 rated news station in Charlotte.
• Women are drawn to WBTV.
• Men are drawn to WSOC.
• WBTV viewers are a little older.
• WSOC viewers are a little younger.
• Overwhelmingly, minorities see one station as the best in town.
• The #1 rated news station in Charlotte also has the best weather.
• But who has the best sports?
• Who has the best website?
• Which station attracts the area’s least affluent viewers?
• Which station has 3 times as many rich viewers as poor viewers?
• Which station has twice as many college grads as it has high-school grads?
• Does anyone turn first to the Charlotte Observer when they are looking for local news?

Every major on-air talent in the Charlotte media market is analyzed. Not only is each talent rated relative to his/her competitors, but the ratings for each talent are broken down by:

• Gender
• Age
• Race
• Education
• Income

A complete, in-depth comparison of the relative strengths and weaknesses of 43 of the Charlotte market’s most celebrated news personalities:

• Allison Latos
• Al Conklin
• Blair Miller
• Brad Panovich
• Brigida Mack
• Chris Clark
• Christine Nelson
• Christine Noel
• Claudine Chalfant
• Dave Wagner
• Delano Little
• Derek James
• Dion Lim
• Eric Thomas
• Erica Bryant
• Gary Stephenson
• Ira Cronin
• Israel Balderas
• Jamie Boll
• Jeff Crum
• Jim Connors
• John Carter
• Johnny Chappell
• Keith Monday
• Kelli Bartik
• Kellie Patterson
• Larry Sprinkle
• Marti Skold
• Maureen O’Boyle
• Mike Solarte
• Molly Grantham
• Morgan Fogarty
• Natalie Pasquarella
• Paul Cameron
• Peter Daut
• Reg Taylor
• Rob Boisvert
• Scott Wickersham
• Sonja Gantt
• Steve Udelson
• Tera Blake
• Terrance Bates
• Tiffany Wright

Your viewers rank these on-air talents from best to worst. These rankings are especially important to two of the most important men in Charlotte, Raycom General Manager Nick Simonette and Cox General manager Joe Pomilla. The research results are nowhere near as encouraging for Belo General manager Tim Morrissey.

Why trust SurveyUSA?

For 20 years, SurveyUSA has worked with local TV stations to improve their newscasts, and to help make their branding, positioning, and talent better. SurveyUSA’s entire focus is local. We understand local media markets like no other research company.

You have 2 ways to access these exclusive SurveyUSA research results

To see just the high-level results of this survey and access the answers to every question asked, click here.

Or:

To see all of the results, including the complete interactive crosstabs, which, if printed, will be 3,000 PDF pages, follow these instructions:.