Why Local Media Still Matters — Especially to Local Advertisers

If you follow Baltimore media, the last few weeks have been pretty depressing.

100.7 The Bay is gone. WMAR has eliminated longtime news anchors and moved to a very different approach delivering its news. WBAL Radio, one of the most recognizable local brands in Baltimore, has cut local hosts and news gatherers and replaced them with nationally syndicated, locally unaware talent.

There are business reasons behind all of these decisions. I understand that. The media business has changed dramatically, audiences have become more fragmented and every media company has to figure out how to operate profitably.

But I think there is a bigger issue here that deserves some attention, particularly from those of us in advertising and marketing.

We are slowly losing local media.

And once it is gone, it is very difficult to get it back.

There is a big difference between media that happens to reach people in Baltimore and media that is actually part of Baltimore.

Local reporters, radio personalities, writers and other media people know the market. They know the businesses. They attend the events. They talk about our schools, teams, neighborhoods and communities. They live here, work here and spend their money here.

That matters.

It should matter to advertisers as well.

I have spent most of my career in advertising and media, and obviously things like impressions, CPM, reach, frequency, targeting and results are important. I am certainly not suggesting that anyone ignore them. But I do think we have reached a point where those numbers can become the entire conversation, sometimes missing the point of how good marketing works on a local level.

If two media options can effectively reach your customers, and one of them also employs local people, produces local content and reinvests some of your advertising dollars back into the community where you do business, shouldn't that count for something?

I think it should.

This is especially important for local businesses. If your customers are in Maryland, there is real value in being associated with organizations and content that Marylanders know and care about.